Reilly, Eskimos win CFL season opener
Edmonton Eskimos' quarterback Mike Reilly, left, hands off to John White during the first half of a CFL football game against the B.C. Lions in Vancouver, British Columbia, Saturday, June 24, 2017. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Edmonton Eskimos quarterback Mike Reilly connected on a 76-yard pass to Brandon Zylstra with less than a minute to play to set up a game-winning field goal in the Eskimos 30-27 season opening victory over the BC Lions on Saturday.
Reilly, a 2003 Flathead High School graduate, threw for 315 yards and two touchdowns in the victory but didn’t have a more dramatic play for Edmonton (1-0) than the pass in the final minute.
The Lions (0-1) stormed back to tie the game with 1:18 to play but missed the ensuing point after kick wide left to leave the game knotted at 27-27.
On the first play following the kickoff, Reilly found Zylstra on a broken coverage over the back of the defense, connecting on a pass 44 yards down the field that the slot receiver carried to the shadow of the Lions goal line.
Reilly rushed a sneak for a yard on the next play to kill time and called timeout with two seconds to play, leaving just enough time for a 9-yard field goal from Shawn White to win the game.
Reilly also completed a 13-yard touchdown to Vidal Hazelton on a drop off pass in the third quarter and a 22-yard touchdown to D’haquille Williams on a fade pass in the second quarter.
Overall, Reilly was 20 for 28 throwing in the game and limited his running, carrying the ball just once on the one-yard sneak to close the game.
Former Montana State quarterback Travis Lulay saw very little action in a backup role for BC, but had two rushes for three yards and a potential points-saving tackle on special teams when he stopped an Edmonton defender from returning a missed field goal.
Edmonton will host its first home game of the season on Friday, playing host to Montreal at 8 p.m. MT. The game will be broadcast online at WatchESPN.com.