Blue Bombers beat Als for 1st win

The Winnipeg Blue Bombersgot thebig win, if not the record, in their home opener on Thursday night.

Winnipeg defeated the Montreal Alouettes 32-23at Canad Inns Stadium, scoring 32 of the game's last 42 points.

About the only disappointment for the crowd of 29,533 fans was the factveteran Blue Bombers slotback Milt Stegall failed to get his 138th touchdown, which wouldhave seenhim pass George Reed and Mike Pringle for the all-time CFL mark.

Stegall finished with four catches for 34 yards.

"It would have been nice to get the record at home, but the main thing was getting the victory," Stegall said.

"I'm sure the fans are more happy for the victory than me getting the touchdown. The touchdown will eventually come, but every victory we get is hard to come by."

Winnipeg (1-0-1) got touchdowns from Charles Roberts, Chris Brazzell, former Alouette Terrence Edwards and Greg Bearman, on a special teams play.

Quarterback Kevin Glenn went 22 of 38 passing for 298 yards, with two touchdown passesand a pair of interceptions.

Montreal (0-2) sputtered offensively after a decent start.

Quarterback Anthony Calvillo, who was 21-of-39 passing for 236 yards, is still looking for his first touchdown pass of the season.

Winnipeg defenders bested the Montreal offensive line to record seven sacks.

Robert Edwards scored the lone touchdown for the Alouettes, with Damon Duval going 5-of-7 on field goal attempts.

Montreal up early

After failingto generate a field goal or touchdown in their season opener, Montrealwas up 13-0 after their firstthree drives on Thursday.

On their second play from scrimmage, Calvillo dumped the ball to fullback Mike Vilimek, who rumbled for a 26-yard gain to set up Duval's 40-yard field goal.

Receiver Kerry Watkins made a beautiful one-handed grab on the team's second drive to haul in Calvillo's pass, a play that ultimately went for 40 yards.

Edwards capped the drive off on a 3rd-and-goal, fighting his way into the end zone from a yard out.

Duval soon added another kick, from 51 yards, for the 13-0 scoreless than12 minutes into the game.

Rob Pikula had an inauspicious debut as Winnipeg kicker. After incurring a penalty for sailing a punt out-of-bounds, Pikula had to settle for a single on a 43-yard field goal attempt.

Pikula was playing ahead of Blue Bomber staple Troy Westwood, who went just 1-for-4infield goal triesin the season opener against Edmonton. Westwood hadhis longevity streak snapped at 279 consecutive games.

Pikula made amends when his punt to near the Montreal goal line in the second was botched by Mike Imoh, who had also fumbled earlier in the game.

Bearman dove on the ball in the end zone and the Blue Bombers trailed 13-8, a play that changed the complexion of the game.

Crack at record

Later in the second, Glenn drove the Bombers down the field to complete the comeback. After taking a couple of cracks at getting Stegall the record, Roberts scampered from in short for a 15-13 score.

Brazzell then caught Glenn's pass for a 19-yard touchdown with a dozen seconds left in the half, cappinga 79-yard drive that made the score 22-13.

The Blue Bombers quarterback got his second TD pass by hooking up with Edwards in the third, leadingthe receiveron a 62-yard scoring play for a 29-14 score.

"You see what happens when you try to cover me too much, other guys will be open," Stegall said.

"I called myself the magnet today. Thesereceivers this year, you try to double, triple team me, you're going to get beat. You've got to stay one-on-one with everybody."

Winnipeg then got sloppy on offence, with two Glenn interceptions and a Gilles Lezi fumble giving Montreal life.

The Alouettes couldn't reach the end zone, but a trio of Duval field goals brought the score to 29-23 with 5:23 left in the game.

Roberts controlled the ball on the ground for Winnipeg to chew up the clock, with Pikula kicking his first field goal with 1:13 left to seal the victory.

Roberts finished with 91 yards on 21 carries.

Montreal travels to Hamilton in their next game on July 14, with Winnipeg hosting Edmonton a night earlier in a rematch of their 39-39 tie last week.