Reilly, Esks escape with another win

The Daily Inter Lake

EDMONTON, Alberta — Mike Reilly threw for 317 yards and two touchdowns, running for two more as the Edmonton Eskimos remained undefeated this season, escaping with a 33-28 victory over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Friday night at Commonwealth Stadium.

Reilly, a 2003 Flathead High School grad, put the Eskimos (6-0) in the lead early and kept his team out front for most of the game but Edmonton had trouble shaking the pesky Ti-Cats (0-6).

Edmonton took a 6-0 lead on its first possession when Reilly capped an 88-yard drive with a sneak for a touchdown.

The lead was short-lived, however, as Hamilton needed just two plays to match the mark, scoring a touchdown and adding a conversion for an 8-6 advantage.

Reilly regained control on the next trip down the field, connecting on a 36-yard touchdown pass to retake a 13-8 lead and never look back.

That’s not to say the game didn’t get close. Hamilton scored later in the second quarter to cut the Esks lead to two points, only for Reilly to engineer another TD drive, running in his second score to give his team breathing room. A field goal before half gave the Esks a 23-11 lead at the break.

The lead ballooned to 26-11 before Hamilton again was able to cut it back to five points by the close of the third quarter.

Reilly took advantage of a short field on the Esks’ first possession of the fourth quarter, connecting on an 18-yard touchdown pass to give Edmonton a 33-21 lead.

The Ti-Cats scored again late in the fourth and got a stop with a minute remaining to get one more chance to take the lead. Hamilton got two chances at a Hail Mary to finish the game but came up empty on both tries.

Reilly completed 29 of 38 passes on the night despite losing yet another starting receiver to injury. His top three wide outs have gone down at some point in the first seven weeks of the season. He also rushed for 31 yards, helping extend a handful of drives to add to his two scoring runs.

The Eskimos are the final unbeaten team in the CFL but remain in a close race in the West Division. Despite winning each of the first six games to start the season, Edmonton only holds a one point lead on Dave Dickenson’s Calgary Stampeders (5-1-1) and four points on Travis Lulay’s BC Lions (4-2).

Edmonton will play at defending Grey Cup champion Ottawa (1-5) on Thursday. The Eskimos beat the RedBlacks 23-21 at home earlier this season.