ESKIMOS UPSET STAMPEDERS 29-20

EDMONTON – Two quick-strike, third-quarter touchdowns carried the Edmonton Eskimos to a 29-20 victory over the Calgary Stampeders on Saturday to keep alive their hopes for a second-place finish in the CFL West Division.

Quarterback Mike Reilly hit Brandon Zylstra and Adarius Bowman with scoring passes to break open the lead and spark the Eskimos (11-6) to their fourth straight victory. The loss was Calgary’s second straight, but the Stampeders (13-3-1) had already clinched first place long ago.

Edmonton will play Saskatchewan in Regina next weekend to determine the second-, third- and fourth-place finishes in the West. Edmonton is now tied with Winnipeg with 22 points, two up on the Roughriders.

The first quarter was about as uneventful as 15 minutes of CFL action could be, with the teams combining for just 103 yards total offence, and neither coming even close to threatening to score.

It took the game’s first turnover early in the second – Edmonton came up short on third-and-one on its own 47-yard line – to create a scoring chance. The Stamps, trying to rebound from last weekend’s 30-7 loss to Roughriders, moved the ball to the Edmonton 10 before stalling and settling for a 17-yard Rene Paredes field goal.

Edmonton led 8-6 at the break.

In stark contrast to the first half, the second opened with an explosion of points. Two plays in, Reilly hit Zylstra with a 77-yard scoring strike and O’Neill followed with an 87-yard single on the kickoff. Calgary responded with a nine-play 75-yard drive capped by Anthony Parker’s nine-yard touchdown reception.

Jamil Smith’s 64-yard kickoff return to Calgary’s 35 created the opportunity for Bowman to grab a boot-top pass from Reilly and turn it into a 17-yard touchdown four plays later for a 23-13 lead. Swayze Waters kicked a 15-yard field goal with four minutes left.

Bo Levi Mitchell marched Calgary 75 yards in seven plays, ending with Kamar Jorden’s 13-yard touchdown catch and Waters kicked a 38-yard field goal with 15 seconds left to create the final score.

(Canadian Press)