EDMONTON — Quarterback Mike Reilly ran in three touchdowns and passed for three more as the Edmonton Eskimos snapped a two-game losing skid in a tense 48-42 victory over the Calgary Stampeders on Saturday.
With the win, the Eskimos improved to 7-4.
The Stampeders (9-2) had a two-game winning streak halted.
Calgary won the first half of the Labour Day series 23-20 with a last-second field goal on Monday.
Reilly finished 30-for-44 with 397 yards, while his counterpart Bo Levi Mitchell was 25-for-46 for 491 yards with four touchdowns and three interceptions.
In a wild first quarter, Edmonton got off to a good start on its first possession as a 41-yard passing strike from quarter Reilly to Duke Williams was capped off by a two-yard touchdown plunge by Reilly.
Calgary responded quickly as Mitchell found DaVaris Daniels for a 77-yard pass and run into the end zone.
The Eskimos regained the lead after a comedy of errors on a Stamps punt return led to a turnover to Natey Adjei and a subsequent 29-yard TD pass to Williams.
Edmonton scored its third touchdown of the game with six minutes remaining in the opening quarter after an interception by Forrest Hightower led to a four-yard TD pass to Vidal Hazelton.
Calgary got a pick of its own from Tay Glover-Wright, leading to a three-yard TD run by Romar Morris.
Sean Whyte kicked a 52-yard field goal four minutes into the third for the Esks, and added a one-yard TD plunge by Reilly. Calgary responded with a 41-yard TD pass to Marken Michel to make it 31-21 at the half.
Whyte kicked a 23-yard field goal to start the third, but Calgary came right back on the next play with a 75-yard rushing major by Morris.
Reilly scored his third TD of the game from the one-yard line with five minutes left in the third and passed for yet another three minutes later when a Mercy Maston interception led to a six-yard TD pass to Kenny Stafford.
Calgary scored in the fourth after Mitchell recovered from a slip and threw a 32-yard TD pass to Morris.
The Stamps then closed to within six points on an eight-yard TD pass to Morris — his fourth TD of the game — but could not complete the last-second comeback.
The Stampeders will return to action next Saturday when they travel to Hamilton. The Eskimos are entering a bye week.
Notes: Both teams were without star receivers lost in the first half of the home-and-home series on Monday in Calgary. The Stampeders lost Kamar Jorden for the season with a knee injury, while the Esks lost Derel Walker for six to eight weeks, also to a knee injury… The officially announced crowd of 38,611 at Commonwealth Stadium was the largest in the CFL this season.
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