CFL: Eskimos get by Stampeders to set up last-week battle for second in West

EDMONTON— Two quick-strike, thirdquarter touchdowns carried the Edmonton Eskimos to a 29-20 victory over the Calgary Stampeders on Saturday to keep alive their hopes for a second-place finish in the CFL West Division.

Quarterback Mike Reilly hit Brandon Zylstra and Adarius Bowman with scoring passes to break open an 8-6 lead and spark the Eskimos (11-6) to their fourth straight victory. The loss was Calgary’s second straight, but the Stampeders (13-3-1) had already clinched first place long ago.

Edmonton will play Saskatchewan in Regina next weekend to determine the second-, third- and fourth-place finishes in the West. Edmonton is now tied with Winnipeg with 22 points, two up on the Roughriders.

The first quarter was about as uneventful as 15 minutes of CFL action could be, with the teams combining for just 103 yards total offence, and neither coming even close to threatening to score.

It took the game’s first turnover early in the second — Edmonton came up short on third-and-one on its own 47-yard line — to create a scoring chance. The Stampeders, who were trying to rebound from last weekend’s 30-7 loss to Roughriders, moved the ball to the Edmonton 10 before stalling.

They had to settle for a 17-yard Rene Paredes field goal.

The Eskimos, who have been plagued by injuries since training camp, lost defensive back Brandyn Thompson on the series with a lowerbody injury.

Six plays after Calgary’s score, Reilly hit Derel Walker with a 45-yard pass to set up an eight-yard touchdown strike to Bowman at 9:53.