Pigrome impresses as Blue Bombers edge Elks 25-23 in CFL pre-season clash
EDMONTON -- Tyrrell Pigrome's first taste of CFL action was pretty sweet.
The rookie quarterback recorded a pair of touchdown runs, including a late game-winning 46-yard sprint into the end zone, as the Winnipeg Blue Bombers survived a comeback bid to open up CFL pre-season play with a 25-23 victory over the Edmonton Elks on Saturday afternoon.
Pigrome, a native of Birmingham, Ala., who went to Towson, made a good case for himself in his debut as he tries to earn the third-string QB role in a perceived battle with Josh Jones.
"He can really move, he's very athletic," said Bombers head coach Mike O'Shea. "When he decides to take off, he is going to be tough to handle."
Pigrome was happy to make an early impact.
"I'm blessed to be here, blessed for the opportunity," he said. "For those things to happen to me in my first game, it is a blessing. This is just the beginning, though. I still have to make the team and I still have to keep working and pushing and trying to better myself."
Edmonton dropped to 0-2 in exhibition action.
"We took a little bit to get going, but once we got going everybody was moving in sync, we were moving together and I thought the offence was moving the ball pretty well," said Elks backup QB Tre Ford, who scored one of Edmonton's touchdowns.
The Elks scored on their opening drive, getting a 35-yard field goal from Dean Faithfull.
Winnipeg was quick to respond, as veteran quarterback Zach Collaros found Kenny Lawler on a 67-yard touchdown pass.
Edmonton got a single back on a missed 44-yard Faithfull attempt.
The Blue Bombers started the second quarter with a one-yard TD plunge from Pigrome.
Faithfull completed a long drive engineered by backup QB Ford with a 31-yard field goal before the Winnipeg kicker nailed a 34-yarder to put the Bombers up 17-7 at the midway mark.
Ford continued to look good behind centre for Edmonton as he started the third quarter with another strong drive, capped off by a seven-yard rush and big dive into the end zone to bring the Elks to within three.
Edmonton would then draw even at the start of the final frame on a 19-yard Faithfull field goal.
Pigrome displayed some fleet feet of his own four minutes into the fourth, putting his team back in front with a 46-yard touchdown run.
The Bombers got a bonus point on a punt single.
Edmonton came storming back with 1:54 to play as third-string QB Kai Locksley found CJ Sims on a 44-yard passing play, setting up another toss for a TD to Raphael Leonard. However, the two-point convert attempt to tie the contest was incomplete.
A 52-yard field goal attempt by Faithfull with time expired to win it was blocked.
"We have to find ways to not shoot ourselves in the foot earlier in the game and we would probably be in a lot different situation," said Elks head coach Chris Jones. "But we did scratch and claw and give ourselves a chance to win the game late and unfortunately we came up a little short."
UP NEXT
The Bombers close out their pre-season schedule at home to the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Friday in advance of also opening the season at home on June 9 against Hamilton. The Elks are off until June 11, when they play host to Saskatchewan in their season lid-lifter.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 27, 2023.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.