Bombers' comeback falls short against Eskimos

The Edmonton Eskimos dodged a bullet on Thursday, escaping with a 19-17 victory almost spoiled by a fourth-quarter Winnipeg Blue Bombers comeback.

With five seconds to go, the Bombers were in field-goal range to tie the game and send it to overtime, but kicker Alexis Serna narrowly missed left and it went for a single.

It was welcome news to the Eskimos, who earned the win but may have lost a large piece of their offensive puzzle.

Highly touted running back Jesse Lumsden was injured in his Eskimos debut and left the game with 33 seconds to go in the first quarter.

The 26-year-old took a helmet-on-shoulder hit to his twice surgically repaired left shoulder. Trainers on the sidelines looked as though they were trying to pop it back into place before he was taken to hospital for X-rays.

"My heart goes out to him," said rookie head coach Richie Hall, the former Saskatchewan assistant handed the reins in Edmonton this season.  "There's a lot of life in Jesse. We don't know the extent of his injury right now.

"I know he is disappointed. I saw his reaction at halftime, he was very frustrated when he came off the field. It's a tough time for him right now. He's very disappointed. He's doing the best under the circumstances."

It was the story of a game that featured a quiet first half, with each team registering a two-point safety apiece before the Eskimos finally struck for a touchdown in the final minute of the second quarter.

Edmonton quarterback Ricky Ray ran for a touchdown, threw for 318 yards and a touchdown, and was 29 for 41 with one interception in the winning effort.

"We didn't play up to our expectations offensively but you take the wins where you can get them," Ray said. "You are going to win ugly every now and then. It is better than losing ugly."

Wide receiver Maurice Mann caught five passes for 87 yards and Andrew Nowacki had a touchdown and caught seven passes for 79 yards.  

Former Eskimos backup Stefan LeFors made his debut quarterbacking the Bombers, passing for 174 yards and going 15 for 32 with no touchdowns.

Running back Fred Reid had 13 carries for 92 yards and a touchdown for the Bombers.

Last-minute drive

Ray's no-huddle offence in the last minute of the first quarter got the Eskimos on the board when he rolled right to find Nowacki in the right corner of the end zone for a 19-yard pass, registering Edmonton's first touchdown of the season.

Special teams earned the Bombers their first touchdown of the year in the third quarter when Joe Lobendahn's hit on Edmonton kickoff returner Tristan Jackson forced a fumble.

Linebacker Shawn Gallant scooped up the loose ball and ran it 20 yards for the touchdown to tie the game 9-9.

Jackson made up for his fumble seconds later with a 56-yard punt return that put the Eskimos in scoring territory and saw Ray make a one-yard run for the touchdown, putting Edmonton ahead 16-9 late in the third quarter. 

Noel Prefontaine kicked a field goal to make it 19-9 in the fourth quarter with 7:40 to go.

The Bombers started to make their comeback when Reid ran in for a touchdown with just over six minutes remaining in regulation.

In the final two minutes, LeFors moved the Bombers into field-goal range for that final effort to tie the game, but they came up short.

Serna actually hit his first attempt from 47 yards, but the play was blown dead because Edmonton had taken a timeout.

"I made the first one. So I just told myself to hit it like the first one," Serna said. "You just lose focus sometimes. You make some, you miss some."

"To come that close at the end and to have a chance to send it to overtime and then not being able to, that's tough to swallow," added LeFors. 

The Bombers return home to host Calgary next Friday, while the Eskimos visit Montreal to take on the Alouettes next Thursday.