CFL.ca Staff
#EDMvsTOR
TORONTO –In their first home game in 49 days, the Argos gave the home side something to cheer about after downing the second place team, Edmonton Eskimos 33-32.
Chad Owens starred in the opening quarter after catching a pair of majors. Owens fininshed the game with nine receptions and 106 yards.
The Argos relied on their kicker, Swaye Waters as he scored 19 points and went 6-for-7 kicking field goals n the game.
For the Eskimos, Kendial Lawrence had a great game scoring a offensive major as well as a 106-yard kickoff return touchdown in the game.
Between the pivots, Mike Reilly passed for 252 yards on 24-of-32 passing with a pair of majors and an interception. His counterpart, Ricky Ray passed for 218 yards on 22-of-33 passing and also tossed a pair of touchdowns and an interception.
It was a bit of a homecoming for a few of the Eskimo players and staff. For head coach, Chris Jones and cornerback Pat Watkins this was their first time back in their old stomping grounds, where they both won a Grey Cup in 2012.
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Both teams headed into the game with wins under their belt. Last Week, Edmonton blanked the Roughrders 24-0, which was the first time since 1986 that a Riders team was blanked.
The Argos were coming off of their bye week but took a win in their last game against the BC Lions.
After trading off opening series the Eskimos decided to punt out of their own end zone rather than take the safety, a decision that came back to bit them. Two plays after the punt, Ray found Chad Owens for his fifth touchdown of the season, this one from 28 yards out.
On the ensuing kickoff, the Eskimos took back some momentum in a big way when Lawrence returned it 106 yards for the touchdown, to cut the lead in half, 14-7.With the Eskimos offence failing to answer, Ray and the Argos offence marched down the field, aided by a pass interference call on Pat Watkins, and found Owens for his second touchdown of the game to put the Argos up 14-0 early.
The Argos pulled away again to end the first quarter with a 45-yard field goal going into the second quarter with a 17-7 lead.
After a fake field did not work and the Argos received a penalty on the next play to end a quarterback sneak the Argos settled for a 47-yard field goal, extending their lead once again to 20-7.
Feeling the pressure to put points on the board, Reilly led the Eskimos offence onto the field. After finding John White and Adarius Bowman for first downs, Reilly called his own number 23 yards out and rumbled in to the Argos end zone for his third rushing touchdown on the campaign.
The Argos advantage now was only six points, 20-14.
A fumble by Robert Gill on the ensuing kickoff gave Edmonton short yardage as Reilly found a wide open Lawrence who scored an untouched touchdown to give the Eskimos their first lead in the contest, 21-20.
As the Argos marched down the field trying to get ahead at halftime the drive stalled with Ricky Ray throwing an interception to Dexter McCoil ending their hopes of heading into the locker room ahead.
When the first half whistle went, Edmonton went into the dressing room with the 21-20 advantage.
To begin the second half, the Eskimos received the ball to start. After first downs from Lawrence and White, Nate Coehoorn made a highlight reel one-handed grab to put the Eskimos in Argos territory.
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Next play, Reilly feeling pressure on his left side, ran to his right and threw a ball up for grabs intended for Fred Stamps. The ball got tipped and Branden Smtih came down with the interception to halt the Eskimos drive.
Following the turnover, the Argos were able to convert it to points. After Brazill caught a 21-yard pass, and Owens in tight coverage caught a 29-yard pass to set the Argos up in Edmonton’s end. The drive stalled and Waters added a field goal to get the lead back, 23-21.
The Argos defense kept up the pressure that the team saw during the first quarter. After a sack that led to a large loss of yards, the Eskimos had to punt.
Early in the fourth Ray and the Argos offence had a difficult time finishing drives, but luckily Swayze Waters was ready for his number to be called as he continued his accurate kicking a 23 and 27-yard field goals to give the Argos a 29-21 lead in the final quarter.
Edmonton, needing to put some points on the board after seeing Waters score nine points for the Argos, Edmonton finally was able to build a drive that resulted in points after O’Neill kicked a 44-yard field goal to make it 29-25 advantage for the Argos.
Ray orchestrated another drive, but once again the found themselves settling for another Waters field goal try, this time from 21 yards out. After going 5-for-5, this time he missed it resulting in only a single and a six point lead late in the fourth.
With under two minutes to go in the game, Waters kicked his sixth field goal (a career-high) to make it a nine point difference, 33-24.
Time was running out for Reilly and the Edmonton offence as he looked for the comeback in the fourth quarter. Reilly led his team down the field finishing the drive off with a touchdown and two-point conversion to bring the Esks within one.
Edmonton looked to O’Neill for an onside quick but the kick took an Argos bounce and after juggling with it the ARgos took the ball and ended any hope of a comeback with a kneel down to end the game on the following play.
Next week, the Argos will continue their homes stand where they play their rivals down the QEW, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. The Eskimos will return home where they will take on the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
