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EDMONTON — Jason Tucker made a dramatic 36-yard touchdown reception with just 55 seconds left to go as the Edmonton Eskimos came back to defeat the Calgary Stampeders 34-31 Thursday night.
The Eskimos (1-1) snapped a seven-game losing streak dating back to last season and were in jeopardy of losing eight in a row for the first time since 1971.
John Hufnagel took his first loss as a head coach of the Stampeders (1-1).
Edmonton quarterback Ricky Ray threw for 448 yards in the victory.
Leading 25-17 after the third quarter, Edmonton looked to have caught a break five minutes into the fourth as Stamps running back Demetris Summers fumbled at midfield and Eskimos defensive tackle Dario Romero recovered. But they were unable to convert as Noel Prefontaine missed a 34-yard field goal attempt and the Esks settled for a single.
It proved costly. On the Stamps' next possession, Calgary pivot Henry Burris threw a long bomb to Brett Ralph. The 65-yard TD strike cut Edmonton's lead to just two points with five minutes left.
Prefontaine restored the three point edge with a punt single, but Calgary came roaring back to take their first lead of the game as Burris hit Ralph on a 20-yard strike to go up by four with just 1:38 to play.
But the Eskimos dug deep and put together a last second scoring drive of their own as Tucker made a circus catch in the end zone with just 55 seconds left.
After being held without a touchdown last week, Edmonton scored its first of the season four-and-a-half minutes into the opening quarter as Ray connected with rookie Kelly Campbell for a 32-yard score.
Edmonton was closing in on another score but lost the ball on a Calvin McCarty fumble, and Calgary's Richard Karikari recovered.
It was a big turnover as the Stamps proceeded to march 79 yards on four plays, capped off by a 15-yard TD pass from Burris to Jeremaine Copeland as time expired in the first to tie the game 7-7.
It didn't take the Eskimos much time to respond, going 71 yards on three plays to start the second quarter, including a huge 51-yard strike to Kamau Peterson. They capped the drive with Campbell's second TD reception of the contest from eight yards out for a 14-7 Edmonton lead.
Prefontaine added a pair of field goals and a punt single to give Edmonton a 21-7 lead at the half.
Calgary came back from the dressing room fired up and capitalized on its opening drive of the third, two minutes in, as Joffrey Reynolds drove in from the eight to cut the Edmonton lead to seven points.
The Eskimos added a punt single and went for more points late in the third but a strong drive fizzled in close and they were forced to accept a 10-yard field goal from Prefontaine. Calgary chipped in a three-pointer of its own to close out the quarter on a Sandro DeAngelis 24-yarder to make it 25-17 after the third frame.
Both teams are back at it next Thursday as the Stampeders travel to Montreal and the Eskimos play host to the Toronto Argos.
Notes: The Stampeders only won two road games last season (2-7) but both were in Edmonton It s been 44 years since Calgary defeated the Eskimos in Edmonton's home opener, last doing it in 1964. It looked like Calgary had sworn off playing an Edmonton home opener after losing in 1988. They waited 18 years before trying it again, losing 18-14 in 2006 Calgary defensive lineman Julian Jenkins left the game five minutes into the fourth, taken away by ambulance with a badly injured left leg On the injury front the Eskimos were without starting offensive lineman Dan Comiskey, who suffered a hairline ankle fracture in last weekend's loss to the Riders. The 36-year-old was placed on the nine-game injured list Wednesday For the Stamps, defensive linemen Funtaine Hunter (hamstring), Juwan Simpson (ankle) and linebacker Saleem Rasheed (shoulder) were all out Calgary's Nik Lewis' first quarter reception propelled him into sole possession of 10th place in Stamps history for career receptions, ahead of Willie Burden.
