EDMONTON — Chris Jones has seen this movie before.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders’ head coach and general manager has coached Edmonton Eskimos quarterback Mike Reilly previously and also has coached against him during the pivot’s CFL career.
That’s why seeing Reilly lead a game-winning drive in the fourth quarter of Thursday’s contest at Commonwealth Stadium was old news for Jones.
“That’s what he does,” Jones said after Edmonton’s 26-19 victory over the Roughriders. “He keeps on playing … As long as he’s up on the canvas, he’s a guy who’s going to keep on fighting and find a way to beat you. Tonight we gave him enough opportunities.”
The Roughriders led the Eskimos 19-17 when Edmonton took possession with 4:30 left in the fourth quarter. Reilly proceeded to lead Edmonton on a seven-play, 77-yard drive that ended in his one-yard touchdown run with 2:23 left in regulation time.
The drive was aided by a pass-interference penalty against Crezdon Butler on a second-and-eight play.
“It’s very frustrating as a defensive captain and as a person who plays on the defence just because we had our opportunities to get (Reilly) off the field,” defensive end Willie Jefferson said. “Penalties kept him on the field and then it was just Mike being Mike.
“We talked all week that it was going to come down to which team had the least amount of penalties. When it came down to crunch time, Edmonton ended up getting a couple of penalties that helped them move down the field and made it easy for them to score.”
Edmonton won its third straight game to improve to 5-2-0. The Roughriders lost their second in a row and go into their second bye week of the regular season with a 3-4-0 record.
Saskatchewan is idle until Aug. 19, when it plays host to the Calgary Stampeders.
“We were outcoached, we were out-executed, we were the more undisciplined football team and it reared its head again tonight,” Jones said. “We know we’re good enough to beat that football team, but they were disciplined enough to make the plays when they needed to and won the football game.”
Edmonton got on the board at 6:29 of the first quarter, when C.J. Gable scored on a three-yard run. Sean Whyte added the convert to give the Eskimos a 7-0 lead.
Four plays earlier, Reilly had completed a 61-yard pass to Derel Walker, who was left uncovered by the Roughriders’ defence. That gain gave the Eskimos a first down at the Saskatchewan 13-yard line.
The Roughriders got their first major on the final play of the first quarter, when Marcus Thigpen scored on a one-yard run on a third-and-goal gamble. Brett Lauther kicked the convert and the score was tied 7-7.
It was Saskatchewan’s first offensive touchdown since Brandon Bridge hit Naaman Roosevelt with a 24-yard scoring pass at 5:18 of the third quarter in Saskatchewan’s 31-20 victory over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on July 19.
Whyte’s 49-yard field goal at 4:11 of the second quarter gave the Eskimos a 10-7 lead — and that was the score at halftime.
Saskatchewan had 109 yards of net offence in the first half, 60 of which came on its seven-play touchdown drive. The Roughriders also had four two-and-outs and punted on six of their seven possessions in the first 30 minutes.
The Roughriders’ defence, meanwhile, was stellar in the first half. Reilly was just 4-for-13 passing for 86 yards, including his 61-yarder to Walker, and the Eskimos managed only 154 yards of net offence.
The Roughriders accepted the second-half kickoff and needed just four plays to drive 82 yards for the go-ahead touchdown. Zach Collaros found Duron Carter for a 41-yard touchdown at 2:26 and Lauther added the convert.
The major was Carter’s first of the season; he started the previous five games at cornerback and got very few snaps on offence in those contests. It also was Carter’s first TD since Sept. 9, when he and Kevin Glenn combined on an 88-yard pass-and-run scoring play against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
On Thursday, the Eskimos answered immediately. Reilly connected with Walker for 24- and 36-yard gains, the last of which was a touchdown at 4:40 of the third quarter. Whyte’s convert gave the Eskimos a 17-14 lead.
The Roughriders thought they had taken the lead at 13:02 of the third quarter on a one-yard scoring run by quarterback David Watford on a third-and-goal play, but the CFL’s Command Centre determined Watford was down short of the goal line.
The Eskimos took possession at their one-yard line and gained five yards on an offside penalty against Jefferson. After back-to-back incompletions by Reilly, Hugh O’Neill conceded a safety that cut the Eskimos’ lead to 17-16 at 14:11.
The Roughriders took the lead at 4:30 of the fourth quarter, when Lauther kicked a 33-yard field goal. That three-pointer was set up by a Tobi Antigha fumble recovery at the Edmonton 28-yard line.
The Eskimos scored the game’s final points, on Reilly’s TD run and a 46-yard field goal by Whyte at 14:31.
Reilly had a league-high 147 completions entering the game. He managed just 13 on Thursday, for 257 yards.
Collaros, who had missed Saskatchewan’s previous four games with a concussion, was 22-for-34 passing for 261 yards in his first start since June 21.
“I felt comfortable,” he said. “It usually takes a series or two, especially after a long layoff, to get acclimated to game speed and, on a short week, it was tough.”
Rookie Jordan Williams-Lambert led the Roughriders with 86 yards on four receptions. Tailback Tre Mason had seven catches for 47 yards and seven carries for 62 yards.
Walker was the Eskimos’ offensive leader with six catches and 154 yards, while Gable had 81 yards rushing on 14 carries.
