  The playoff dream is over for rookie head coach Richie Hall and the Eskimos. (Sun Media/Mike Drew)
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CALGARY -- Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.
And it was the Calgary Stampeders who had the horseshoes on, churning up 190 yards of track to run past the Edmonton Eskimos, 24-21, in last night's West Division semifinal.
CAN ONLY LOOK BACK
But as close as it was, the loss will last the entire off-season as the Eskimos can only look back at what went wrong.
Some untimely penalties and a sack by Stampeders defensive lineman Devone Claybrooks had the Eskimos looking at third-and-35 to give the Stampeders possession with two and a half minutes to go.
"We drove the ball down and we shot ourselves in the foot with penalties," said Eskimos head coach Richie Hall. "Defensively, they ran the ball and shoved it up our throats there at the end when we had to have a stop. We couldn't make a play in the fourth quarter."
Calgary turned to Most Outstanding Player nominee Joffrey Reynolds to run down the clock. Facing third-and-inches, the Stampeders got a good second push from quarterback Henry Burris to keep the clock ticking on the Eskimos post-season hopes.
And when the defence keyed on Reynolds, Burris simply relied on his own legs -- first to run for a first down, and then again to kneel down to end the game.
The Eskimos displayed their deep threat early, but everything seemed to be either too far or too slippery, as slotbacks Jason Barnes and Fred Stamps couldn't come up with receptions that would have set the tone for the game.
"We took our chances downfield," said Eskimos quarterback Ricky Ray. "We had a good game plan for taking some shots and we just didn't connect on them. You mix a couple penalties in there too and we just missed our opportunities."
A scoreless first quarter was only slightly outdone by a total of 16 kicking points in the second as both defences took turns stalling the opposition's drives and remind them that nothing comes easy in the playoffs.
The Stampeders finally scored the game's first touchdown on their first possession in the second half when a nine-yard touchdown pass from Henry Burris to wide receiver Arjei Franklin capped an eight-play, 57-yard drive to put them ahead 16-7.
But the Eskimos responded with a 93-yard touchdown return on the following kickoff by Skylar Green to pull back within a field goal of tying the game after Stampeders kicker Sandro DeAngelis kicked a 67-yard single through the end zone.
They extended their lead to 24-14 when Romby Bryant beat cornerback Byron Parker and safety Scott Gordon for a wide-open 29-yard reception in the end zone.
The Eskimos got a little help from Stampeders defensive end Charleston Hughes who got called for a pair of consecutive roughing-the-passer penalties to bring them within 15 yards of the end zone. A one-yard quarterback keeper by Ray capped a 10-play, 65-yard drive to trail 24-21 with half a quarter to go.
'ABRUPT ENDING'
"The thing about the playoffs is that when it's over, when you lose it comes to an abrupt ending," said Hall. "Our season's done, but the thing I said to those guys is that I'm very proud of them. We overcame a lot of adversity this year and we grew as a football team. We're a better team now than when we first started in July and that's what we wanted to do."
GERRY.MODDEJONGE@SUNMEDIA.CA
