Reilly drives Eskimos to another win

HAMILTON, Ontario — Edmonton Eskimos quarterback Mike Reilly, a 2003 Flathead High grad, engineered a 75-yard touchdown-scoring drive in the final 1:10 of play to lead his team to a 31-28 victory over the Hamilton Tiger Cats (0-4) on Thursday in the Canadian Football League.

Down 12 points at the start of the fourth quarter, Reilly connected on two touchdowns in the final frame to keep the Eskimos (4-0) atop the league standings. His 15-yard pass to Vidal Hazelton with 33 seconds to play capped the final scoring drive and put the Esks ahead for good after trailing the entire game. It is the third come-from-behind victory in the final quarter for Edmonton this season.

Reilly completed 27 of 37 passes on the night to finish with 350 yards passing and three touchdowns, remaining the only starting quarterback in the CFL without an interception this season.

Former Griz running back Travon Van added 16 carries for 57 yards and a touchdown for Edmonton in the win.

The Edmonton offense struggled to find its footing early in the contest, stalling on its first two drives to fall behind 8-0. Reilly led the Esks to their first score at the end of the first quarter, capping a 75-yard drive with a 29-yard touchdown pass to Bryant Mitchell to narrow the score to 8-6.

The Eskimos sputtered again early in the second, going two-and-out on three straight drives as Hamilton added another touchdown to take a 15-6 lead. Edmonton answered again, however, scoring on the ensuing drive with a Van two-yard run to cut the lead back to 15-13 at half.

Edmonton stalled on its first drive out of the half and had its punt blocked for a touchdown, with the Ti-Cats tacking on a field goal later in the quarter to pull out to a 25-13 lead entering the final 15 minutes of play.

Reilly quickly drove the Eskimos down the field for a touchdown, connecting on a 34-yard pass to Cory Watson for a touchdown to cut the deficit back to 25-20, then got close enough for a field goal on the next possession to cut the lead to two points. Hamilton added its own field goal to extend its lead to 28-23 with 1:41 to play.

Reilly needed just five plays, however, to erase that lead, tossing passes of 30 and 20 yards to get the Eskimos in the shadow of the goal line. He connected on a 10-yard out route to Hazelton, who skirted into the corner of the end zone for the lead. Reilly found Mitchell for a two-point conversion to give the Esks a 31-28 lead.

Edmonton clinched the win with an interception on Hamilton’s final drive, leaving Reilly to kneel out the clock for the win.