  Edmonton Eskioms' head coach Richie Hall applaudes after a play Friday night at Commonwealth Stadium. (JASON FRANSON/QMI Agency)
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At ease, Edmonton.
At ease, Edmonton.
For at least another week Richie Hall’s job is safe.
And if there was a reason Hall will remain head coach for another week or maybe years and years to come, it’s that Richie Hall, defensive co-ordinator, put together a plan, which — with the exception of one 69-yard run up the middle of the Eskimos defence — held the B.C. Lions at bay.
The defence only gave up one touchdown in this one and when it was over, on a night when the skies opened and the game was delayed because of lightning, Hall was wonderfully wet.
“And it wasn’t from the rain,” he smiled.
Gatorade shower
It was a barrel of Gatorade poured over him by Dario Romero and Maurice Lloyd when the game was over.
It ended on a big play defensively thanks to a pressure on Lions quarterback Travis Lulay by Kenny Pettway and a recovery by Kai Ellis in the final minute of play to preserve a 28-25 win.
It’s not every day you see a 1-4 coach get a Gatorade shower from his players, but it was that kind of game after that kind of week.
“It was just a long time coming, that’s all,” said Romero. “It was a make-or-break game. We were playing our hearts out for Richie.
“It was almost a re-run of our losses against Montreal and Saskatchewan. We gave up an interception touchdown and an a return touchdown in the fourth quarter. But this time we didn’t fall apart. Richie is always telling us to believe. And (Friday) night we believed.
“It feels so good,” said the defensive lineman.
“He deserves it,” said middle linebacker Maurice Lloyd who came from Saskatchewan with Hall when the long-time defensive co-ordinator became head coach here.
“He didn’t let us down. We let him down. We didn’t come out with enough emotion and enough heart in the games that got us into this situation. We didn’t let him down (Friday) night. We got the win and he got the shower,” said Lloyd.
Chris Thompson recorded his fourth and fifth interceptions of the season to lead the way.
“The defence made the plays tonight. We’re the ones who need to score more points,” said quarterback Ricky Ray who was 25 for 34 for 360 yards as he found the big play again in the second half and hit Fred Stamps for five receptions and 118 yards and Kelly Campbell for eight for 97 yards.
“But we got the lead back,” said the quarterback who was two for five in the red zone.
“It was just great to get the win. We were all playing for Richie (Friday) night, playing for him and playing for each other.”
It wasn’t pretty. It wasn’t perfect.
They staggered. They stuttered.
But they won. And they stopped themselves a game short of matching the 0-5 start of the 1965 Eskimos.
And nobody gets fired this week. We think.
“I never have anything to say after a game. I never have. And I never will,” said president and CEO Rick LeLacheur after this one was over.
But the man who put the Eskimos on notice this week and clearly positioned to go into this game coaching from a cliff, has a bigger smile on his face than Hall himself.
“I’ve always believed if you play good defence you’ve got a chance. We had a lot of urgency and heart out there. Those guys all wanted to play (Friday),” said Hall.
“I’m happy,” he said. “With the storm and everything, they came back. It was a whole different attitude. This time we got down late and there was no panic.
Got back up
“They hit us with with a couple big blows and we came back,” he said of giving up the fourth quarter plays for touchdowns and pulling out the game.
The offence gave up seven points on an interception ex-Eskimo Davis Sanchez took 54 yards to the end zone. And special teams gave up an 88-yard return to Yonus Davis on the kickoff after Edmonton gave up a safety.
But right now a win is a win is a win. And while all can hardly be declared well, the Eskimos can have a slightly more normal week before everybody goes through this again here Friday against the Toronto Argos.
Asked if he thinks he may one day look back and remember this game as the turning point of his coaching career, Hall smiled that great big smile again.
“I sure hope so,” he said.
terry.jones@sunmedia.ca
