October 21, 2011
THE CANADIAN PRESS
TORONTO — Quarterback Ricky Ray threw two TD passes and ran for another as the Edmonton Eskimos held on to beat the Toronto Argonauts 31-24 on Friday night.
Edmonton outscored Toronto 18-0 in the second quarter to erase a 3-1 deficit . Players, coaches and officials all sported various pink-coloured items as per the CFL’s weekend campaign to promote awareness for women’s cancers.
During the second quarter became the first player in professional football to record at least 3,000 combined yards in back to back seasons. For videos and quotes from Mike ‘Pinball’ Clemons and Raghib Rocket Ismail on the accomplishment, click here.
Ray was 17-of-29 passing for 347 yards before backup Kerry Joseph took over late in the fourth.
Toronto made things very interesting in the fourth, scoring three TDs to pull to within 31-24. Then Lin-J Shell recovered Jerome Messam‘s fumble at the Argos’ 43-yard line with 36 seconds remaining.
But Weldon Brown‘s interception on the game’s final play ended Toronto’s comeback bid.
The Eskimos spoiled a historic achievement by Toronto’s Chad Owens, who became the first player in pro football history to surpass 3,000 all-purpose yards in consecutive seasons.
Edmonton (10-6) won its third straight to move atop the West Division, two points ahead of B.C. (9-6), which faces the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (7-8) on Saturday night. The Eskimos visit the Lions next week.
Edmonton will cement a home playoff game for the first time since 2004 if the Saskatchewan Roughriders beat the Calgary Stampeders later Friday night.
Toronto (4-12) remains last in the East Division despite its comeback bid. Cornerback Byron Parker had the game’s top hustle play, chasing Edmonton’s Fred Stamps on a 75-yard completion with the Argos trailing 22-3 in the third then punching the ball loose with teammate Evan McCollough recovering at the one-yard line.
Stamps held on for a 15-yard TD strike with 3:44 in the quarter to put Edmonton comfortably ahead 31-3.
Jason Barnes had Edmonton’s other touchdown. Damon Duval added two field goals, three converts and two singles. The other points came on a safety.
Argos RB Cory Boyd was one of the few bright spots on offence, rushing 15 times for 132 yards, including a 64-yard romp. Boyd is now. The sophomore tailback is now only 55 yards away from his second consecutive 1,000-yard season.
Jeff Johnson with two, and Brandon Rideau had Toronto’s touchdowns. Noel Prefontaine booted the converts and a field goal.
Ray staked Edmonton to a 19-3 half-time lead with a 43-yard TD strike to Barnes early in the second before adding a nine-yard scoring run to effectively steal Owens’ thunder.
Owens finally gave the hometown fans something to cheer about with 5:33 left in the second by cracking the 3,000-yard plateau with a sparkling 58-yard punt return. However, Toronto was penalized for an illegal block, reducing Owens’ return to 36 yards.
Luckily, Owens needed just five yards on the play to achieve the milestone. Owens came in 119 yards short of 3,000 and made a huge dent in that total with a 46-yard catch in the first.
Owens had 3,288 all-purpose yards last season and was the CFL’s outstanding special-teams player.
NOTES: Edmonton made its first appearance at Rogers Centre since 2009 as Toronto was the home team in its 24-6 loss to the Eskimos in Moncton last year…Edmonton head coach Kavis Reed began his coaching career as Toronto’s secondary coach and special-teams co-ordinator in 2001.