British Columbia Lions 18 Edmonton Eskimos 12 (June 22, 2007)
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0 commentsTrevor Gaylor scored one touchdown and did most of the legwork on another as the Edmonton Eskimos held off the visiting British Columbia Lions 18-12 in CFL exhibition action Thursday.
A Commonwealth Stadium crowd of 31,650 was on hand as the Eskimos evened their pre-season record at 1-1. The Lions, meanwhile, are 0-2 as they prepare for the defence of their Grey Cup title.
Edmonton equalled its point total from last Friday's 28-3 loss to Calgary midway through the first quarter on a 38-yard field goal by Sean Fleming, and closed out the quarter with a 10-0 lead after a pair of nice passes led to a touchdown.
One play after Esks QB Ricky Ray hit Jason Tucker on a 56 yard pass and run, he sent Gaylor into the endzone with a 25 yard TD pass to put Edmonton in control early.
B.C. was able to get on the board after the Eskimos conceded an early second quarter safety and caught another break when Ray fumbled near midfield. Seven plays later the Lions had made it a one point game as Buck Pierce, who relieved Dave Dickenson, found Alexis Bwenge in the endzone. Edmonton entered halftime with a slim 10-9 lead.
The Eskimos were picked off in the red zone five minutes into the third quarter, but they got the ball back on a pick of their own by Stanford Samuels at the B.C. 29-yard line. It came to naught as Fleming shanked his 38-yard field goal attempt to keep the match close.
Paul McCallum had a chance to start the fourth quarter by giving B.C. the lead but his 36-yard field goal attempt was wide.
Edmonton took over deep in B.C. territory, but Edmonton replacement quarterback Stefan LeFors found Gaylor who took off on a 93 yard run before inexplicably turning back toward his pursuers and being tackled at the one. Tyler Ebell took it in from there to put Edmonton ahead 17-9.
McCallum nailed a 39-yard field goal with just under five minutes to go and the Lions had one more chance three minutes remaining when Barron Miles picked off LeFors and took the ball back 60 yards to the Edmonton 38. But the Eskimos defence came up with two consecutive sacks to take the Lions out of scoring position to end the comeback threat.
Edmonton added a late single.
Both teams kick off the regular season next Thursday as the Eskimos play host to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers while the Lions travel to Toronto.
Notes: The Eskimos are going into the regular season a little banged up with 10 players unable to dress on Thursday against the Lions, including Ron McClendon (RB), A.J. Gass (LB) and receiver Pat Woodcock. B.C. was only short two players for the pre-season tilt. ... One injured Eskimo just happy to be walking this week was DE Brandon Guillory after suffering a spinal cord contusion in last Friday's game in Calgary. Guillory appeared at Wednesday's walk-through and was seen jogging and lightly riding a bike, although his long term prognosis has yet to be determined. ... The Lions are rumoured to be shopping third string QB Jarious Jackson.
courtesy of cfl.ca
Date
June 22, 2007
