Edmonton Eskimos beat Ottawa Redblacks 16-12 in CFL action Friday

It was a chippy affair under cloudy skies before 27,951 fans at Commonwealth Stadium, featuring multiple pushes and shoves and the odd haymaker punch after the whistle.

The teams are well acquainted. There are 13 former Redblacks on the Eskimo roster.

The Eskimos opened the scoring with about six minutes to play in the first quarter.

Edmonton capitalized on an Arjen Colquhoun interception to drive 68 yards on eight plays to paydirt, capped by a 28-yard touchdown run up the middle by Gable.

The Redblacks responded with Lewis Ward 10-yard field goal followed by a deep Davis pass to a streaking Dominique Rhymes down the middle for a 67-yard TD.

Ottawa failed on the two-point convert.

The teams swapped field goals in the second quarter.

Edmonton’s Sean Whyte hit from 44 yards but also saw a 45-yard attempt clang off the upright.

Lewis kicked a second three-pointer from 16 yards out to extend his CFL-record consecutive field goal streak to 69.

The Eskimos offence struggled when it counted for much of the game. They turned the ball over on downs three times in the first three quarters.

The third one was crushing.

With less than a minute to go in the third, the Redblacks stuffed Harris as he tried to plunge over the goal line on a third and one, leaving the score 12-10.

But Edmonton retook the momentum for good in the fourth quarter when Harris drove the offence 72 yards in seven plays.

Gable punched the ball through from the two-yard line at the 6:24 mark. The two-point convert failed, leaving the Esks up 16-12.

Edmonton’s defence held off a late-game charge by the Redblacks, who managed to drive the ball to the Eskimo 11 yard line before stalling wth 31 seconds left.

There was more bad news for Ottawa late in the fourth quarter when star kick returner DeVonte Dedmon had to be helped off the field following a third down Ottawa punt.

Dedmon electrified the league last week when he ran back two kicks for touchdowns against Montreal, but could not put any weight on his left leg as he left the field Friday.

The Eskimos managed to keep Dedmon in check. His best run was 41 yards on a kickoff in the first half, but he was otherwise bottled up.

Kick returner Christion Jones showed promise in his Eskimo debut, including returns of 27 and 28 yards in the first half.

Jones was acquired this week from Saskatchewan for receiver Kenny Stafford after kick returner Martese Jackson was placed on the six-game injured list.

Edmonton now heads to Toronto to play the Argonauts Friday.

Ottawa hosts the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on August 17.

The Canadian Press

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by Canadian Press

Edmonton Eskimos beat Ottawa Redblacks 16-12 in CFL action Friday

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