Edmonton Eskimos 30 Saskatchewan Roughriders 25 (September 30, 2006)
| 2
|
| |||
|
0 votes 
0 commentsThe game wasn't over.
Dalton sacked Butler near midfield as time expired, unaware that he had jarred the ball loose. Before the play ended, the Roughriders had distributed the ball among six different players before Eskimos defensive back Jonte Buhl smothered the ball on the Edmonton four-yard line, finally cementing the Eskimos' 30-25 victory over the Roughriders.
"I thought (Butler) was down, the ball was down and the game was over," Dalton said. "It was a shock to me to turn around and see them running the ball back and forth.
"I said, 'Oh, no!' I had to get up and we scrambled and thank God we were able to get them down. It was frightening. All I could think of was, 'We can't lose this game with no time left!"'
After Dalton hit Butler, Charles Thomas of the Roughriders recovered the ball and flipped it to fellow offensive lineman Andrew Greene, who lateralled to Butler, who ran along the line of scrimmage and pitched the ball to running back Kenton Keith, who crossed the Edmonton 30 before unloading to Andy Fantuz, who cast it off to the left sideline where it was retrieved by Corey Grant, who sent it back to Keith, who made a beeline for the goal line but tripped at the seven-yard line and fumbled the ball.
"I had two feelings," said Buhl. "I was excited and then I was scared because they were getting real close to the goal line.
"It's like we've got a winning streak going now. We've got one win. We've got to stay positive and go into the next game with that."
Had Edmonton (5-9) lost, its 34-year run of post-season qualification would have had only the slightest mathematical chance of continuing. Even with the victory, it trails Saskatchewan (7-7) for third place in the West Division, but the Eskimos have clinched the season series against the Roughriders should the season end with the teams tied.
Quarterback Ricky Ray ran eight yards for the winning touchdown with 42 seconds remaining to cap the Eskimos' rally from a 25-17 deficit in the last seven minutes.
Ray was able to elude the formidable Saskatchewan pass rush and wasn't sacked all night as he completed 17 of 33 passes for 235 yards. He also threw touchdown passes of nine and 24 yards to Ed Hervey and Pat Woodcock respectively as the Eskimos won for the first time in seven road games.
"I think we played great up front," Roughriders defensive tackle Scott Schultz said. "they just made plays when they had to. We had tons of pressure and were chasing him around all over the field.
"Now, you know, it's going to be all helter-skelter around here again because we lost a game and it's going to be a nightmare, but screw all that. We just need to come back here, get our couple of days rest, then focus on our games against Montreal."
Butler entered the game five minutes into the third quarter with the score tied 17-17 after starting quarterback Kerry Joseph apparently sustained a knee-to-knee collision with Edmonton lineman Steve Charbonneau. Joseph threw two touchdowns passes: a one-yarder to offensive lineman Rob Lazeo, who had lined up as an eligible receiver, and a six-yarder to fullback Chris Szarka.
Joseph completed 11 of 20 passes for 138 yards with two interceptions while Butler was 9-for-14 for 109 yards. Keith led all rushers with 131 yards on 16 carries.
Edmonton's Sean Fleming kicked three field goals and three converts. Saskatchewan's Luca Congi managed three field goals and two converts with the Roughriders adding another two points on a safety touch.
Both teams return to action in road games on Oct. 9, the Roughriders in Montreal and the Eskimos in Toronto.
courtesy of cfl.ca
Date
September 30, 2006
