HAMILTON - The Edmonton Eskimos defeated the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 19-13 on hostile turf Friday night, and pulled their record to 3-2.
But the first thing on everybody's mind after the game was the condition of receiver Jason Tucker, who had been taken off the field by ambulance at the end of the third quarter.
Edmonton head coach Danny Maciocia said Tucker, 32, was moving his fingers and legs and was in good spirits while lying on the field, urging his team to continue on and win the game after the helmet-to-helmet crash with Hamilton DB Jykine Bradley.
Maciocia said he was taken to hospital as a ''precautionary measure''. Bradley was down for several minutes before limping off with assistance. Tucker, who had just caught a three-yard pass, was surrounded by personnel for at least 15 minutes. His crash would make the second possibly severe injury on this road trip for the Esks after defensive lineman Fred Perry had a horrific leg injury against the Toronto Argos.
Maciocia said he was proud of how his team has been handling the adversity, especially coupled with a tough loss against Toronto and a short week coming into Steeltown.
''I thought we handled this with the utmost professionalism and it showed tonight,'' he said. ''We had to bear down and try to make a few plays and we did.''
Edmonton quarterback Ricky Ray engineered two scoring drives in the fourth quarter, including a 12-yard TD strike to Kelly Campbell that gave them a 16-13 lead.
''We were very inaccurate the first half and a lot of that was my fault out there,'' said Ray, who made 28 of 47 pass attempts for 356 yards, one interception and one touchdown. ''We were able to put some good drives together in that second half. . . We adjusted some things at halftime, trying to throw the ball underneath a little bit more.''
Jesse Lumsden scored Hamilton's lone touchdown as the Ticats fall to 1-4.
Edmonton kicker Noel Prefontaine was four-for-four, hitting from 10, 36, 29, and nine yards. Hamilton kicker Nick Setta hit both his field goal attempts, from 47 and 16 yards.
Hamilton quarterback Casey Printers completed 11 of 20 pass attempts for 127 yards before injuring his thumb on his right (throwing) hand late in the third. Back-up Richie Williams came in, completing seven of 11 attempts for 138 yards and throwing one interception, although he did lead the team's only touchdown drive.
After a slow three quarters, the play picked up in the fourth. Tied at 6-6, Prefontaine hit a 29-yard field goal to give the Esks a 9-6 lead to start the fourth quarter. But Hamilton's Williams took just two plays to take the 13-9 lead. Starting from the Hamilton 35, he hit Prechae Rodriguez for a 46-yard reception and then handed it off to Lumsden for the 29-yard touchdown run.
''I thought we'd take the momentum then and get back in the game,'' said Hamilton head coach Charlie Taaffe, who was at a loss for explanation over his team's sputtering offence, including a dismal performance by the offensive line, allowing eight sacks.
''But to their (Edmonton's) credit, they took it down the field and responded. ... It's very disappointing.''
Ray responded to the Hamilton TD with an 88-yard drive in 11 plays, ending with the touchdown strike to Campbell, regaining the lead midway through the quarter.
They got the ball back again with 3:38 left in the game, and Ray drove downfield to set up Prefontaine for his final field goal, from nine yards out.
The game was tied 3-3 at the end of the first quarter, thanks in part to a defensive stand by Hamilton at the end of the quarter, keeping the Esks out of the endzone after a first down at the 15 and a first-and-goal at the two.
Dropped passes kept Edmonton from taking a commanding lead in the second quarter and they headed into the halftime locker room up just 6-3 despite dominating the Ticats on the field with 140 net yards to Hamilton's 44.
The story coming into the game was whether or not the Edmonton defence could control Lumsden, who was averaging 7.5 yards per carry, and whether Edmonton's Tristan Jackson would score yet another special teams touchdown. By the end of the first half, Jackson had been contained to minimal yardage and Lumsden had been held to four yards on four carries.
The Ticats seemed to take that to heart beginning the third quarter, passing or handing the ball off to Lumsden five times during a 66-yard drive that ended with a 16-yard field goal by Setta to tie the game 6-6.
Edmonton was threatening again late in the third with a first down at the Hamilton 15, but Bradley intercepted Ray's pass to Tucker at the goal line and returned it to the Ticat six-yard line.