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Eskimos overcome large halftime deficit, down Roughriders

Jan 9, 2008 - 5:17 PM EDMONTON, Alberta (Ticker) -- The Edmonton Eskimos rode the arm of quarterback Ricky Ray on Friday, charging back from a 19-point halftime deficit to post a 21-20 victory over the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

Ray went 31-of-44 for 349 yards and a score in the contest, helping the Eskimos (2-1-1) overcome a 20-1 deficit. The large margin was created when Edmonton allowed Jason Armstead to return a punt 90 yards for a TD late in the first half.

After reserve quarterback Stefan LeFors connected with Rob Brown from five yards out early in the third quarter to pull the Eskimos within 20-8, Ray found 2003 Grey Cup MVP Jason Tucker in the end zone for an 11-yard scoring strike at the 9:24 mark that narrowed the gap to five points.

From there, Edmonton's defense took over, shutting out Saskatchewan over the second half after surrendering 17 points in the second quarter alone.

Sean Fleming booted a 29-yard field goal to cap the 17-point period for the Eskimos. He completed the comeback with 2:07 remaining in the fourth, converting a 47-yard attempt for a 21-20 edge.

Kerry Joseph completed 16-of-32 passes for 200 yards and ran for another 64 in the loss for the Roughriders (2-2), who have lost nine straight road games against the Eskimos.