John MacKinnon
Edmonton Journal
Shades of Downtown Eddie Brown in the 1996 Grey Cup.
Shades of that Hail Mary touchdown pass from Alex Brink to Chris Matthews in Winnipeg on July 26 late in the first half that helped the Blue Bombers defeat Edmonton 23-22.
When a not-quite-miracle catch happened on Friday night, you had to excuse a lot of Eskimo fans for thinking it was happening again, and against the club’s bitter rival, the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
When a defence does pretty much everything right, you don’t expect them to watch an opponent lug the football 57 yards to the vicinity of your own goal-line. Then tie up a game shortly before the end of the first half.
But pixie dust does get sprinkled about the football field, now and then.
How else to explain a play in which Roughrider quarterback Darren Durant gunned a pass that Weston Dressler briefly caught, then was rocked by a hellacious hit from Eskimo defensive back Weldon Brown, whereupon the ball caromed off Brown’s foot, popped up and off the hands of Eskimo cornerback Rod Williams and ultimately was snared by Saskatchewan receiver Taj Smith.
He alertly lit out for the end zone with the ball, while a massive Commonwealth Stadium crowd of 43,178 watched in stunned disbelief, waiting for the referees to whistle down an obvious incompletion.
Except this was a completed pass, however indirect and wildly improbable its journey into the hands of Smith.
Anyhow, Smith sprinted 57 yards to the Eskimo 13-yard line.
It wasn’t exactly the Immaculate Reception, but it was close enough for the Eskimos liking.
Three plays later, Drew Willy plunged over from the one-yard line to score the Riders first TD of the game, which made it 10-10.
So, instead of an interception by the Esks’ Williams handing the Eskimos possession near midfield or, forcing Durant into a second and 10, the football Gods gift-wrapped a major score by the Riders.
You talk about a momentum swing. This was a wildly improbable reversal, the sort of play that can demoralize.
This can happen in football, obviously.
Back in ’96, Eskimo receiver Eddie Brown famously caught, then dropped a Danny McManus bomb, which bounced off his foot in full flight, back to his hands for a 64-yard TD in a thick carpet of snow at Ivor Wynne Stadium in Hamilton.
Last year, in the Labour Day rematch, the Eskimos were back in a prevent defence when the Calgary Stampeders quarterback lofted a Hail Mary pass, a desperation lob, if ever there were one.
Except defensive back Chris Thompson leaped and batted the ball right into the hands of Calgary receiver Nik Lewis, who calmly strode into the end zone, a key play in a 30-20 Stampeder victory.
Friday night, that late first half play swung the momentum the Riders’ way into the third quarter. But that was temporary, not fatal.
On the Riders’ first second-half possession, Durant drove his team 78 yards on seven plays, scoring himself on a 27-yard run up the gut. That made the score 17-10 Saskatchewan, which had scored 14 straight points.
Of course, reversals go both ways in football.
So it was that Durant hit Dressler for a short pass at 10:40 of the third quarter. This time, Dressler was rocked by Thompson, forcing another fumble. Eskimo cornerback Joe Burnett collected the loose ball and sped 44 yards for a TD.
The Eskimos, who had managed a field goal earlier in the quarter, had taken the lead 20-17. That was hard-nosed defensive football, no pixie dust required.
“I think that’s a testament to our team because if you go back to Winnipeg and we had that similar Hail Mary to end the (first half),” said linebacker J.C. Sherritt, who picked off a Durant pass with 1:42 left in the game Friday night to snuff one Rider drive. “In this game, you just can’t let that affect you.”
On Friday night, the Eskimos didn’t lose the lead again, try as Durant did to manufacture some late-game hocus-pocus.
In the end, Durant heaved up a Hail Mary to the Eskimo end zone as the seconds ticked to zero. This time, the ball was picked off by Thompson.
Game over; justice served.
jmackinnon@edmontonjournal.com
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