Hamilton holds on for 30-29 victory over Edmonton in basement battle

EDMONTON – Greg Ellingson reeled in a pair of Henry Burris TD passes as the Hamilton Tiger-Cats held on to snap a two-game losing skid with a narrow 30-29 victory over the Edmonton Eskimos in a battle between two of the CFL’s cellar-dwellers on Friday night.

The Tiger-Cats (2-4) also broke a nine-game road losing streak extending back into last season.

The Eskimos dropped to 1-5 and are 0-3 to start the season at home for the first time since the construction of Commonwealth Stadium.

Edmonton took a 3-0 lead six minutes in on a Grant Shaw field goal, coming on the heels of an Aaron Grymes interception on Hamilton’s opening drive.

The Tiger-Cats responded with a 17-yard Luca Congi field goal on their next possession.

The offensive attacks continued at a snails pace as the next scoring play was another Shaw field goal four minutes into the second quarter to make it 6-3 Edmonton.

Hamilton finally got things going midway through the second frame as C.J. Gable scored on an eight-yard touchdown run to put the Tabbies up 10-6.

The Tiger-Cats kept the momentum and capitalized on another long drive as Burris had a ton of time to connect with Ellingson for a 17-yard passing major with just under two minutes to play in the second quarter to make it 17-6.

A large contingent of frustrated Edmonton fans booed their team off the field at the half.

Hamilton conceded a safety early in the third quarter to pull Edmonton to within nine points.

Congi got those points back with a 38-yard field goal with five minutes left in the third quarter to put the Tiger-Cats up 20-8.

Edmonton finally found its way into the end zone with a minute left in the third quarter.

A 37-yard passing play from Mike Reilly to Fred Stamps set up a five-yard pitch from backup quarterback Kerry Joseph to Hugh Charles, who scampered across the goal line to make it 20-15 heading into the fourth.

The Tiger-Cats responded just two minutes into the fourth as Burris rifled a 17-yard pass to Ellingson for his second touchdown of the game and a 27-15 Hamilton lead.

Edmonton battled back to remain in the game with five minutes left as a 35-yard passing play to Cary Koch set up a seven-yard TD pass from Reilly to a leaping Marcus Henry to make it 27-22.

The Tiger-Cats kicked a field goal to give themselves an important cushion with two minutes left, making it 30-22.

Edmonton came flying back as a 40-yard passing play to Koch led to a three-yard passing play from Joseph to Calvin McCarthy with 1:24 remaining. The Eskimos attempted a two-point convert to tie the game but running back Jon White dropped a pass from Joseph.

Hamilton attempted a passing play on second down with under 30 seconds left and were unable to run out the clock and the Eskimos got the ball back to midfield, but Shaw’s 50-yard field goal try came up short, giving the Tiger-Cats the single-point victory.

Both teams will now take a breather with their bye weeks. The Ti-Cats return to the field on Aug. 16 in Winnipeg, while the Eskimos won’t play until Aug. 18 in Toronto.

Notes: It was the second and final meeting of the season between the two teams. Edmonton won the previous game 30-20 in Week 2 in Guelph… The Eskimos came into the contest with an impressive 30-11-0 record at home against the Tiger-Cats and had a six game home winning streak against the Tabbies going back to 2006… Ti-Cats quarterback Henry Burris made his 174th career regular season start, owning a 18-12 record in 30 previous career starts against the Eskimos… Edmonton and Hamilton entered the contest tied for the fewest points scored in the league, each with just 99 points… The Hamilton defence has now gone all six games this season without recording an interception… The Ticats lost 97 man games due to injury in their first five games, using 69 different players with only 20 seeing action in every game… It was military appreciation night in Edmonton, with fans given the option of purchasing an extra ticket for a member of the Canadian military when they purchased their season tickets… The announced attendance was 31,006.