EDMONTON — This playoff win is brought to you by the letter ‘D’.
The Edmonton Eskimos’ defence played an outstanding game Sunday afternoon, taking the lead in a 33-19 win over the visiting Calgary Stampeders in the Canadian Football League’s West Division semifinal. Edmonton will face the B.C. Lions next Sunday in the West final at BC Place.
That ‘D’ could also stand for Damaso, as in Damaso Munoz. The second-year Eskimos linebacker recovered a fumble off of Calgary quarterback Drew Tate and ran it 77 yards for a second-quarter touchdown that put Edmonton up for good.
Fellow linebacker T.J. Hill had an interception on Tate, who was pulled after the first half in favour of former Stamps starter Henry Burris. With Smilin’ Hank at the helm it wasn’t too much different. The Edmonton defence finished the night with four quarterback sacks and only allowed one touchdown from the offence.
“I thought that was a championship effort by our defence,” said Eskimos head coach Kavis Reed, who picked up his first post-season win. “Calgary was able to move the ball a lot, but we stiffened our backs and we were able to make plays as we had to.”
Eskimos quarterback Ricky Ray completed 19 of his 27 passes for 245 yards and one touchdown. The 32-year-old also rushed for 31 yards.
Ray credited the defence for its play.
“It was just so much fun to play with a defence like that,” he said. “You know they’re going to hold the other team to field goals a lot, not (allow) a lot of points, they’re going to get sacks, they’re going to get turnovers. It just gives you so much confidence as an offence.”
It wasn’t all smiles, protruding chests and high fives for the Eskimos. Tailback Jerome Messam was lost in the third quarter to a knee injury and didn’t return. Add to that the back spasms he felt earlier in the week and the potential for the Eskimos’ premiere rusher to miss the West final against his former team is very much present.
While the Eskimos were in stopper mode essentially from kickoff, it took Ray and his offence some time to establish some mojo.
Hill’s interception on Tate in the first quarter went for naught, lost to a quick two-and-out that Calgary turned into a touchdown when its offence got back on the field. Tate recovered from the theft and answered back immediately with a 58-yard bomb to wide receiver Romby Bryant. Calgary tailback Jon Cornish (127 yards on 19 carries) did the rest, taking three hand-offs to cover the remaining yardage and punch in the major. Rene Parades’ convert gave Calgary an 8-3 lead.
With Ray being sacked on back-to-back possessions, Munoz took the game into his hands in the second quarter. The linebacker scooped up a Tate fumble and trucked 77 yards upfield for the score. Derek Schiavone’s convert made it 10-8.
Sparked by Munoz’s play, the offence began to find its footing as the half progressed. A 56-yard pass to slotback Adarius Bowman got Edmonton well into scoring position. Messam (32 yards on nine carries) punctuated the drive with a seven-yard run for the score and an 18-8 edge.
Ray closed out the first half with his unit’s best sequence of the game. A 10-play, 75-yard drive resulted in the team’s third touchdown of the night. The drive was extended by a roughing-the-kicker call on Calgary’s Junior Turner which allowed Ray to continue to operate. He hit slotback Jason Barnes for a short, four-yard pass to blow the game open. Schiavone’s convert gave the Eskimos a 25-9 halftime lead.
Burris checked in at quarterback to start the third quarter but couldn’t provide the lift his team needed. Calgary managed a pair of field goals in the frame that cut the lead down to nine points, 26-15, at the start of the fourth quarter.
Burris found his stride early in the fourth, leading a balanced 72-yard drive into Eskimos territory. The defence bore down with the Stamps at the 16-yard line and forced Parades to send a 23-yard field goal through the uprights at 5:54. The drive still allowed the Stampeders to get within a converted score, trailing 26-19 with more than enough time to even up the game.
The Eskimos used a lengthy drive to milk the clock down to 1:25 and gave Calgary one last chance when Schiavone badly shanked a 45-yard field-goal attempt. The ball trickled to Calgary’s one-yard line and let Burris set up for one last gasp. Once again, Edmonton’s defence came through, forcing a turnover on downs that was highlighted by defensive end Greg Peach recording his second sack of the night.
A one-yard plunge from Messam fill-in Calvin McCarty sealed the game. Schiavone’s convert was the final point on the board.
The Edmonton Eskimos’ defence played an outstanding game Sunday afternoon, taking the lead in a 33-19 win over the visiting Calgary Stampeders in the Canadian Football League’s West Division semifinal. Edmonton will face the B.C. Lions next Sunday in the West final at BC Place.
That ‘D’ could also stand for Damaso, as in Damaso Munoz. The second-year Eskimos linebacker recovered a fumble off of Calgary quarterback Drew Tate and ran it 77 yards for a second-quarter touchdown that put Edmonton up for good.
Fellow linebacker T.J. Hill had an interception on Tate, who was pulled after the first half in favour of former Stamps starter Henry Burris. With Smilin’ Hank at the helm it wasn’t too much different. The Edmonton defence finished the night with four quarterback sacks and only allowed one touchdown from the offence.
“I thought that was a championship effort by our defence,” said Eskimos head coach Kavis Reed, who picked up his first post-season win. “Calgary was able to move the ball a lot, but we stiffened our backs and we were able to make plays as we had to.”
Eskimos quarterback Ricky Ray completed 19 of his 27 passes for 245 yards and one touchdown. The 32-year-old also rushed for 31 yards.
Ray credited the defence for its play.
“It was just so much fun to play with a defence like that,” he said. “You know they’re going to hold the other team to field goals a lot, not (allow) a lot of points, they’re going to get sacks, they’re going to get turnovers. It just gives you so much confidence as an offence.”
It wasn’t all smiles, protruding chests and high fives for the Eskimos. Tailback Jerome Messam was lost in the third quarter to a knee injury and didn’t return. Add to that the back spasms he felt earlier in the week and the potential for the Eskimos’ premiere rusher to miss the West final against his former team is very much present.
While the Eskimos were in stopper mode essentially from kickoff, it took Ray and his offence some time to establish some mojo.
Hill’s interception on Tate in the first quarter went for naught, lost to a quick two-and-out that Calgary turned into a touchdown when its offence got back on the field. Tate recovered from the theft and answered back immediately with a 58-yard bomb to wide receiver Romby Bryant. Calgary tailback Jon Cornish (127 yards on 19 carries) did the rest, taking three hand-offs to cover the remaining yardage and punch in the major. Rene Parades’ convert gave Calgary an 8-3 lead.
With Ray being sacked on back-to-back possessions, Munoz took the game into his hands in the second quarter. The linebacker scooped up a Tate fumble and trucked 77 yards upfield for the score. Derek Schiavone’s convert made it 10-8.
Sparked by Munoz’s play, the offence began to find its footing as the half progressed. A 56-yard pass to slotback Adarius Bowman got Edmonton well into scoring position. Messam (32 yards on nine carries) punctuated the drive with a seven-yard run for the score and an 18-8 edge.
Ray closed out the first half with his unit’s best sequence of the game. A 10-play, 75-yard drive resulted in the team’s third touchdown of the night. The drive was extended by a roughing-the-kicker call on Calgary’s Junior Turner which allowed Ray to continue to operate. He hit slotback Jason Barnes for a short, four-yard pass to blow the game open. Schiavone’s convert gave the Eskimos a 25-9 halftime lead.
Burris checked in at quarterback to start the third quarter but couldn’t provide the lift his team needed. Calgary managed a pair of field goals in the frame that cut the lead down to nine points, 26-15, at the start of the fourth quarter.
Burris found his stride early in the fourth, leading a balanced 72-yard drive into Eskimos territory. The defence bore down with the Stamps at the 16-yard line and forced Parades to send a 23-yard field goal through the uprights at 5:54. The drive still allowed the Stampeders to get within a converted score, trailing 26-19 with more than enough time to even up the game.
The Eskimos used a lengthy drive to milk the clock down to 1:25 and gave Calgary one last chance when Schiavone badly shanked a 45-yard field-goal attempt. The ball trickled to Calgary’s one-yard line and let Burris set up for one last gasp. Once again, Edmonton’s defence came through, forcing a turnover on downs that was highlighted by defensive end Greg Peach recording his second sack of the night.
A one-yard plunge from Messam fill-in Calvin McCarty sealed the game. Schiavone’s convert was the final point on the board.
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