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Booting the winning field goal to defeat the B.C. Lions earned Calgary Stampeders kicker Sandro DeAngelis a fan in Richie Hall.
"Oh, yeah. I mean a big Stampeders fan. They're No. 1 right now," said the Eskimos head coach. "I was happy. It gives us an opportunity to control our own destiny."
The kick gave the Stampeders a 28-26 win to push their record to a division-best 10-6-1, but more importantly, the Lions loss dropped them even with the Eskimos at 8-9.
"Really the only game that mattered to me was the Calgary-B.C. game," said Hall. "What I wanted us to do was have an opportunity for third place, to stay here in the West. The only way that was going to be possible was if what happened happened."
Of course, none of it would have mattered if the Eskimos had lost to the Toronto Argonauts last weekend.
"We asked for this situation," said Hall. "We wanted to win to set the tone for the weekend and everyone else has to play off of us to see what they have to do.
"B.C. had every opportunity to lock themselves up a playoff spot and couldn't do it. We got what we wanted and that's an opportunity to play for third place."
Calgary will be of particular interest to Hall again this week, as they travel to Regina to take on the Roughriders for the top spot in the West Division.
A win in Vancouver on Friday will pit the Eskimos against the loser between the Stampeders and the Roughriders in the West semifinal.
If things work out, Hall said he may even make the trip back to Saskatchewan to scout both teams in person.
"I thought about going out there because it's a six o'clock start," said Hall. "You don't for things you might see on the film, it's more things you might see on the sidelines as far as the interaction."
