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11/15/2009
The Edmonton Eskimos' 2009 season has come to an end, with a 24-21 loss to the Calgary Stampeders in the CFL West Division semi-final Sunday afternoon.
Stamps' quarterback Henry Burris threw a pair of touchdown passes -- one to Arjei Franklin, and the other to Romby Bryant -- while Joffrey Reynolds gained 127 yards along the ground to help the defending-Grey Cup champions advance to the West Division final next weekend in Regina.
Ricky Ray and the Eskimos' offence struggled for much of the day, with only a Ray touchdown on a quarterback sneak mid-way through the fourth quarter to show for its efforts. The Eskimos' only other major came by way of a 93-yard kick-off return by Skyler Green in the third quarter, after the Stamps had jumped out to a 16-7 lead on the Burris-to-Franklin touchdown.
The Esks could only muster 234 yards total offence on the afternoon. Fred Stamps hauled in four passes from Ray for 76 yards. Arkee Whitlock, who was strong in the final two games to help Edmonton get into the post season, rushed for 50 yards on 11 carries. Noel Prefontaine kicked a pair of field-goals -- both in the first half, as Edmonton trailed 9-7 at the break.
The Eskimos appeared poised to at least tie the ball game late in the fourth quarter, when Ray hit Stamps for a big gain to the Calgary 47. But, the Esks then took themselves out of field goal range by taking two penalties, and Ray was sacked for a 10-yard loss. Edmonton punted the ball with less than three minutes left, and never got the ball back as the rushing tandem of Burris and Reynolds helped the Stampeders run out the clock.
Calgary continues its quest to repeat as champs, with this year's game on its home turf at McMahon Stadium in two weeks time. But, the Stampeders will have to get by a Saskatchewan Roughriders' team that has not lost to Calgary in three meetings this season, including a big 30-14 victory at Mosaic Stadium last weekend that gave the 'Riders first place in the West Division for the first time since 1976.
The East Division final will feature the heavily-favoured Montreal Allouettes and the B.C. Lions, who crossed over from the West because of a better record than both Winnipeg and Toronto. The Lions advanced to the division final with a thrilling 34-27 overtime win in Hamilton, Sunday.(bp)
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