ARGONAUTS.CA STAFF
WINNIPEG — A perfect 27 degree Winnipeg night welcomed the boatmen into Canad Inns Stadium for a massive Eastern Division tilt.
Jarious Jackson’s first pass went to Chad Owens for an eight yard gain. That first drive would continue with a reverse to the returning Andre Durie, a pass interference penalty on Alex Suber, a first down run by the aforementioned Jackson, another pass interference penalty, an objectionable conduct penalty, and then, finally, the sealing of the marathon drive by a 1 yard TD plunge by the new starting QB.
Phew. The 17 play drive took up more than half of the first quarter. 7-0 boatmen.
After that scoring drive, it was time for the Argos rookies to take over.
The Bombers got through two plays on offence before the super rookie Marcus Ball jumped in front of a Buck Pierce pass and brought it across goal line for the Argos third “pick six” and fourth defensive touchdown in 2012. 14-0.
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The Bombers got the ball back, but rookie DT Armond Armstead ensured that the drive would end quickly with his second sack of the season against Winnipeg, and fourth overall.
On the ensuing Argos drive, Jackson would settle in and find rookie receiver Dontrelle Inman on separate first down throws. After a successful challenge by Scott Milanovich, the drive continued and Jackson would find Inman again, this time in the end zone for his third catch of the drive and fourth touchdown of 2012.
That score made it 21-0 even before the first quarter wrapped up.
The dream start for the Boatmen would continue on the first play of the second half. QB Joey Elliott, who came into the game for Buck Pierce after Pierce took a hellacious hit from Brandon Isaac, found rookie Chris Matthews down field. The aforementioned Isaac would strip the ball from Matthews and get the offence back the ball.
No points would follow for the boatmen, but good signs that both sides of the ball showed up in Winnipeg and meant business.
Elliott and the Bombers offence would start a march down into Argos territory a bit later in the quarter, but a botched snap would result in the Argos recovering. And it would be none other than Brandon Isaac jumping on the loose leather.
Winnipeg got the ball back and marched again into the Argos side of the field, this time with # 4 back in behind center. Two consecutive pass knockdowns for DB Pat Watkins in the red zone forced the Bombers to kick for three. Zachary Palardy made it 21-3 boatmen halfway through the second quarter.
A failed Argos drive forced them to punt the ball back to the Bombers. Pierce would orchestrate an impressive drive that was sealed by a touchdown throw to to Terrence Edwards to make it 21-10.
After the Bombers score, the Argos responded with a solid drive of their own sealed by a Swayze Waters boot.
That made it 24-10 boatmen, and that is where the two team’s would head into the half after an extremely entertaining two quarters of football.
The second half picked up right where it left off. Zander Robinson stripped the ball from Bombers returner Demond Washington and got the Argos offence the ball in Winnipeg territory. The Argos would take two unsuccessful shots at the end zone, but Swayze Waters would hit from 23 yards out to make the lead 17 points at 27-10.
The Argos run game would make its presence felt time and time again, with both Jackson and Chad Kackert eating up big chunks of yardage on another offensive drive in the middle of the third quarter; however, Waters would miss a 45 yard field goal attempt and the Argos would come away empty handed.
At 2:37 of the third quarter, Chad Owens made history…again. Owens would only need eight yards off a punt return, and he would gain 17 on the play, making him the first player in pro football history to attain 3,000 all-purpose yard seasons consecutively.
Waters would have another tough night in the field goal department. Indicative of this, was the fact that he had more points off of one punt than he did off one two field goal attempts in the second half. The single made the score 29-10.
The Argos ball hawking defence would once again prevail and force the fifth turnover of the evening for the Bombers. Elliott would look to the end zone for Clarence Denmark, but DB Pacino Horne would be right in his back pocket and snatch his third interception of the season and second in consecutive weeks.
RB Chad Kackert would be forced out of the game due to an apparent shoulder injury, and on Jeff Johnson’s first rushing attempt of the evening he would put the ball on the turf. Jonathan Hefney recovered and gave the Bombers life with four minutes left in the fourth quarter and a 19 point deficit to chip away at.
The Bombers would make nothing of the opportunity, turning the ball over yet again as Pat Watkins would intercept an Elliott attempt to the end zone to seal a great night for both himself and his defensive unit.
The Bombers would have a meaningless drive in the final minute of play, ending in yet another interception for the Argos. This time it was DB T.J. Williams.
The boatmen would seal the season series sweep against Winnipeg and improve their record to 7-6 with an impressive 29-10 victory.
Your Argos will now head home for three straight games at Rogers Centre, beginning on Thanksgiving Monday, October 8th , against the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
BY THE NUMBERS:
Jarious Jackson finished 17/28 for 155 yards and 1 TD. He added 51 yards rushing.
Maurice Mann lead all receivers with 6 receptions for 47 yards
Chad Kackert lead all rushers with 20 rushed for 86 yards.
Chad Owens surpasses 3,000 combined yards with 94 combined yards on the day.
Andre Durie returned from injury with 3 catches for 27 yards and 3 rushes for 24 yards.
Marcus Ball had his first CFL TD on a Pick-Six. He also had 6 tackles.
Pat Watkins, TJ Williams and Pacino Horne all had INTs on the day.
Armon Armstead lead all Argos with 7 tackles and 1 sack.