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Burris guides Hamilton past Winnipeg

Aug 24, 2013 - 8:46 PM Guelph, ON (Sports Network) - Henry Burris passed for 318 yards and a touchdown as the Hamilton Tiger-Cats coasted to a 37-14 victory over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers at Alumni Stadium at the University of Guelph.

Burris had his streak of eight consecutive games versus the Bombers without an interception snapped as he was picked off twice. C.J. Gable produced 57 yards rushing and 43 receiving yards along with two total touchdowns in the victory, which was the third in a row for Hamilton. Dee Webb made a huge impact on the defensive side of the ball, recovering a fumble and scoring on an interception return.

Winnipeg lost former-Arizona Cardinals quarterback Max Hall after he sustained an injury on the first series. Buck Pierce came off the bench to go 12-of-20 for 92 yards with an interception. Justin Goltz also got a chance late in the game and completed four of his seven pass attempts for 35 yards, but also threw a pick. Chad Simpson racked up 75 yards and a touchdown on eight rushes. Henoc Muamba anchored the defense with 10 total tackles while Alex Hall recorded two sacks.

"I thought for most in part we played a good game," said Hamilton coach Kent Austin. "Defensively, we were great. I was concerned about the different start time. I harped on it all week for them to be rested and they came out firing."

After receiving the opening kickoff, Hamilton had no trouble moving the ball down the field. The Ti-Cats used some trickery to conclude the drive as Burris connected with backup quarterback Dan LeFevour on a 29-yard touchdown pass.

The Blue Bombers were unable to match the hosts on their opening drive. Hamilton produced another successful drive that ended with a made 41-yard field goal by Luca Congi that made it 10-0.

Webb's fumble recovery of Michel-Pierre Pontbriand's miscue gave possession back to the Hamilton offense and Burris took advantage, leading the team down the field to set up a 10-yard pass to Gable for a major as time expired in the first quarter with the Ti-Cats on top, 17-0.

Hamilton's defense helped the cause midway through the second quarter as Webb intercepted a throw by Pierce and returned it 32 yards for six points. Congi's ensuing extra point try sailed through the uprights.

Winnipeg showed some signs of life late in the second stanza. James Green recovered a fumble by Tavoy Moore that gave the ball to the Bombers on the Hamilton 23-yard line. The offense couldn't move the chains, but Sandro DeAngelis made good on his 32-yard field goal attempt.

The Bombers recovered an onside kick on the ensuing kickoff and put together a drive that had them threatening as time winded down in the half. They had to settle for a 14-yard field goal by DeAngelis with three seconds remaining that sent the game into the intermission with Hamilton leading, 24-6.

"Once we were able to make adjustments on defense, I thought we got better," said Winnipeg head coach Tim Burke. "We didn't get a chance to make a lot of those adjustments early on because we were on the field a lot of the first quarter."They gave us a lot of new stuff on offense."

Winnipeg slightly narrowed the margin four minutes into the third period as Mike Renaud registered a single with a 53-yard punt.

The hosted scored their first points of the second half in the fourth quarter as Congi chipped in a 10-yard field goal try.

The Bombers then found the end zone for the first time in the contest as Simpson broke away for a 44-yard touchdown run.

"Games tend to have ebbs and flows," said Austin. "Most important is how you respond to it. We scored in the fourth quarter and got a big sack from Brandon Boudreaux and fired us up and tipped the field our way."

The Ti-Cats added some insurance late in the contest as Gable took a pitch from LeFevour on an option play and rushed into the end zone for his second score of the game.

Congi drilled a 42-yard field goal with less than a minute remaining to end all scoring.

Game Notes

Congi scored his 1,000th career point with his fourth quarter extra-point try...Bakari Grant made seven catches for 70 yards...Winnipeg has now suffered six losses in a row...Burris improved to 15-9 in his career versus the Blue Bombers...Hamilton clinched the season series with victory with one game remaining on Nov. 2...Hamilton achieved 27 first downs to Winnipeg's 11.