Eskimos score late for tie with Bombers

Zach Kline connected with John Harris for a 22-yard touchdown and Marion Grice had a two-point convert as the Edmonton Eskimos salvaged a 38-38 road tie against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Thursday in CFL pre-season action.

In Winnipeg’s first pre-season game against the Saskatchewan Roughriders, the game ended in a 25-25 tie on June 10. No overtime is played in the CFL pre-season.

Bombers backup quarterbacks Dominque Davis and Dan LeFevour both scored on second-half touchdown runs on Thursday to help the Bombers get the lead.

Davis engineered a four-play, 102-yard drive, capping it off with a seven-yard TD run at 14:37 of the third quarter. The score gave Winnipeg its first lead of the game, a 24-17 edge in front of 24,934 fans at Investors Group Field.

LeFevour started the fourth and got help from an Edmonton passinterference call that moved the ball 38 yards to the Eskimos’ three-yard line. LeFevour then ran the three yards for the major at 1:30 and 3117 lead.

Edmonton running back Marion Grice would make it 31-23 after a two-yard run and a missed convert by Sean Whyte, but Bombers running back Timothy Flanders busted loose for a 46-yard TD run at 9:48 for the 38-23 lead.

Grice scored his second TD of the game with 59 seconds left on a oneyard plunge to close the gap 38-30 with a good Whyte convert.

With nine seconds left, Esks backup QB Zach Kline hit John Harris with a 22-yard TD pass. A two-point convert pass was incomplete, but a Winnipeg penalty gave the Esks another crack. Grice ran in one yard to knot the score.

Winnipeg veteran receivers Clarence Denmark and Darvin Adams each caught balls in the end zone for TDs from starting quarterback Matt Nichols.

Bombers backup kicker Felix Mernard-Brier connected on a 32yard field goal, went wide on attempts from 49 and 45 yards out and was good on five converts.

Edmonton also got touchdowns from receiver D’haquille Williams and running back LaDarius Perkins. Whyte booted a 14-yard field goal and was good on three converts.

The Eskimos didn’t dress 16 starters, including quarterback Mike Reilly. That roster was still able to mount a 17-3 lead early in the second quarter against Winnipeg’s starters, but the Bombers got a spark and tied it up 17-17 at halftime.

Edmonton went on a penaltyaided TD drive on their first possession of the game, finished off by an 18-yard pass from backup quarterback James Franklin to Williams at 3:37. Winnipeg had four penalties in the drive.

Bombers running back Andrew Harris did most of the work on the next possession that led to a 32yard field goal from Mernard-Brier in a nine-play, 76-yard drive.

Harris accounted for 56 of those yards, 23 rushing and a 33-yard reception, as the gap closed 7-3 at 8:45.

Perkins broke out for his 49-yard TD run at 5:10 of the second for the 17-3 lead, but Denmark scored on a seven-yard catch and Adams hauled in a 43-yarder at 14:23 for the 17-17 halftime tie.

Both teams switched quarterbacks to start the third quarter. Davis went in for Winnipeg and Danny O’Brien for Edmonton.

Nichols had completed 19-of-24 pass attempts for 227 yards. Franklin was 11-of-16 for 133 yards.