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Four FGs by Shaw help Eskimos down Lions

Jul 21, 2012 - 5:39 AM Vancouver, BC (Sports Network) - Grant Shaw connected on four field goals Friday, including the go-ahead boot late in the third quarter and the Edmonton Eskimos knocked off the British Columbia Lions, 27-14, at BC Place.

Hugh Charles racked up 118 yards on 20 carries and added three catches for 61 yards. Steven Jyles completed 10-of-16 passes for 150 yards before leaving the game in the third quarter due to a stiff neck. Kerry Joseph hit on 4-of-6 through the air for 60 yards in relief.

Dobson Collins caught a pair of balls for 64 yards and Joe Burnett snared two interceptions, returning one for a touchdown for the Eskimos (3-1), who moved into a first-place tie with Saskatchewan in the West Division.

Travis Lulay threw for 315 yards on 25-of-35 passing, and had one touchdown and two interceptions. Andrew Harris caught 11 passes for 120 yards and ran for 65 yards and a score on nine carries for the Lions (2-2), who suffered their first home loss of the season.

Late in the third quarter, Jyles completed passes of 17 and 39 yards during a seven-play, 61-yard Eskimos drive before Shaw was good on his third field goal of the day from 15 yards away to put Edmonton on top for good, 16-14.

Edmonton got the ball back at their own 26 following a two-and-out, and Joseph led the team on a nine-play, 64-yard drive down to the BC 20 before Shaw hit a 28-yard field goal to widen the margin to 19-14 with 9:18 remaining.

Lulay, the reigning Grey Cup MVP, engineered a good-looking drive down to the Edmonton five on the ensuing possession and the Lions looked poised to take the lead, but he made a critical mistake when he was picked off in the end zone by Burnett, who returned it 108 yards for the score and a 26-14 Edmonton advantage.

After both teams failed to generate much offense through the first 10-plus minutes of the opening quarter, the defending Grey Cup champs struck first.

Starting from their own 15, Lulay led his team on an eight-play, 95-yard march to the end zone and capped the drive with a short five-yard pass to Marco Iannizzi, who fought his way to the goal line before being brought down across the line for the score.

Edmonton bridged the first and second quarters with an 11-play, 68-yard march which resulted in a chip-shot 15-yard field goal from Shaw, pulling the Eskimos within 7-3 early in the second frame.

Late in the second quarter, the Eskimos defense came up with a huge play when Lulay lofted a pass down the right sideline that was undercut and picked off by Burnett, who brought it back 25 yards to the BC 11-yard line.

From there however, the Edmonton offense stalled and Shaw connected on another short field goal -- this one from 22 yards out -- cutting the Lions lead to 7-6 heading into the break.

Burnett took the second-half kickoff for Edmonton and galloped 43 yards into BC territory. Facing 2nd-and-7 on the Lions 15, Jyles fired one over the middle intended for Fred Stamps that fell incomplete, but Korey Banks was whistled for pass interference, bringing the ball to the five-yard line.

Charles pushed his way into the end zone from there, giving the Eskimos a 13-7 lead with 11:38 remaining in the third quarter.

The Lions, though, took the lead right back on their ensuing drive as Lulay marched his team 91 yards in nine plays before Harris plowed his way into the end zone from the two-yard line, making it 14-13 with 5:24 left.

Game Notes

Dating back to 1954 and taking into consideration only regular season meetings, Edmonton owns a 103-71-4 advantage in the all-time series with BC...Jyles left the game at the tail end of the third quarter after taking a shot to the head from BC defender Anton Mckenzie...Eskimos linebacker J.C. Sherritt collected his 100th career tackle in the third quarter...Lulay has thrown at least one TD pass in 15 straight games...Edmonton snapped a four- game skid against the Lions...Former Lions defensive end Brent Johnson was inducted into the Lions Hall of Fame at halftime. Johnson finished with 89 sacks over his 10-year career, which included two Grey Cup Championships.