In a contest that didn’t seem as close as the final score indicated, the Lions pulled clear after half time behind the running of James Butler and then withstood a fourth-quarter Edmonton rally. The first quarter saw a fair bit of ball movement, but neither side could crack the end zone; the Elks got into position for two FGs behind a 54-yard throw from Ford to Dunbar on their first possession, and a 36-yard kickoff return by Smith midway through the quarter. BC got one three-pointer of their own after a short kickoff and a 24-yard strike from Rourke to Jackson.
Ford started by completing eight of his first nine passes, but got much less efficient as the first half wore on. BC got a single on Meyer’s deep punt, and Ford responded with three straight completions (after misfiring on four in a row) that got the Elks in range for Blanchard’s 41-yard kick. That gave BC the ball with a little over two minutes left, and they played the hurry-up to the hilt, driving into EDM territory with about a minute to go before Rourke hit Cottoy for two straight big gains that took the ball to the doorstep. Rourke evaded the pressure on 1st-and-goal from the 3 with 15 seconds left and scampered across the goal line on the final play of the half to put BC in front.
The third quarter was all Lions - on their first possession of the second half, Butler ran five times for 60 yards, scoring from 21 yards out; on their last possession of the quarter, Rourke went 5-for-6 for 64 yards and Butler finished off the drive from four yards away on the final play of the period. BC was up by sixteen points heading into the final stanza, Edmonton had not managed a single first down in the previous fifteen minutes, and it looked like it was all over but for the crying.
Not quite so fast - Smith returned the ensuing kickoff 64 yards, Ford hit Leake from 12 yards for a major and it was nine-point gap with 12:30 left. The Lions made it ten when Meyer (55.9 punting average) again drilled a punt too deep to bring out, and then held Edmonton on the ensuing drive despite a roughing the passer call that gave EDM a first down near midfield. With 6:30 to go, the Elks got the ball back and Ford immediately hit Gittens with a 33-yard strike over the middle, and Rankin then ran for 22 yards to get the ball to the fringe of the red zone before he himself did the major honors on a first-and-goal from the ten. It was now a three-point game with a little under three minutes to go and Edmonton, with their TO still in hand and needing only a FG, elected to kick the ball deep. But Rourke found Butler for two huge receptions which netted first downs that emptied the Elks of their time outs, and the Lions ran out the clock.
James Butler was the hero for British Columbia, with 129 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries as well as four receptions. FINAL: British Columbia 26, Edmonton 23.
Contribution to the Facebook co-op replay . . .
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| James Butler shreds the Edmonton defense for 129 yards and two scores |
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