After knocking off rival Calgary last weekend, the Edmonton Eskimos have advanced to the West Final game against the BC Lions. However, they’ll have to play that game without star running back Jerome Messam, who will miss the rest of the season with a torn meniscus in his left knee.

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The 26-year-old Canadian is one of two Eskimo players selected to the CFL All-Stars roster, the other being receiver Fred Stamps. BC had nine selections, including quarterback Travis Lulay, receiver Geroy Simon, defensive tackles Aaron Hunt and Khalif Mitchell and kicker Paul McCallum. That’s a lot of star power being thrown at Edmonton this weekend.

Losing Messam might be enough to tip the scales in BCs favour. However, like most CFL games, this one will come down to the effectiveness of each team’s quarterback. Lulay had an outstanding year for the Lions, but will start just his second CFL playoff game. He was at the helm for a Western Semi-Final loss last season. This year, Lulay was 342-for-583 with 4,815 passing yards, 32 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.

Opposing him is nine-year veteran Ricky Ray, who’s starting his eighth CFL playoff game. The import QB had 4,594 passing yards this season, completing 343 of 526 attempts. He had 24 touchdown passes and 11 interceptions.

This is only the third playoff appearance for the Eskimos since winning the 2005 Grey Cup. Edmonton knocked off BC in the West Final that season. They’ll try to make history repeat itself in that regard.

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