Edmonton QB Mike Reilly named Grey Cup MVP

14 – The number of Grey Cups for the Eskimos franchise, and first since 2005.

Ottawa was in black helmets but the Eskimos were the ones wearing black hats after Edmonton club president Len Rhodes complained to the league in advance about the Redblacks’ signature lumberjacks who for two seasons have chainsawed a logoed “cookie” off a log after every scoring play.

Penalties: The Redblacks gave the Eskimos 65 of the 78 yards on their game-winning drive in the fourth quarter with pass interference penalties against Abdul Kanneh and Brandon Sermons. The city’s last CFL championship came in 1976 with the former Rough Riders.

Eskimos QB Mike Reilly was the game’s MVP, completing 21 of 35 passes for 269 yards and two scores while also leading the Eskimos with 10 carries for 66 yards. While a two-point convert was unsuccessful the 10-play, 88-yard drive was huge as it erased a horrid start for the West Division champions, who fell behind 13-0 before the game was seven minutes old. “You guys celebrate nice so I like it!”

“It’s not anger it’s disappointment”, said Ottawa head coach Rick Campbell. “And that’s what make it so disappointing to get this far and not get it done”. “That’s how it transpired”.

The Redblacks held a slim 13-10 lead after the first quarter, but were able to halt Eskimos’ momentum at the start of the second.

Ottawa had a big play – a fumble returned for a touchdown – wiped off the board by an offside penalty but extended their lead with a Chris Milo field goal midway through the second.

Order was restored gradually, first with a Sean Whyte 25-yard field goal after a good Edmonton drive stalled, and then when Burris threw a rare lame-duck trying to go deep, Patrick Watkins picked it off to set Reilly up with a 60-yard field. Edmonton took a 17-16 lead on Reilly’s 2-yard pass to Shavers with 12 seconds left in the half.

The Redblacks had a 19-18 edge after the third quarter, added another point on a Milo single and then Esks backup QB Jordan Lynch clinched the victory with a one-yard TD plunge.

The Redblacks’ Henry Burris passed 22-for-29 for 229 yards and was sacked three times.

Chambers said the Eskimos respect Reilly so much that “we’re going to do whatever it takes to make plays for him”, especially the players who saw the beatings he took during Edmonton’s 4-14 season in 2013 and “know how much of a warrior he is”.

“We had opportunities to turn the tide and we just didn’t make the plays, whether it was me missing a throw or making a play or something”, Burris said. Plenty of Bombers jerseys on hand as well with many wishing the Blue and Gold were in the big game, but just happy to be at Winnipeg’s fourth Grey Cup and first ever at Investors Group Field.