Riders overcome lightning, Eskimos
The Saskatchewan Roughriders took over the CFL West Division lead with a 39-32 victory over Edmonton in a seesaw game Saturday night that featured a 55-minute delay due to lightning.
Quarterback Kerry Joseph plunged in from one yard out to put Saskatchewan (6-2) ahead to stay with just under five minutes remaining. Joseph also connected with D.J. Flick on two touchdown passes, with Chris Szarka adding a rushing touchdown.
"This is a first for me," Joseph told CBC Sports after the game. "It's a special win to go through what we went through."
Receiver Matt Dominguez was an offensive force for the Riders to help bail out Joseph and Flick, who each committed critical errors earlier in the game.
Dominguez caught seven passes for 171 yards, with a 69-yard reception setting up the winning touchdown.
Edmontonwas leading 32-27 at the beginning of the fourth when lightning struck at Mosaic Stadium in Regina. The storm knocked out power temporarily.
Elliotte Friedman, of CBC Sports, said the league had considered playing the final 15 minutes on Sunday before deciding to proceed when the lightning threat subsided.
"It was tough, but we came out and we got into a rhythm early," Joseph said of the delay.
For the second week in a row the Eskimos' offensive unit continually failed to move the chains in the second half, leaving their defensiveteammates on the field for long stretches.
Edmonton (3-4-1) has scored just 11 offensive points in the last two games.
Flick atones for miscue
The Eskimos led 14-10 after the first, with Ricky Ray throwing his league-leading 15th touchdown to T.J. Acree and Steven Jyles plunging in from a yard out.
Flick, who had already caught a pass for a score,dropped a certain touchdownin the end zone in the second quarter. The balldeflected off his hands and into the arms of Edmonton safety William Loftus.
Ray made the Riders pay for the mistake, finding four different Eskimos for completions before Jyles snuck in for his second rushing touchdown as Edmonton took a 12-point lead.
Szarka sparked a Saskatchewan rally late in the second. The veteran fullback scored on a two-yard run and then added a 15-yard completion to set up Flick's second touchdown, a 13-yard play.
Flick leads the CFL with seven touchdown receptions.
The Roughriders led 24-22 at halftime but Joseph threwhis secondinterception of the game in the third, amistake thatwas returned 46 yards for a score by Jason Goss of the Eskimos, putting Edmonton back on top.
A field goal from Riders kicker Luca Congi cut the margin to 32-27 when the storm came, with the Eskimos coming out completely flat when play resumed.
Joseph threw for 343 yards on 17-for-29 passing. Ray went 25-for-31 for 361 yards and no interceptions.
Kamau Peterson was Edmonton's leading receiver, hauling in six passes for 112 yards.
The game ended after midnight local time, but each team will now enjoy a bye week.
The Riders areone point ahead of B.C. and will next play against Winnipeg in a Sept. 2 home game. The Eskimosplay the Labour Day classic in Calgary.
"We got a week off to take some rest," Joseph said. "We just gotta come back and continue the work we've been doing and continue to run this race, because it's a long race."
Saskatchewan holds a 2-1 lead in the season series. The teamswill meet for the final time in the regular season on Oct. 26 in Edmonton.