Toronto Argonauts vs Edmonton Eskimos Box Score on Aug 23, 2014

SportsDirect Inc. staff
Aug 23, 2014

Eskimos 41, Argonauts 27: Odell Willis recorded two of his team’s five sacks and Dexter McCoil scored two touchdowns off turnovers to help host Edmonton overcome the loss of Mike Reilly and win its third straight game.

Reilly suffered an injury to his throwing hand on his first play and Matt Nichols was 15-for-28 passing for 178 yards, a touchdown to A.J. Guyton and two interceptions in replacement for the Eskimos (7-1), while Kendial Lawrence rushed for 91 yards and one touchdown. McCoil recorded two interceptions and returned an interception by Willis for a touchdown, while Gregory Alexandre, Almond Sewell and Eddie Steele also recorded sacks.

Ricky Ray completed 25-of-43 passes for 277 yards, throwing touchdowns to Chad Owens and Jason Barnes but also tossing three interceptions for Toronto (3-6), who fell to 1-4 on the road. Owens caught seven passes for 92 yards and one touchdown in his return to the lineup, but did not finish the game.

Willis batted a pass attempt by Ray into the air and caught it himself, then sent a lateral to McCoil, who had a clear path to the end zone to put the Eskimos up 24-7 with 6:12 remaining in the first half. McCoil picked Ray off and returned it 19 yards for his second touchdown of the game with 11 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter to clinch the victory.

Ray opened the scoring with a 17-yard toss to Barnes in the first quarter, but Lawrence answered with a 61-yard touchdown run on the following series and Edmonton began to pull away when Nichols found Guyton for a 48-yard touchdown 3:12 into the second quarter. Pat White scored on a 5-yard rush with 1:03 remaining in the first half to cap a run of 31 straight points for the Eskimos.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Owens’ return lasted three quarters as he suffered a knee injury on the first play of the fourth and left the contest. … Ray is 92 passing yards shy of becoming the sixth CFL quarterback to reach 50,000 in his career. … Edmonton is 5-0 against East Division opponents.