National Post (National Edition)
Ottawa just ‘kept our focus’
REDBLACKS continued from B1
Four plays later, the visitors were in the end-zone with a touchdown catch by Chris Getzlaf. After Whyte converted, it was 25-17.
Then it happened again. Paden fumbled on the kickoff return and Alex Hoffman-Ellis recovered for the Eskimos near midfield.
This time, however, the Redblacks’ defence stood tall, forcing a turnover on downs.
Burris was sacked on the next play, but a 42-yarder to Juron Criner got the Redblacks back in Eskimos territory and Ray Early’s punt pinned the Eskimos at their own four-yard line.
Another strong defensive series and a bad punt by the Eskimos’ Grant Shaw set the Redblacks up in prime scoring position, and Early’s 23-yard field goal extended the lead to 11 with about four minutes remaining.
These being the 2016 Redblacks, though, it still wasn’t over. The Eskimos scored again on a 57-yard pass from Reilly to Bowman, but the two-point convert attempt failed.
After the Redblacks received the ensuing kickoff, they strung together catches by Criner and Ernest Jackson and two nifty runs by Lafrance — the last his touchdown romp of 20 yards — to put the Eskimos away for good.
“We had games like this early in the season and we let them get away,” Tristan Jackson said, “but this game meant a lot to us and we kept the focus and came out with a win.”
Defensive halfback Abdul Kanneh said, “I have been thinking about the Grey Cup since the season started, but now I can really talk about it because we’re there.
“This win is great, it’s nice, it’s a big achievement, but the big goal lies ahead of us.”
Reilly pointed out that the Eskimos had also faced the Redblacks in their last contest of 2015: the Grey Cup game at Winnipeg.
“There are eight teams that get to feel this way, there’s only one team that doesn’t,” Reilly said. “We were that team last year and we’re not that team this year.
“That’s the way it goes. What makes it that much sweeter when you do win is how s--tty it feels when you don’t.”
The Eskimos outgained the Redblacks 340-246 through the air, but the home team had a 179-66 edge in rushing and an advantage of slightly more than two minutes in time of possession.