Eskimos edge Tiger-Cats
HAMILTON — Nail-biters are nothing new for the Edmonton Eskimos this season, so quarterback Mike Reilly had no doubt his offence could score a game-winning touchdown with 70 seconds left on the clock.
“We know one-minute-plus in the CFL is forever, really,” said Reilly, who threw three TD passes in a 31-28 come-from-behind win against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in CFL action Thursday night. “And that’s the great part of this season so far. That’s not our first time being in a similar scenario. I’ve got confidence in our guys and I think they’ve got confidence in themselves because of having to do it already.”
The team has won all four of its games this season by a combined 12 points.
The Esks overcame a 12-point fourth-quarter deficit to improve to 4-0 in front of 23,531 at Tim Hortons Field and sit atop the West Division. Hamilton (0-4) is last in the East. The last time Hamilton started the season 0-4 was 2007, and Eskimos head coach Jason Maas was the Ticats’ quarterback.
Down 28-23 with 1:10 on the clock, Reilly engineered the 75-yard winning drive — hitting Vidal Hazelton for a 15-yard TD pass with 23 seconds left for Edmonton’s first lead of the game. A two-point convert made it 31-28.
“It’s just a mindset our team has right now,” said Maas. “That if the game is close, we feel like if we can give the ball to our offence and we need a score, we’ll score. If our defence needs to come up with a big play to stop ’em, they’ll stop ’em.
“It’s just confidence from doing it well in the hard situations we’ve been put in.”
Hamilton had one final chance to march back down the field, but Kenneth Ladler intercepted a Zach Collaros pass to seal the victory.
“Up until a couple of plays, we had a chance to win,” said Hamilton head coach Kent Austin. “But those guys made key plays and you have to tip your hat to them. They deserved to win.”
Bryant Mitchell, Travon Van, and Cory Watson also scored for Edmonton.
Luke Tasker and Geoff Hughes scored for Hamilton.
Reilly completed 27-of-37 passes for 350 yards, while Collaros was 22-of-36 for 249 yards, with one TD and two interceptions.