HAMILTON — In what was a potential playoff preview – depending on if the Esks remain the crossover spot when the regular season ends – it was Edmonton who came out on top of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Saturday night.
The Esks came back from an early Tiger-Cat lead in the first quarter to defeat the Tabbies 29-26.
Derel Walker score two touchdowns in the victory, as the Eskimos jumped back into the win column and are still chasing the Lions and Bombers in the West.
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Collaros moved the chains all the way down the field on the Tabbies’ first possession of the ball game, leading to CJ Gable’s six-yard rush into the end zone to score the first major of the contest.
The 69-yard, seven-play drive started when Collaros tossed a 28-yard pass to Kevin Elliott and then Gable rushed 19-yards to move the Ticats to the Edmonton 41-yard line. A few plays later, and after Gable’s score, Brett Maher’s covert kick was good and Hamilton led 7-0 early in the ball game.
Hamilton’s defence came out strong on Edmonton’s first touch of the game, forcing the Esks to punt the ball away and brought Collaros and co. back onto the field.
And Hamilton added three more point on their next possession.
Maher kicked a 40-yard field goal to cap a 31-yard, seven-play drive down the field to give Hamilton a 10-0 lead with just over four minutes left in the first quarter.
Adarius Bowman made his first catch of the ball game count, as he caught a 33-yard pass from Mike Reilly, bringing Edmonton to Hamilton’s 40-yard line.
Reilly ran himself for six yards and then he looked for Bowman again, but Cassius Vaughn knocked it away before the receiver could grab the pass. On the next play, the Eskimos’ pivot found Derel Walker who stretched into the end zone for the team’s first major score.
After Walker’s 22-yard touchdown, Sean Whyte missed his convert kick, cutting Hamilton’s lead to 10-6 with 2:13 left in the first frame.
On the Tabbies next possession, Collaros continued to use the ground game. He found Gable twice in the drive, once for a 34-yard run and once through the air for 11-yards. Collaros also looked for Ryan Bomben, an offensive lineman, who was streaking towards the end zone. Bomben stretched out, reaching for the ball but the pass was incomplete.
The drive led to Maher missing a 28-yard field goal, adding a single point to the Tiger-Cats lead to start the second quarter (11-6).
Edmonton was forced to a two-and-out on their next drive, as Reilly threw two incomplete passes, first intended for Bowman followed by Brandon Zylstra. That brought Grant Shaw onto the field to punt the ball away.
But just like that, the ball was back in the hands of the Eskimos.
Junior Collins’ fumbled his pass from Collaros at Hamilton’s 34-yard line, and Neil King recovered it, bringing Reilly and his offence right back to the field.
Edmonton scored three points on the turnover, with Whyte booting a 17-yard field goal. The points capped a 26-yard drive down the field, cutting the Tiger-Cats lead to 11-9.
On Edmonton’s next drive, the Esks took over the lead from Hamilton after Whyte kicked a 18-yard field goal. The score capped a 58-yard, nine-play drive to put the Eskimos head by a single point (12-11).
After two big gains down the field from the Esks, a 12-yard gain from Walker and a 15-yard gain from Bowman, it was Emanuel Davis who forced John White, who would have had a 19-yard gain, to fumble the ball and it was recovered by Simoni Lawrence.
With under a minute left in the first 30 minutes, the Tiger-Cats tried to move down the field to regain the lead heading into half time but were unsuccessful, as Maher had to punt the ball away.
The Esks took their 12-11 lead into the locker room.
Andy Fantuz and defensive back Johnny Adams, both with lower body injuries, did not return to the field for the second half of the contest.
To start the final 30 minutes, the Eskimos added to their lead (15-11). Whyte booted a 43-yard field goal, capping a 45-yard, eight-play drive. Reilly made use of Walker, Zylstra, Devon Bailey and ran himself to put Whyte in position to score.
Edmonton’s defence held the Tabbies to a two-and-out on their next possession, keeping the momentum on their side.
It was a scary scene at Tim Hortons Field as Ticats’ defensive back Derrius Brooks left the game on a stretcher in the third quarter after colliding with one of his own teammates.
With the Esks on Hamilton’s one-yard line, Reilly plunged into the end zone for the major, capping a 32-yard, four-play drive. The score, with Whyte’s completed convert, added to the Esks’ lead with seven and a half minutes left in the third quarter (22-11).
Collaros tried to get something going for his Tiger-Cats on their next drive, but was unsuccessful and Maher was forced to punt the ball away.
When the Esks had the ball next, John Chick sacked Reilly for a loss of six on an Eskimo first-and-10. Reilly then looked for Zylstra but his pass was incomplete, forcing Shaw to punt the ball away.
And again, Collaros and the Tiger-Cats’ offence couldn’t get moving down the field as Maher, again, had to punt.
When the Esks got the ball back, they made it count as Walker dashed into the end zone – his second touchdown of the evening – for a seven-yard touchdown to cap a 76-yard, seven-play drive. After Whyte’s convert attempt, the Esks increased their lead to 29-11 with 12 minutes left in the fourth quarter. The major was Walker’s team-leading 10th touchdown of the season.
On third-and-one, the Ticats looked to have Masoli in for the quarterback sneak but he handed off to Gable for a 10-yard gain. Collaros looked for Mike Jones in the end zone, but the Esks were penalized for pass interference on Jones, bringing the Tabbies to first-and-goal.
The Esks stopped Masoli on both attempt at plunging into the end zone for the score. Collaros returned on a third-and-goal from the one-yard line. Collaros tossed to Toliver to score the major. Hamilton’s attempt at a two-point convert was complete to Kevin Elliott to cut the Esks lead to 29-19 with 7:42 left in the contest.
The Tiger-Cats’ defence shut down Edmonton’s offence on their next possession, bringing Collaros right back onto the field.
Once Hamilton was back on the field, Edmonton’s defence, along with a penalty, stopped the Ticats from scoring any points on the drive.
When the Esks went to punt the ball away, and Collins caught it and lateraled it to Jones who brought the ball 49-yards down the field into Edmonton territory.
King knocked the ball away from Toliver in the end zone and Ticats’ head coach Kent Austin challenged that it was pass interference and it was confirmed, bringing the Tabbies to a first-and-goal.
Masoli plunged into the end zone for the major score and with Maher’s convert kick good, the Tiger-Cats’ cut the Eskimos’ lead to 29-26 with 1:09 left in the contest.
But the effort was for not, as the Esks held on for the win.
The Ticats look to turn things around next week as they host the Montreal Alouettes and the Esks will hope to keep their winning ways intact when they face the Toronto Argonauts.
