VANCOUVER - Chalk one up for the hogs.
The Edmonton offensive line dominated the B.C. Lions on Friday as
the Eskimos nailed down the third and final playoff spot in the CFL's
West Division. "We dominated the line of scrimmage all game and my job
was easy," tailback Arkee Whitlock said after a convincing 45-13
victory. "All I had to do was get the ball and run. I had holes big
enough to run from here to Edmonton."
He almost did. Whitlock scored touchdowns on scampers of 13 and 15
yards while dancing through the Lions' secondary for 165 yards on 20
carries.
The win means the Eskimos can kick back this weekend while the Lions will gather in front of their TVs on Sunday.
They
need Hamilton to beat the Blue Bombers in Winnipeg or their season is
over. A Tiger-Cat victory would enable B.C. to squeak into the playoffs
as a crossover team, making them the third seed in the East.
The Lions were down to sophmore Zac Champion, their fifth quarterback on the depth chart, in the second half.
Starter Casey Printers injured his thumb on a hit in the first quarter, then Buck Pierce re-injured his shoulder on an unsuccessful third-down
sneak.
"It's unbelievable," said frustrated Lions slotback Geroy Simon. "We can't keep a quarterback healthy to save our lives.
"This is amazing. It's like we've never played football before. How many quarterbacks do we need to go through in a season?
"This game is the story of our season. It's biggest game of the year and we don't show up to play."
Jarious Jackson and Travis Lulay, the other B.C. pivots who saw action this injury-plagued season, were too banged up to dress.
"It's wonderful," Whitlock said of making the playoffs on the final game of the regular season.
"It's been a rough year for us. We fought all year for this moment.
To make it happen … with that type of victory I think is great for us …
and we don't have to sit in front of the TV this weekend."
When Whitlock took plays off, Calvin McCarty burst
through the line for 81 yards on 10 carries and the final
Edmonton touchdown.
Patrick Kabongo, the Esks' six-foot-seven, 325-pound guard, said the offensive line dominated as a unit.
"All five of us played super well," Kabongo said. "We're going to
take that win, go with that, and keep on climbing up because we've got
another big test, whoever it's going to be in the West.
"I'm glad we won but we haven't done much. We're still 9-9."
Edmonton will play on the Prairies in the West semifinal Nov. 15,
but will have to wait until the Calgary Stampeders and Saskatchewan
Roughriders decide first place on Saturday. Edmonton faces
the loser.
Quarterback Ricky Ray scored TDs on a pair of one-yard plunges
as the Eskimos had five rushing touchdowns for the first time in a game this
season.
Ray also tossed a four-yard scoring strike to Efrem Hill to give Edmonton a 24-13 halftime lead.
"I've barely gotten touched the last two games," said Ray, who was good on 19 of 26 passes for 248 yards.
However, he gave up an interception to Barron Miles that tied him with Larry Highbaugh at 66 career picks, second on the CFL's
all-time list.
"Whenever you dominate the line of scrimmage like that, good things
are going to happen offensively," Ray said. "Our run game was huge
tonight."
The Lions, who were outgained on the ground 260 yards to 84, actually held two early leads.
Miles's pick led to the first of two Paul McCallum field goals.
Martell Mallett scored on a five-yard run after Ryan Grice-Mullen
returned a kickoff 73 yards.
But the key play came from the Edmonton defence when it stuffed Pierce on third down.
Ray, who had just scored from a yard out, engineered a 46-yard
drive that culminated in Hill's reception with 16 seconds left in the
half.
"I thought we had a really good start, but they stuck with it, they
really stuck with it and we just didn't make enough stops," said B.C.
linebacker Javier Glatt. It's the first losing season of his
seven-year career.
Lions coach Wally Buono said his 8-10 club struggled on defence.
"I don't know if we lost hope during the game but the defence is relative to what's going on in the game."
He said he felt "a certain fatigue, a numbness" in his team.
"You hope when the game comes around you'll overcome all that. When
you see both quarterbacks get nicked it kind of takes the air out of
you."
Pierce, who took two injections, said he had no arm strength.
Buono said Jackson is not expected to be healthy if there is a next
game but Lulay could play.
NOTES: It was the last CFL game under B.C. Place Stadium's Teflon
dome … A $458-million retractable roof is expected to be in place for
the 2011 season … Players on both teams were battling the flu bug … The
Lions have never missed the playoffs under Buono.
