Lions come back to take Bombers

For a guy making his season debut in Week 16, B.C. Lions running back A.J. Harris looks anything but rusty.

Harris scored the game-winning touchdown in the Lions' 24-21 come-from-behind win Sunday over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in front of 24,048 fans at Canad Inns Stadium

The key touchdown came on a 30-yard pass from quarterback Travis Lulay at 2:03 of the fourth quarter following a Bomber turnover early in the fourth quarter.

Harris, replacing injured starter Martel Mallet, was signed by the Lions on Aug. 3 after playing 12 games with the Edmonton Eskimos last season. They released him in April.

"I was absolutely blessed to get the chance to play again," said Harris, 25.

"On that play, I just got lucky enough to get right in [Lulay's] sights, he threw it to me and I had a straight shot."

Harris rushed 21 times for 89 yards and led his team in receiving with five catches for 92 yards.

Lulay replaces Pierce

Lulay replaced starter Buck Pierce with 8:24 left in the first quarter after Pierce injured his right shoulder while fumbling the ball.

Lions head coach and general manager Wally Buono said he wasn't sure of the extent of Pierce's injury. No. 2 QB Jarius Jackson is out with a shoulder injury but may be ready to return to action soon. Casey Printers was the third-stringer heading into the game.

The game featured nine turnovers, five by B.C. But the Lions scored 17 points off Winnipeg mistakes, while the Bombers only managed seven points off B.C.'s turnovers.

The victory was the Lions' third in a row and improved their record to 8-7. They're one point behind Calgary and Saskatchewan, who are tied for first in the CFL West Division with 8-6-1 records.

Buono said Harris's output didn't surprise him because he played well in Edmonton, where as a rookie he had 99 carries for 557 yards and six TDs in his dozen games. He also pulled in 37 catches for 422 yards.

"Did he fatigue a little bit at the end? He probably did," Buono said. "But for a guy [playing] his first game since last year, that was a tremendous, tremendous effort."

Halts streak

The loss lowered Winnipeg's record to 6-9. The team remains tied with Hamilton for second in the East.

Winnipeg led 14-0 after the first quarter. The game was tied 17-17 at halftime and the Bombers took a 20-17 lead into the fourth quarter.

Bombers head coach Mike Kelly said he's not going to kick himself over the missed opportunities.

"My dad told me never kick yourself … because there's plenty of people lined up to do it," Kelly said.

"If I haven't learned that lesson this year, I don't know if I've learned anything, so we'll just keep moving along."

He noted the loss doesn't knock them out of the playoff hunt.

"We let an opportunity get away, but it doesn't kill us," Kelly said.

"I want these guys to swish around the bitterness and I want the coaching staff to swish it around and then maybe we'll all throw up and come back and be better next week."

The Bombers have back-to-back games against Montreal, beginning at home Saturday. They end the regular season hosting Hamilton.

The Lions travel to Saskatchewan Saturday, then host Calgary and Edmonton to close the regular season.