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Eskimos batter Glenn in season opening win

Jun 29, 2014 - 1:42 AM Vancouver, BC (SportsNetwork.com) - Mike Reilly threw for 229 yards and three touchdowns as the Edmonton Eskimos secured a 27-20 win over the British Columbia Lions at BC Place.

Edmonton (1-0), which won a total of just four games all of last season, rewarded Chris Jones with a victory in his first game as a CFL head coach. Reilly converted 22-of-35 and was picked off once in the triumph.

Receiver Adarius Bowman finished with nine catches for 105 yards, his highest reception total since grabbing 10 balls for 226 yards against Saskatchewan on November 4, 2011.

Kevin Glenn, acquired from the Ottawa RedBlacks during the off-season after the new CFL club picked him up from Calgary, was roughed up quite a bit as the new quarterback for British Columbia (0-1) hit on 18-of-28 for 251 yards and two touchdowns, but was also sacked four times and had four passes picked off.

Andrew Harris was the top target for Glenn, finishing with six catches for 102 yards and a major, adding another 37 yards on 11 rushing attempts.

BC entered the meeting having won five straight regular season matchups with the Eskimos.

The Lions opened the day's scoring on the first possession of the contest as Glenn rolled to his left and found Harris with a short pass, leaving the receiver to break several tackles and run about 40 yards to the end zone on the 55-yard scoring play.

Edmonton logged the equalizer later in the frame as Reilly connected with Calvin McCarty on a nine-yard TD pass play, the latter squeezing his way inside the cone on the right side of the goal line.

Moments later BC was knocking on the door once again after Glenn combined with Ernest Jackson on a 38-yard pass play along the left sideline and down to the five-yard line. Aided by a penalty near the goal line, Glenn lofted a three- yard floater into the end zone to T-Dre Player to move back out in front at 14-7.

Back on the attack, the Eskimos moved deep into BC territory early in the second quarter, but a sack of Reilly forced the visitors to opt for a 14-field goal by Grant Shaw.

After forcing BC to punt, the Eskimos again turned to Shaw after another drive stalled, as he knocked through a 42-yard field goal to cut the deficit to just a single point, 14-13.

With time running down in the first half, the Lions gained possession on their 43-yard line and moved the ball all the way down to the Edmonton nine before having to settle for a 16-yard Paul McCallum field goal. After that the Eskimos ran out the clock and went into the break down by four, 17-13.

Neither team made much of an impact in the third quarter, although Edmonton closed out the period with a 17-yard TD pass from Reilly to Fred Stamps, giving the visitors a 20-17 edge with 15 minutes to play. The major was set up by a fake punt.

The visitors opened up the play book with another trick to begin the fourth, choosing to take a chance with an on-side kick. The effort was successful as Patrick Watkins secured the ball before falling out of bounds, but the ensuing drive lasted just two plays before Edmonton was forced to punt away.

The Eskimos did manage to extend their lead later in the period when Reilly found Bowman with a 35-yard scoring strike. Reilly completed all four of his pass attempts on the drive.

Needing a field goal and a major to tie, BC called on McCallum to supply the former with just over three minutes left and he obliged with a 46-yard conversion, cutting the difference to 27-20.

Glenn had the Lions moving towards a potential tying score with under two minutes remaining, but on third down he tossed his fourth pick of the evening, this time to Eric Samuels at the Edmonton 30.

The BC defense held on defense and forced the Eskimos to punt, with the Lions regaining possession at their own 39-yard line with 27 seconds left on the clock. Glenn went to Harris with his first pass, but after the receiver caught the ball he was spun around and fumbled the ball over to Edmonton, sealing the victory for the visitors.