Eskimos Earn Grey Cup Redemption

[Jenya]

Eskimos Earn Grey Cup Redemption

By DAVID NAYLOR
The Globe and Mail

Regina, SK — The Edmonton Eskimos' 10-year Grey Cup drought ended yesterday on a frozen field in Saskatchewan with a 34-22 win over the Montreal Alouettes, the same team that narrowly edged them out in the big game a year ago.

There was little doubt heading into the 91st Grey Cup that the Canadian Football League had its two best teams going head to head. That proved true yesterday in a game that featured some outstanding plays by both teams, and, in typical Grey Cup style, remained in doubt until late in the final quarter.

The victory was especially sweet for an Edmonton team that has remained largely intact over the past several seasons, in which they had been denied Canadian football's biggest prize, despite having some excellent teams.

"There's nothing sweeter," Edmonton head coach Tom Higgins said. "It's a group that we've been able to hold together for a while. It's fun when they believe in one another. It didn't seem like they were going to be denied."

While the frigid conditions might have dictated a game in which the running games played a major role, yesterday's game was played mostly through the air.

Edmonton's Ricky Ray passed for 301 yards and two touchdowns, both of which went to Jason Tucker, who was chosen as the game's most valuable player. On the other side, Montreal's Anthony Calvillo managed 371 yards of passing, but wasn't able to lead his team on sustained drives during the second half, in which the Als punted seven consecutive times.

The win capped an amazing couple of years for Ray, who was a virtual unknown when he came to the CFL in 2002 and is surely destined for the NFL next season.

"I never would have imagined it being like this," the 24-year-old said. "I was in the right place at the right time and took advantage of the opportunity that was given to me. It's been a dream come true."

Yesterday's first half featured the Als and Esks trading momentum like a table tennis game, one team scoring with a deep strike, then the other responding in the same manner on the very next series.

But after Bryan Adams and Sam Roberts finished their halftime show, neither team seemed able to sustain much offence as the defences took over and a battle over field position ensued. As the weather turned frigid (the wind chill was estimated at —5) and the field became slick with frost, it was the Eskimos who managed to come out on top by scoring the only touchdown of the half early in the fourth quarter.

That came on a one-yard carry by Ray, set up by a pass interference penalty against Montreal's D.J. Johnson in the end zone. That was just one of many tough plays yesterday for Johnson, who along with fellow rookie corner Brandon Williams were burned several times, first by Ed Hervey and later by Jason Tucker.

In the end, the decision by Montreal head coach Don Matthews to replace veterans Wayne Shaw and Omar Evans with Williams and Johnson seemed to backfire.

"The veteran's savvy makes you more comfortable out there," Shaw said. "A rookie is kind of more nervous. [Veterans] can read routes a little bit better, and stuff like that. You know what is coming a little better. If I was out there, maybe [I could have done better], maybe not."

The Eskimos began yesterday looking as though they might blow out the Alouettes, scoring on a five-play drive highlighted by a 41-yard pass from Ray to Ed Hervey that went to the Montreal 4.

Mike Pringle then carried the ball in to give Edmonton a 7-0 lead just 2:43 into the game.

Hervey's catch turned out to be his second last of the day, as the big receiver left the game with a groin pull midway through the first quarter and did not return.

The game bogged down briefly during the first quarter until Ray struck again, early in the second. This time, Tucker got open deep over the middle, where Ray hit him perfectly in stride for a 41-yard touchdown that made the score 14-0 and delighted the overwhelmingly pro-Edmonton crowd.

The Als got to the doorstep of the Edmonton end zone after Montreal receiver Ben Cahoon, who was selected as the top Canadian player, made a spectacular catch at the Edmonton 6 by leaping and bringing the ball in one-handed before crashing to the turf. On the next play from scrimmage, Calvillo handed off to running back Deonce Whitaker, who tossed the ball to wide-open Pat Woodcock in the end zone.

The Als kept the momentum going their way on Edmonton's next series when Montreal's Anwar Stewart forced Pringle to cough up the ball at the Edmonton 31, where the Alouettes recovered it. On Montreal's ensuing play, Calvillo, after dodging an Eskimos blitz, hit Girard for the game's third touchdown pass, which tied the score 14-14 with 3:15 to play in the half.

"That was what we expected," Ray said. "We knew it was going to be a battle and we knew that offensively we had to keep scoring points and keep them trying to play catch-up all night and we did a great job of that."

While the Als had played somewhat cautiously on defence to open the game, Montreal was clearly going for broke by the second quarter. The Als often put nine or 10 men on the line of scrimmage, repeatedly willing to challenge the Esks in order to prevent Ray from getting time to find his targets.

"The biggest challenge for us was to have enough time to throw the ball," Higgins said.

After Montreal tied the score 14-14, the Esks took the momentum back when Keith Stokes fumbled Edmonton's next punt, turning the ball over at the Montreal 46. Moments later, Ray hit Tucker with a 16-yard strike that returned the lead to Edmonton, 21-14 with 1:23 to play in the half.

In a game that was quickly evolving into one of pitch-and-catch, Calvillo tied the score with a 27-yard pass to Cahoon with 50 seconds remaining before halftime.

It appeared the teams might go to the half tied, until Stokes committed his second fumble of the game on Edmonton's next punt, which led to Sean Fleming's 27-yard field goal that made the score 24-21.

Michael Pringle is congratulated by teammates wide receiver Terry Vaughn (3) and wide receiver Jason Tucker (83) following his touchdown during first quarter CFL Grey Cup action Sunday

[TJ]

Wow a rare CFL post, congratulations to the Eskimos! NFL fans will remember Warren Moon started out in the CFL with Edmonton.

[stella]

Congratulations to the Eskimos for their well-deserved win. But I am a little confused about Montreal's last play of the game. With the ball on the one yard line, Calvillo elected to pass rather than go for a QB sneak which likely would have been a certain touchdown. And they declined the Eskimos offside penalty which would have given them another chance. True, there was no doubt as to the outcome of the game, but there may have been some uncertainty over the game's MVP.

With 371 passing yards to Ray's 301, Calvillo has better statistics in the air. Adding a rushing TD to his credentials may have swayed voters to make him the Grey Cup MVP for the second year in the row. While Jason Tucker's 7 catches for 132 yards and 2 TD's were good, he was still behind Cahoon in yardage, so voters may have had second thoughts on the MVP selection.

True, being game MVP may be small consolation, but there have been times when a member of the losing team was voted MVP:

1994 - Karl Anthony of Baltimore
1981 - J.C. Watts of Ottawa

[Jenya]

Originally posted by stella
Congratulations to the Eskimos for their well-deserved win. But I am a little confused about Montreal's last play of the game. With the ball on the one yard line, Calvillo elected to pass rather than go for a QB sneak which likely would have been a certain touchdown. And they declined the Eskimos offside penalty which would have given them another chance. True, there was no doubt as to the outcome of the game, but there may have been some uncertainty over the game's MVP.

That explains all of the screaming and shouting in Montréal's bars on Sunday night!!

[EricIdlefan]

Warren Moon was an awesome QB!!!