Eskimos remain unbeaten

HAMILTON The rich got richer and the poor got poorer in the CFL Thursday.

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats looked on pace for their first victory of the season against the last undefeated team of 2017.

But the Edmonton Eskimos pulled out another close victory in the dying seconds instead, winning 31-28 to improve to 4-0 for the first time since 2014, in front of a sellout crowd of 23,531 at Tim Hortons Field.

The Ticats fell to 0-4 for the first time since 2007, back when Edmonton head coach Jason Maas was the starting QB in Hamilton.

Trailing 28-23 with 70 seconds remaining, the Eskimos got a 30yard reception by Vidal Hazelton to get into Hamilton territory. Brandon Zylstra followed up with a 20-yard catch to put them in the red zone before Hazelton came up with a ball that at first appeared to have been intercepted by Justin Rogers, for a 15-yard touchdown reception. The 75-yard, five-play drive gave Edmonton their first lead of the game.

Mike Reilly completed 26 of 36 for 347 yards and three touchdowns on the night, stretching his interception-free streak to his last 214 pass attempts. Zach Collaros was 22 of 36 for 249 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions in the losing effort.

Coming into the game, six of the previous seven meetings had already come down to the last three minutes and were all decided by a touchdown or less.

“We’ve had some really good battles with Edmonton, it seems, over the last couple years,” Collaros said. “They’re a great football team. Up front, the defence is very talented. Odell (Willis) has knocked me out of several games, so there’s always that feeling knowing he’s out there.”

With just six first-quarter points to show for their previous three games on the year, the Eskimos’ slow-start woes continued.

The Ticats jumped to an 8-0 lead on field goals of 18 and 46 yards, as well as a safety concession, before Edmonton got their first first-down on a drive that included a five-yard reception by Calvin McCarty that pushed Reilly past Maas for 38th on the CFL all-time passing yards list. He would go on to bump former Eskimos quarterback Marcus Crandell out of 37th before the game was over.

Hamilton led 15-13 at halftime, but extended that lead to 25-13 in the second half before Edmonton’s comeback began.

The fourth quarter opened with Eskimos slotback Cory Watson shaking a tackle for a 34-yard touchdown catch and run to cut Hamilton’s lead to 25-20. A couple field goals later, and the stage was set for the dramatic finish.