EDMONTON, Alberta (CP) - Geroy Simon had a dramatic 62-yard touchdown catch with 12 seconds remaining as the B.C. Lions rallied to beat the Edmonton Eskimos 34-31 in a chilly CFL showdown on Friday night.
Trailing 27-24 with 1:32 to play in the game, Edmonton got the ball at the Lions 30 after a poor punt. Quarterback Ricky Ray hit Fred Stamps for a 27-yard gain and then took it in himself from the one-yard line to put Edmonton ahead with less than a minute to play.
The game looked over, but Lions QB Buck Pierce found Simon on a long pass in the final seconds. As he cradled the ball in his hands, a pair of Edmonton defenders collided - allowing him a free lane into the end zone for the victory in front of a stunned crowd at Commonwealth Stadium.
With their sixth win in their last nine outings, the Lions (7-7) moved into a second-place tie in the West with Saskatchewan.
The slide continued for the Eskimos (6-8), who fell to fourth in the West and have lost three games in a row and five of their last six.
The game drew 30,120 fans, mainly due to the cold conditions. Players and fans were greeted with a temperature of -4 C at kickoff, and a bitter wind made it feel even colder.
The Lions struck first at the six-minute mark as Paul McCallum booted a 20-yard field goal after Edmonton's Jamaica Rector lost the ball on his own 38 on a fumble forced and recovered by Stephen Williams.
Edmonton got the ball back on a Lions fumble with a minute left as Trestin George bobbled a punt and stood stunned as Eskimo Jason Nugent hustled to jump on the ball on the B.C. 28. The Eskimos couldn't do anything with the opportunity, settling for a single point on a missed Noel Prefontaine field goal to make it 3-1 after the first quarter.
The Lions put some real points on the board just 31 seconds into the second as Pierce found Simon on a 39-yard touchdown catch.
B.C. got the ball back quickly, after a pressured Prefontaine botched a punt attempt, throwing a pass instead that found Lions linebacker James Yurichuk. The Lions drove down the field and capped it off with a 10-yard rushing TD by Martell Mallett to go up 17-1.
The struggling Edmonton offence finally got something going with five minutes left in the second as Stamps made a great catch on a high pass from Ray and squeezed past the defence for a 40-yard TD.
The teams traded field goals, giving the Lions a 20-11 lead into the break.
B.C. built on its lead five minutes into the third as Ryan Grice-Mullen finished off the opening drive with a nine-yard TD reception in the corner of the end zone.
The Eskimos battled back on their next possession as Maurice Mann hauled in a 12-yard pass from Ray with Dante March draped all over him to make it 27-18.
The Edmonton defence kept B.C. from responding as Jason Goss came up with an interception in the Eskimos end zone, wrestling the ball away in the air on a long pass to Emmanuel Arceneaux. The Eskimos answered with a 23-yard field goal from Prefontaine.
The Esks kicker added a 42-yard field goal with four minutes left to make it a three-point difference at 27-24 to set up the dramatic finish.
The Eskimos travel to Toronto to face the Argos next Friday while the Lions are in Winnipeg next Sunday.
Notes: Despite kicking the winning field goal in B.C.'s last game against Saskatchewan, rookie Sean Whyte was replaced in the game by veteran kicker Paul McCallum due to his experience booting the ball in winter conditions... B.C. entered the game with the most sacks in the league with 37 while Edmonton had allowed the fewest at 21 ... Simon has now recorded a reception in 120 consecutive games ... The two teams play each other again on the final week of the CFL schedule on Nov. 6 in Vancouver.
