THE CANADIAN PRESS

HAMILTON, Ont. -- Buck Pierce doesn't use “swagger” to describe his Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

The quarterback prefers “moxy” and “leadership,” especially after Friday's 33-17 victory over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

With the win, Winnipeg (9-5) _ whose defence has dubbed itself “Swaggerville” _ swept the three-game season series against the Ticats.

The victory also secured the Bombers a playoff spot for the first time since 2008.

“This time of season, it gets tight,” Pierce said of the game's significance. “Things start to shape up. People start to place teams in certain places. We've dropped four of the last five. We're going on the road against a good football team. We knew what we were facing and I think this kind of showed the moxy of our team, the leadership of our team and the character.”

Pierce, who was back after missing last week with sore ribs, threw a touchdown pass and ran for another. He completed 16-of-25 pass attempts for 239 yards, while running back Chris Garrett rushed for 131 yards on 18 carries in place of injured all-star Fred Reid.

Alex Brink, Greg Carr and defensive back Brandon Stewart also scored touchdowns for Winnipeg. Chris Williams and Quinton Porter had TDs for Hamilton.

Winnipeg kicker Justin Palardy was good on 1-of-2 field-goal attempts, hitting a season-high 49-yarder and missing from 39 yards out. Hamilton's Justin Medlock hit his lone field goal attempt, from 27 yards.

Winnipeg now leads Hamilton (7-7) by four points in the CFL's East Division and sits in first place, awaiting Montreal's game against Toronto on Monday. An Alouettes loss would give Winnipeg back sole possession of top spot in the East after beginning the season 7-1.

The Bombers had already won the season series with Hamilton by beating the Ticats 24-16 on Canada Day and then 30-27 on Aug. 26.

“This is our most complete game of the year,” Winnipeg head coach Paul LaPolice said. “The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a very good football team. To sweep them is a huge thing. To beat them three times and to beat them in their house twice, that means a lot.

“It shows the character of these guys after coming back from two gut-wrenching losses.”

Hamilton defensive end Stevie Baggs, who had done a lot of talking heading into the game, was humble in defeat and attributed the loss to “a lack of focus.”

“I put my foot in my mouth,” he said. “They came here and they won. It is what it is.”

Winnipeg led 12-3 after an uneventful first half but exploded with two TDs in the third. A 59-yard catch-and-run scoring play from Pierce to Carr gave Winnipeg the 19-3 lead midway through the quarter.

And Stewart's 83-yard interception return for a TD put the game out of reach at 26-3. Hamilton quarterback Kevin Glenn has now had an interception returned for a TD in all three of this season's games against Winnipeg.

Hamilton's offence couldn't get anything going in the first three quarters and Glenn was replaced by Porter after the pick.

Glenn was 13-of-20 passing for 109 yards, no touchdowns and the one interception.

“We never got into a rhythm, myself included,” Glenn said. “We just couldn't get anything going. It was just one of those days where you get frustrated, trying to do too much.”

“They've pretty much got our number this year _ right now.”

Porter led a 71-yard scoring drive over 57 seconds to start the fourth, hitting Williams for a 28-yard touchdown to make it 26-10. But Pierce answered by driving the Bombers 73 yards on seven plays, keeping the ball himself for the four-yard TD run and a 33-10 lead.

The Ticats got that one back late in the game with a 98-yard drive that ate up 7:06 and ended with Porter's one-yard plunge, but it was too little too late.

The first touchdown of the game came after things got ugly in the first quarter when Hamilton's Bo Smith was called for roughing the passer after appearing to sack Pierce by the head.

Forward pass interference on the same play gave Winnipeg the ball on Hamilton's one-yard line and Brink, the Bombers' backup quarterback, ran it in for the TD to put Winnipeg up 10-0.

A punt single and a missed field goal gave Winnipeg a 12-0 lead in the second quarter, while Hamilton's offence continued to struggle. Marcus Thigpen gave Hamilton a spark late in the half with a 47-yard punt return to the Winnipeg 34. But Hamilton still couldn't do anything with the opportunity and settled for a 27-yard field goal.

It was 12-3 heading into the locker-room as the Winnipeg defence held the Ticats to only five first downs and 87 net yards in the first half.

Notes: Ticats fans chose the first play the team ran as part of a contest. Glenn found Williams on a play-action roll out that went for 10 yards and a first down. Fans were given a choice to vote for one of four running and four passing plays listed on the Ticats' website with an explanation from offensive co-ordinator Khari Jones. ... Attendance at Ivor Wynne Stadium was 23,268.