Byron Parker intercepted a Ricky Ray pass and returned it for a touchdown with just over a minute remaining as the Toronto Argonauts eliminated the Eskimos from playoff contention with a 28-25 win Saturday afternoon in Edmonton.
The Eskimos, who won the Grey Cup last season, had qualified for the post-season for 34 straight years, the longest active streak in North American professional sports. But Saturday's loss left Edmonton (5-11) four points back of the Saskatchewan Roughriders for the final playoff spot in the West with two games to play.
"I'm definitely not feeling very good," said Ray. "You feel like you fail and that's what we did.
The Eskimos' Trevor Gaylor is upended by the Argonauts' Kenny Wheaton during Saturday's game in Edmonton.
(Jason Scott/Canadian Press)
"Every team's goal is to get to the playoffs and win the championship and we didn't do it this year. You definitely don't want to be the team that ends a streak like this. It's frustrating. But I guess you have to be proud that you were a part of a streak like that as well. It just shows how amazing that streak was."
After falling behind 21-10 late in the fourth quarter, Edmonton started a comeback as Ray hit Jason Tucker for a 12-yard touchdown and the ensuing two-point conversion.
The Eskimos got the ball back with under three minutes to play and marched the ball to the Argos 49-yard line before Parker snatched a floater from Ray and raced 75 yards for the game-clinching score.
Ray completed 27-of-48 passes for 332 yards and a touchdown, but was intercepted twice by Parker. Ray also ran seven yards for a touchdown with the game already out of reach in the final seconds.
"Something like this was bound to happen some time," said Eskimos CEO Hugh Campbell. "I'm just glad it didn't happen last year.
"It is what it is. It was this year. It's unfortunate and we tried to avoid it but it happened."
Jason Tucker and Darrell Mitchell each went over 100 yards receiving on the day, while Troy Davis rushed for 118 yards on 18 carries for Edmonton.
Toronto's Damon Allen threw for 223 yards and two touchdowns, one each to Andre Talbot and Arland Bruce, to help the Argos (10-5) move into sole possession of first place in the East.
"It's a bittersweet moment," Toronto coach Mike Clemons said of Edmonton's playoff streak. "It was sweet because we needed the victory in terms of what we are trying to do, but what they have done here in Edmonton is really special so I'm not the type of guy who takes pride in ending a streak like that — especially with all the adversity they have had to deal with this year.
"I'd just as soon be knocking someone else out of the playoffs rather than this football team."
Slow start
Edmonton scored the only first-quarter points when Toronto punter Noel Prefontaine took a safety.
The Eskimos looked to widen their lead late in the first, but Argonauts defensive lineman Eric England got a paw on Sean Fleming's 24-yard field-goal attempt.
Fleming tried some trickery on the first play of the second quarter, faking a 44-yard field goal and dropping an on-side kick near the Argos goal line. The Eskimos, though, failed to recover the ball.
After Prefontaine surrendered another safety, Allen got the Toronto offence in gear with a 51-yard pass to Tony Miles. Two plays later, Allen shovelled an option toss to Avery, who scampered 23 yards for a touchdown.
The Eskimos forced the Argonauts to punt from deep in their own zone in the final minute of the half. Edmonton capitalized on the short field, tying the game with a 26-yard Fleming field goal.
Second-half fireworks
Fleming put his team back in the lead with a 32-yarder early in the third quarter, and the Eskimos forced the Argos to punt on their ensuing possession. But Tony Tompkins fumbled the return deep in Edmonton territory, Mike O'Shea recovered and Allen immediately hit Talbot for a nine-yard touchdown pass.
The Eskimos gambled with a fake punt from their own 44-yard line late in the third, but Mike Bradley was brought down just shy of a first down. The Argos failed to take advantage, though, as Prefontaine missed a 42-yard field-goal try.
After a defensive stop, the Argos stretched their lead as Allen completed three straight passes, the last a 28-yard touchdown strike to Bruce on the left side of the end zone that put Toronto up 21-10.
Tucker then made a leaping touchdown grab and scored the ensuing two-point conversion on a pass from Ray to bring the Eskimos within a field goal with under four minutes to play.
"This is a little hiccup," said head coach Danny Maciocia. "We'll wake up tomorrow and the sun will rise.
"The question is how are we going to handle it. We will be back and we will still be the Edmonton Eskimos that everyone has witnessed over the last number of years. This year we didn't get a few breaks and some of the other stuff was self-inflicted and here we are."
