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Eskimos struggle past Alouettes to end 3-game skid

REUTERS/Dan Riedlhuber

Deon Lacey returned an interception for a touchdown in the final minute to seal the Edmonton Eskimos' 23-12 win against the Montreal Alouettes on Thursday.

Edmonton (3-4) ended a three-loss skid thanks to their defence, which has drawn criticism during a slow start, picking off Montreal quarterback Kevin Glenn twice in the final 90 seconds. The Alouettes (2-5) were at the Edmonton 30-yard line when linebacker J.C. Sherritt jumped a crossing route. He ran 59 yards before the Alouettes' Corbin Louks caught up to him and forced a fumble, which running back Brandon Rutley recovered.

Regaining possession, albeit 75 yards farther from the goal line, kept Montreal alive. It didn't help. Two plays later, Lacey returned his first CFL interception 19 yards for a pick-6.

All-star cornerback Patrick Watkins led the way in limiting star Alouettes receiver Duron Carter to three receptions for 28 yards. Montreal, which is the league's lowest-scoring team, gained only 339 yards and failed to score 20 points for the fifth time in seven games.

The combination of tight defence and the Mike Reilly-led offence moving the ball between the 20s enabled Edmonton to avoid paying the price for two lost fumbles at the goal line.

"That's the way it's been for seven weeks," Reilly told TSN. "If we can get out of our own way, we'll be fine. Our defence is balling right now and hopefully once we get it figured out, it won't be so close."

Reilly went 29-of-35 for 300 yards and scored the game's only offensive TD on a 1-yard rush in the first quarter. Wide receiver Derel Walker had 10 receptions for 132 yards. Walker has a league-leading 799 yards, the second-best seven-game start in league history.

Slotback Adarius Bowman made nine receptions for 107 yards, while kicker Sean Whyte was 2-of-2 on field goals, but missed a convert.

Glenn was 25-of-39 for 271 yards with two interceptions for the Alouettes. Slotback B.J. Cunningham was Montreal's leading receiver with five receptions for 98 yards.

Montreal's Anthony Fera was 4-of-5 on field goals in his CFL debut, with the lone miss coming on a 53-yard attempt on the last play of the second quarter. Fera, a former Penn State and Texas kicker, was signed Tuesday after Montreal placed Boris Bede on the six-game injured list. Bede has had issues with kicking mechanics all season.

Edmonton drove inside Montreal's 20-yard line five times, but only got in the end zone once. Walker and running back John White each lost fumbles that were recovered on the 1-yard line. Montreal conceded a safety each time. In the second quarter, a Bowman TD was nullified when the Alouettes successfully challenged for an illegal block penalty on Edmonton fullback Mike Miller. Edmonton wound up settling for a field goal, though.

Montreal has a divisional road game against the Ottawa RedBlacks next Friday, while Edmonton visits the Toronto Argonauts on Aug. 20.

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