Winnipeg Blue Bombers 39 Edmonton Eskimos 39 (June 28, 2007)
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0 commentsThis game was tight all the way through. The game featured two story lines. The first was the Ray, Ebell, & Acree show. The second story was that of Milt Stegall and his chase of touchdown 137.
Ray was the Player of the Game with another awesome performance. Ray went 33/42 for 394 yards with 5 touchdowns and 1 pick.
Stegall stole the evening with an amazing catch at the end of regulation to tie the score at 32.
Official recap from cfl.com:
Midway through the fourth quarter with the game tied at 25-25, Winnipeg had a chance to take the lead on a Troy Westwood field goal attempt but it was wide and Edmonton's Tony Tompkins returned the ball 51 yards, eventually leading to a four-yard TD pass to Kamau Peterson just shy of the three minute warning to give Edmonton the 32-25 lead.
But the game wasn't over yet as the Bombers clawed their way back downfield and Kevin Glenn hit who else but Stegall on a 15-yard TD pass to tie the game up with just 31 seconds left to send the game to overtime.
Stegall tied the CFL career record for TDs on the clutch reception, putting him along side George Reed and Mike Pringle at 137.
Edmonton got the ball first in the extra session and made the most of it as Ray found Jason Tucker on a 16-yard passing major, Tucker's second major of the night.
Winnipeg responded right back with a one yard TD run by Charles Roberts, his fourth of the game.
They switched sides and Winnipeg was held up by the Eskimo defence, forcing Troy to attempt a 42-yard field goal. He was wide to the right and Tomkins ran the ball out again, giving Edmonton a golden opportunity.
However, they also stalled so Eskimos kicker Sean Fleming came out for a 47-yard attempt. Fleming also went wide as a tremendous game went out with a whimper as a 39-39 tie.
The game had started out with a bang. The Eskimos put together an impressive opening drive, marching 65 yards on seven plays before Tyler Ebell reeled in a five-yard pass from Ray to stake Edmonton to an early 7-0 advantage.
After conceding a punt single, the Bombers came roaring back as Roberts bounced off a block and then found an outside lane to ramble 56 yards for the major to cut the Eskimos lead to 8-7.
But Edmonton regained it's eight point edge on their next possession as Ray found Tucker for a five-yard passing TD to put Edmonton ahead 15-8 after the first, scoring seven more points than they had in the first quarter of any other game in all of last season.
The offense kept on coming to start the second as the Bombers marched downfield and handed the ball off to Roberts for his second touchdown of the night from one yard out.
Momentum swung back in Edmonton's favor midway through the frame as Ray hit Trevor Gaylor with a long bomb and he ran it the extra 12 yards for a 63-yard passing major and a 22-14 Edmonton edge.
Then Winnipeg was right back in it again as another long drive culminated in a one-yard plunge for Robert's third TD of the game on a play where the Eskimos thought they had stopped the Bombers back on a third and one situation, but their challenge was overruled, making for a 22-21 score after an action-packed first half.
Winnipeg tied the game with a punt single early in the third, but the Esks were able to pull back ahead on a Sean Fleming field goal to close out the quarter up 25-22.
The Blue Bombers nearly took their first lead early in the fourth until Stanford Samuels made a game saving tackle on Chris Brazzell, forcing Winnipeg to accept a 34-yard three pointer from Troy Westwood to even the game up and set up the late game dramatics.
The Bombers return home to Winnipeg for their home opener next Thursday against Montreal. Edmonton travels to B.C. to face the Lions next Friday.
Notes: Thursday's game was the first time these two teams have met since "The Play" last July, when Stegall reeled in a 100-yard touchdown catch with no time remaining to give the Bombers a come from behind 25-22 victory just 15 seconds after Edmonton had gone ahead 22-19.
Date
June 28, 2007
