Aug
Late rally lifts Esks over Ticats
Courtesy Edmonton Journal:
You can’t say the Hamilton Tiger-Cats weren’t warned.
A pyrotechnics bulletin regarding the Edmonton Eskimos’ game-day presentation was taped right outside the visitors’ locker-room.
The Eskimos set off their fireworks late for a 31-30 win over the Ticats. Two weeks previous, the Green and Gold stunned the Calgary Stampeders in a last-minute 38-35 victory at Commonwealth Stadium. Prior to that, the Eskimos roared back from a 22-0 deficit in Regina to defeat the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
This time, Noel Prefontaine kicked a 49-yard field goal with 54 seconds left on the clock to achieve victory.
“It felt good. I’ve always felt that that’s where the kicker’s worth his money. His ability should be based in the last seconds of a half or a game,” said Prefontaine, whom the Ticats tried to ice with a timeout before the decisive kick.
“It’s a different scenario. You have different things going on mentally. I’m just happy I made it.”
It made amends for a last-play kick in the first half that never got off as holder Andrew Nowacki bobbled the snap and the Esks went to the dressing room trailing 21-17.
“You have to block it out. I’m not going to sit here and tell you I wasn’t thinking about it coming on to the field, or I wasn’t thinking about it when they called the timeout,” said Prefontaine, who also added field goals of 37 and 35 yards and a booming 81-yard single off a punt. “You think about it and you let it go. That’s just how it is.”
The win moves the 5-3 Esks into sole possession of first place in the West Division of the Canadian Football League and gives the team four victories in its last five outings.
Arkee Whitlock scored three touchdowns for the victors – a 14-yard run off a draw play, 14-yard pass-and-run play in which he left three defenders in his wake, and a nine-yard run midway through the fourth quarter.
“The thing that I’m so impressed with is, six or seven weeks ago we were sitting in the Montreal locker-room and a lot of people were down on him … Like I said last week, and the week before, we’re just starting to see a glimpse of what he’s capable of doing,” Esks head coach Richie Hall said of Whitlock.
The Esks defence allowed Kevin Glenn to throw for three touchdowns in his first start of the season. His third effort was a circus play as he bobbled the initial throw, caught it, and then found Prechae Rodriguez for a 34-yard score late in the third quarter, which upped the Hamilton lead to 28-20. Glenn staked the Ticats to a 14-0 advantage on a pair of touchdown passes to Arland Bruce, both coming after turnovers.
The first came off a third-and-short gamble where the Esks got a questionable spot by the officials. Hall challenged the placement after a Ricky Ray keeper, but lost on the video review. Glenn immediately hit Bruce on a 45-yard bomb just 1:27 into the game as he got in behind Eskimos defender Jonte Buhl.
The second turnover came off a poorly thrown ball by Ray that was gobbled up by Jykine Bradley. Glenn later found Bruce on a crossing pattern and the veteran slotback scored from 29 yards out to make it 14-0 just over nine minutes into the game.
Ticats kicker Nick Setta had field goals of 24 and 42 yards and a 57-yard single off a punt for Hamilton. The Ticats also picked up a safety early in the fourth quarter, but the Esks bounced back.
“We never panic. Week after week we’ve been down and we’ve fought back as a team. So I think the good thing about this team is we never panic,” said Whitlock, who had 65 yards rushing and 62 receiving while Calvin McCarty rested a hamstring injury.
“You hate to see a loser, but better them than us,” said Hall.
“The thing (our) team has established is they’re never going to give up and it’s not over until it’s over.”
The Stamps learned that two weeks ago and now the 4-4 Ticats got the lesson.
Beware of fireworks.
