1997 Edmonton Eskimos season

The 1997 Edmonton Eskimos, coached by Ron Lancaster, finished in first place in the West Division with a 12–6 record. They were upset in the West Final by the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

1997 Edmonton Eskimos season
General manager	Hugh Campbell
Head coach	Ron Lancaster
Home stadium	Commonwealth Stadium
Results
Record	12–6
Division place	1st, West
Playoffs	Lost West Final

Offseason

CFL draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	School
1	3 (via Ottawa)	Chad Folk	OL	Utah
1	8	Mark Farraway	DL	St. Francis Xavier
2	16	Patrice Denis	LB	Western Ontario
4	32	David Heasman	OL	Northern Arizona
5	40	O.J. Santiago	TE	Kent State
6	47	Chris Hardy	QB	Manitoba

Ottawa Roughriders Dispersal Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Pos
1	5 (via Winnipeg)	André Bolduc	SB
1	8	Robert Gordon	WR
2	16	Tommy Henry	DB
3	24	Sean Reade	RB

Preseason

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Score	Result	Attendance	Record
A	June 8	@. British Columbia Lions	32–15	L	10284	0–1
B	June 19	vs Saskatchewan Roughriders	18–17	W	32291	1–1

Regular season

Season standings

West Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	T	PF	PA	PD	Pts
1	Edmonton Eskimos (C, Q)	18	12	6	0	479	400	+79	24
2	Calgary Stampeders (Q)	18	10	8	0	522	442	+80	20
3	Saskatchewan Roughriders (Q)	18	8	10	0	413	479	−66	16
4	BC Lions (Q)	18	8	10	0	429	536	−107	16

Source: "CFL.ca". Archived from the original on 2009-07-15. Retrieved 2017-08-23.
(C) First round bye; (Q) Qualified for playoffs

Season schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Score	Result	Attendance	Record	Stk
1	June 25	@ Calgary Stampeders	23–22	W	24868	1–0	W1
2	July 4	@ Saskatchewan Roughriders	24–18	W	25751	2–0	W2
3	July 10	vs. British Columbia Lions	41–31	L	26010	2–1	L1
4	July 17	vs. Montreal Alouettes	32–0	W	27811	3–1	W1
5	July 24	@ Montreal Alouettes	34–24	W	10225	4–1	W2
6	July 31	vs. Saskatchewan Roughriders	37–34	W	30917	5–1	W3
7	August 7	vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers	45–11	W	29293	6–1	W4
8	August 14	@ Toronto Argonauts	38–14	L	18031	6–2	L1
9	August 21	vs. Hamilton Tiger Cats	28–24	W	26960	7–2	W1
10	September 1	@ Calgary Stampeders	27–14	L	37611	7–3	L1
11	September 5	vs. Calgary Stampeders	24–20	W	43913	8–3	W1
12	September 13	@ British Columbia	27–1	L	25088	8–4	L1
13	September 20	vs. Toronto Argonauts	25–24	L	38619	8–5	L2
14	September 28	@ Saskatchewan Roughriders	29–15	L	29361	8–6	L3
15	October 5	vs. Calgary Stampeders	42–32 (OT)	W	31572	9–6	W1
16	October 12	@ Winnipeg Blue Bombers	20–2	W	18524	10–6	W2
17	October 19	vs. British Columbia Lions	41–7	W	31958	11–6	W3
18	October 25	@ Hamilton Tiger Catse	30–19	W	16110	12–6	W4

Offence

• SB – Darren Flutie, Edmonton Eskimos

Defence

• LB – Willie Pless, Edmonton Eskimos
• CB – Kavis Reed, Edmonton Eskimos
• DB – Glenn Rogers Jr., Edmonton Eskimos

Offence

• SB – Darren Flutie, Edmonton Eskimos
• OG – Leo Groenewegen, Edmonton Eskimos
• OT – Thomas Rayam, Edmonton Eskimos

Defence

• DT – Bennie Goods, Edmonton Eskimos
• DE – Malvin Hunter, Edmonton Eskimos
• LB – Willie Pless, Edmonton Eskimos
• CB – Kavis Reed, Edmonton Eskimos
• DB – Glenn Rogers Jr., Edmonton Eskimos
• DS – Trent Brown, Edmonton Eskimos

Special teams

• ST – Gizmo Williams, Edmonton Eskimos

Playoffs

West Final

Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Total
Saskatchewan Roughriders	14	10	0	7	31
Edmonton Eskimos	7	8	1	14	30

Roster

1997 Edmonton Eskimos final roster
Quarterbacks 15 Jimmy Kemp 14 Danny McManus Running backs 35 Eric Blount 34 Tony Burse 29 Jay Hamilton Receivers 20 Don Blair  4 Eddie Brown 82 Darren Flutie 84 Bob Gordon 31 Marc Tobert  2 Gizmo Williams		Offensive linemen 67 Rod Connop C 51 Mark Farraway G/C 59 Leo Groenewegen G 60 Chris Morris T 55 Tom Rayam T 62 Derek Sholdice G 63 Vic Stevenson T Defensive linemen 89 Leroy Blugh DE 40 Bennie Goods DT 46 Malvin Hunter DE 79 Derek MacCready DT 43 Jed Roberts DE/DT		Linebackers 37 Patrice Denis 36 Bruce Dickson 38 Errol Martin 45 Maurice Miller 39 Willie Pless Defensive backs 17 Derrick Beatty 28 Trent Brown 10 Malcolm Frank  7 Ian Franklin 13 Tommy Henry 24 Kavis Reed 26 Glenn Rogers		Special teams  3 Sean Fleming K/P Injured list 12 André Bolduc SB  9 Marcus Crandell QB 88 Shannon Myers WR  6 Reggie Pleasant DB 33 Mike Sellers FB/DE Italics indicate American player