Ricky Ray threw for 332 yards and a touchdown in Edmonton’s (8-9) 36-10 victory at Commonwealth Stadium.

Boxscore: Toronto vs. Edmonton

The loss was Toronto’s (3-14) seventh straight and comes just two weeks after the Eskimos knocked the Boatmen out of playoff contention.

Edmonton entered the game tied with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Winnipeg Blue Bombers for the final playoff spot, and the win kept the Eskimos hopes for a playoff spot alive. 

Fred Stamps, the CFL’s leading receiver. gained 139 yards through the air for Edmonton, while Arkee Whitlock rushed for 114 yards and a touchdown.

For the Argos, Chad Lucas netted 123 receiving yards and a touchdown while quarterbacks Kerry Joseph and rookie Stephen Reaves threw for 117 and 122 yards respectively.

Auditioning for next year

Argos coach Bart Andrus said earlier this week he wanted to give Reaves (Toronto’s third string quarterback) some playing time when the game was still in reach.

With Toronto trailing 17-0, the 24-year-old made his first career appearance three minutes into the second quarter.

Before leaving, Joseph had completed three out of eight passes, but four of those were dropped by receivers.

Reaves looked impressive with nine completions (including a string of six straight) on 13 attempts by halftime.

He threw his first touchdown on the final play of the second quarter, a two-yard throw to Lucas, narrowing the Argos’ deficit to 20-10.

Rookie Mistakes

Just when things were looking good for the Boatmen, Edmonton’s offence took advantage on a pair of rookie mistakes.

Reaves’ first pass coming out of the break was underthrown to receiver P.K. Sam and picked off by T.J. Hill, who returned it 56 yards for a major, making it 27-10 for the Eskimos.

Two minutes later, Reaves was picked off again, this time by former Argo Byron Parker. The pivot was shaken up by a hit from Maurice Lloyd on the return and left the game.

The Argos trailed 30-10 with nine minutes remaining when Joseph threw an interception to Eskimos safety Scott Gordon.

A few plays later, Ray threw a 33-yard completion to Stamps, placing Edmonton on the 16-yard line, but the Eskimos couldn’t score a major and had to settle on a field goal to go up 33-10.

Moreno’s at it again

Andrus and Zeke Moreno were fined Wednesday for “publicly disparaging” league officiating in last week’s 26-17 loss to Hamilton, and Moreno didn’t seem to learn his lesson.

With eight minutes to go in the first half, the linebacker questioned a call that led to a 30-yard catch from Stamps, and the Argos were given a 10-yard penalty for objectional conduct.

On the next play, Ray completed an eight-yard touchdown pass to Jason Barnes, putting the Eskimos up 17-0.

The Argos scored on a field goal the next drive, trimming Edmonton’s lead to 17-3.

Edmonton opened the scoring with a field goal from Derek Schiavone, capping off a nine-play drive three minutes into the game.

Schiavone converted all four field goal attempts on the night.

In the closing minute of the first quarter, Edmonton linebacker Tim St. Pierre recovered a fumble off a dropped snap from Joseph and the Eskimos quickly took advantage of the turnover.

Ray threw a 24-yard pass to Kamau Peterson before Whitlock rushed eight yards for a touchdown, giving Edmonton a 10-0 lead.

NOTES: Argos offensive tackle Rob Murphy was ejected from the game with 1:05 to go after arguing with the referee … Former Argo kicker Noel Prefontaine did not play due to an ankle injury.

The Boatmen, who have already been eliminated from playoff contention, look to prevent the Eskimos (7-9) from entering post-season play as well.

Edmonton currently sits fourth in the CFL West, and is in a fight with the third-place B.C. Lions (8-8), the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (7-9) and the surging Winnipeg Blue Bombers (7-9) to last beyond the regular season.

“We’ve run out of time. We’ve used up more mulligans than we were entitled to,” Eskimo head coach Richie Hall said on Thursday.

“Our window [of opportunity] is like this,” he said, holding his hands several inches apart.

Hall’s team has had a poor second-half of the season, and is in danger of missing the playoffs for the third time in four years.

It has won only three of its past 10 games and its defence is the worst in the CFL allowing almost 30 points per game.

The Esks are somewhat fortunate to be facing the league’s worst offensive team in the Argonauts (3-13), but Hall thinks that Toronto will not be an easy opponent.

“I expect them to be very aggressive both offensively and defensively,” he told the team’s website.

“They are a dangerous team right now, not because of all the athletic ability they have over there, but they have nothing to lose and we have everything to lose.  To me their mindset may be more relaxed, more at ease.”

Ray agrees with his coach’s assessment.

“We’ve got to expect they’re going to bring it,” he told the Canadian Press.

“They didn’t show very much [blitz] against us the first time we played. They pretty much said, ‘We’re going to drop off and play zone and make it tough on you guys.’

“Their one adjustment will be to come after us a little bit more.”

Eskimo fans can take solace in the fact, however, that the Argos are in the midst of a six-game losing streak and are not looking to get better any time soon.

Toronto is dead last in points scored (18.8 a game), in touchdowns (24), and passing TDs (13). Quarterback Kerry Joseph is third-last in passing ratings (10 TDs against 15 interceptions).

Ray, meanwhile, is having another stellar year leading the league in passing with 4,336 yards and 20 TDs.

One of his receivers, Freddie Stamps, has recorded 1,161 yards in just his third-year in the CFL. He is the only player in the league to catch for 1,000 yards or more so far this season.

In their last meeting on Oct. 16, the Eskimos hung on to beat the Argos 22-19, but Joseph expects his team to improve on that effort.

“It would be easy to pack it in, but we don’t have the guys on this team who are going to do that,” he said.

“The situation we’re in, it is what it is. We just have to finish the season on a good note.”

Running back Arkee Whitlock led the visitors from Alberta , scoring two touchdowns in the second half and rushing for a total of 140 yards.

It was Edmonton’s first win in Toronto in four seasons and could not have come at a better time as the Eskimos battle with Hamilton and Winnipeg for the final playoff spot.

The victory also knocks Toronto out of the postseason.

Edmonton’s Ricky Ray went 17-for-24, 170 yards, adding a touchdown and an interception.

Toronto pivot Kerry Joseph threw for more yards, but was much less efficient. He completed 25 passes in 42 attempts for 289 yards with two interceptions.

His one touchdown came with two minutes left and it capped nearly two month since Toronto has last scored through the air. 

After a quiet first half, Edmonton’s defence created a break when Andrew Nowacki picked up punt returner Jason Smith’s fumble. The play put the ball four yards away from the end zone.

Running back Whitlock punched the ball in for a score, followed by a Noel Prefontaine kick to give the Eskimos a 15-9 lead.

Toronto responded with its strongest drive of the night that moved the ball 61 yards down the field and culminated in a Justin Medlock field goal to keep the Argos alive at 15-12.

Whitlock struck again with a breakout 53-yard run. His second touchdown put the Eskimos out of the Toronto’s reach for good at 22-12.

With just under seven minutes left in the fourth, Edmonton’s Byron Parker picked off his former teammate Joseph. The interception was particularly special for the cornerback, who was traded to the Eskimos earlier this season.

The move came after Parker compared Toronto’s defence to Pop Warner kids’ football.

Joseph and the Argonauts finally scored a touchdown with two minutes left on the clock when Toronto’s pivot found Jeff Johnson for a two-yard reception.

Following a Medlock kick, the Boatmen were down just 22-19, with their defence in a position to stop Edmonton.

But the offence ran out of time.

Defence dominates

The first half was defensively oriented, with more punting then passing.

Toronto came out flying, blocking a Ricky Ray pass on Edmonton’s first snap, and then getting a deflected interception on his second attempt. Linebacker Willie Pile ran it a dozen yards before being knocked out of bounds.

That interception allowed Toronto to strike first with Medlock converting a 27-yard field goal.

Edmonton took over the lead with a pass to slotback Fred Stamps, who ran 63 yards for a touchdown. After a Prefontaine kick, the Eskimos were up 7-3 five minutes into the game.

Argos quarterback Joseph moved his offence down the field with some help from two penalties by the Eskimos.

Although Toronto’s passing game was clearly struggling, Joseph got Medlock close enough to score his second field goal of the night.

Prefontaine missed a 51-yard field goal at the end of the first quarter, but got the single to make it 8-6 for the Albertans.

The second quarter was dominated by defence, with both teams combining for 12 punts by halftime. The only score of the frame came in the last second of play when Medlock booted a 27-yard field goal for the 9-6 Toronto lead.