Great 1st half gives Tiger-Cats 39-28 win

Kevin Glenn threw three touchdowns in the first half and Marcus Thigpen ran in another, and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats held off the Blue Bombers in the second half to win 39-28 in Winnipeg on Friday night.

Before Thigpen scored the first major, he twisted his ankle and almost pulled himself out of the CFL contest.

But the 24-year-old Detroit native stayed in and rushed for a five-yard TD to become the first player in league history to score a touchdown five different ways in a season.

"I was injured before the play, [but] I said, 'I've got to go in there and try to get it,"' said Thigpen.

"That's been my goal ever since I've heard that I can break the record. I feel honoured and privileged to be up there with the guys that had … done it four different ways.

"To be on top, it feels good."

Earlier this season, the rookie out of Indiana University returned a punt, a kickoff and a missed field goal for touchdowns, and also caught a TD pass.

The kickoff and missed field goal returns also came against Winnipeg, while the punt return and receiving TDs were against Calgary.

Strange season series

Hamilton's win signalled the end of a strange early-season series between the Tiger Cats and the Blue Bombers. The two teams have faced each other four times in first seven weeks. Friday's win was Hamilton's third of the season, and also its third against the Blue Bombers in 2010.

Hamilton head coach Marcel Bellefeuille might think of petitioning the CFL schedulers to let his team play Winnipeg every week for the rest of the season. Another game against Hamilton might be too frightening for his Blue Bombers counterpart Paul LaPolice after he watched Glenn pick apart his defence from Hamilton's opening drive.

Winnipeg's secondary played a tight zone defence immediately and the Hamilton quarterback made them pay by throwing a 50-yard pass to Maurice Mann.

Glenn continued his aerial onslaught on Winnipeg with another downfield strike, a 55-yard touchdown pass to Arland Bruce III. Blue Bombers receiver Terence Edwards tried to bring his team back to life with a 32-yard touchdown reception, but Hamilton had its claws deep into Winnipeg's defence.

Glenn completed 18 of 26 passes for 274 yards, with touchdown passes to league-leading receiver Bruce (55 yards), running back DeAndra' Cobb (three yards) and slotback Marquay McDaniel (19 yards).

Hamilton placekicker Sandro DeAngelis booted a 35-yard field goal and punter Eric Wilbur added a 62-yard punt single.

Cobb also rushed two yards for a key TD early in the fourth quarter after the Bombers had narrowed the gap to 32-21 following a Hamilton turnover.

The Tiger-Cats mixed up their playing calling and pulled apart Winnipeg's tacklers and defensive backs with an unpredictable pattern of runs of passes. Hamilton scored 17 points in the second quarter courtesy of touchdown catches by Cobb and McDaniel and a field goal for Sandro DeAngelis.

Strong start

Glenn threw for more than 200 yards midway through the second quarter and also inadvertently helped the Blue Bombers score 14 points. First, Jovon Johnson picked off a cross-field pass and ran into the end zone before halftime. Then, Brady Browne's third-quarter interception turned into a 57-yard scoring drive.

But Winnipeg's offence never found a rhythm, neither with quarterback Buck Pierce nor his replacement Steven Jyles.

Pierce returned after sitting out three weeks with a knee injury but looked a step slower than his teammates. When Jyles came into the game in the third quarter, the Blue Bombers attack was better, but the Tiger-Cats defence was fierce, creating five turnovers.

Pierce completed seven of 12 passes for 63 yards with one TD and one interception, while Jyles finished 14-of-22 for 227 yards, two TDs and no interceptions.

"[Pierce] had trouble moving and some of his accuracy was hurting because of his mobility," LaPolice said in explaining the switch.

Hamilton's 95-yard touchdown drive in the fourth quarter, finished off by a two-yard run into the end zone by Cobb, represented a point of no return for the Bombers. Cobb ran for 86 yards on 22 carries.

The loss drops Winnipeg's record to 2-5, and leaves it at the bottom of the East Division. Failing to beat Hamilton in this early season series might hurt its playoff chances. Hamilton is 3-4, good for third in the division.

It only gets tougher for the Blue Bombers as they travel to Montreal next week to face the Alouettes. Hamilton travels to the Rogers Centre to face the Toronto Argonauts.