Stampeders edge Eskimos in CFL West semifinal
Last Updated: Sunday, November 15, 2009 | 8:01 PM ET
by Brandon Hicks, CBC Sports
Stamps quarterback Henry Burris throws during the first half CFL Western semifinal action against the Edmonton Eskimos in Calgary on Sunday. (Jeff McIntosh/Canadian Press)Calgary Stampeders quarterback Henry Burris wasn't his usual dominant self against the visiting Eskimos on Sunday, but he did enough to keep the defending Grey Cup champs on track to repeat.
Burris only went 19-for-32 with 264 passing yards but scored Calgary's only two touchdowns during a 24-21 win in the West Division semifinal in front of 31,356 fans at McMahon Stadium.
"Our experience came through for us today and the fact you never say a champion is dead until he's dead," Burris said. "The guys are resilient in this locker room."
Last season's Grey Cup MVP added 63 rushing yards to his total, with seven of those yards coming on a crucial, game-icing drive with two and a half minutes to go.
His 29-yard dart to wideout Romby Bryant put the Stamps up 24-14 a couple minutes into the fourth quarter and it ended up being the difference in the game.
Edmonton cut the deficit to three when quarterback Ricky Ray plunged into the end zone on a one-yard rush with 7:47 to go, but couldn't get any closer than that.
"At some point in time we've got to step up and make a play in the fourth quarter," Edmonton coach Ritchie Hall said. "They made the play and we didn't make the play. Therefore, they're still playing."
Ray went 18-for-30 with 162 passing yards, and his touchdown was the Eskimos' only major.
"We had a couple opportunities there for some deep throws that we just couldn't connect on," said Ray. "Those are big game-changing plays and we just missed on some of those opportunities."
Regular-season dominance
Burris torched Edmonton's defence for 1,503 yards and eight touchdown passes in four regular-season games this year. Including the playoffs, Calgary went 4-1 against the Eskimos this season.
"Guys continued to plug and get after it for 60 minutes," Burris said. "We knew it was going to be a tough battle. It's hard to beat a team four times, trust me."
Calgary placekicker Sandro DeAngelis was 3-for-3 on field goal attempts, scoring from 21, 20 and five yards. Edmonton's Noel Prefontaine went 2-for-2, hitting from nine and 36 yards out.
The Stamps have a date with the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the West Division final next Sunday in Regina.
"They beat us last week soundly. Here's our opportunity to go in and make wrongs a right now," Burris said.
Arjei Franklin caught Burris's other touchdown pass. Franklin and Bryant scored their first TDs for Calgary since joining the team after they were traded by Winnipeg on Sept. 20.
Hanging around
The Esks hung around after they held the potent Calgary offence to field goals during several first-half drives into the Edmonton red zone, which could have blown the game wide open.
Burris led his charges inside the Eskimos 20-yard line three times in the first half but only came away with nine points as the Stamps led 9-7 at halftime.
The 34-year-old Calgary QB threw for his first touchdown of the game with 9:56 to go in the third, a nine-yard pass to Franklin to put the Stampeders up 16-7.
Edmonton responded on the very next play thanks to Skyler Green, who scampered to a 93-yard kickoff return touchdown to make the score 16-14.
A Calgary single made the score 17-14 on the first play of the fourth quarter before Burris threw his second TD.
Ray scored his major after a 65-yard drive at 7:44, and the Eskimos were aided on the drive by 35 Calgary penalty yards.
With the win, the Stampeders snapped a three-game losing streak in division semifinals to their provincial rivals. It was the 10th meeting between the two teams in a Western semifinal.
With files from The Canadian Press
