Rick Cassata, the Riders' backup quarterback who was replacing injured Jerry Keeling responded with a 38-yard touchdown pass-and-run to Rhome Nixon.
Late in the quarter, however, Tom Wilkinson was knocked out of bounds by Ottawa's Wayne Smith and suffered a rib injury.
Lemmerman took the Eskimos close enough for Dave Cutler to kick a field goal, giving them a 10-7 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Edmonton then scored a single and Lefebvre, who played both ways as well as being the punter, caught a Wilkinson touchdown pass with seven seconds left, but it was not enough to erase Ottawa's 12 point lead.
This was the last Grey Cup game played at CNE Stadium prior to its renovations in the mid-1970s in anticipation of receiving a Major League Baseball team in Toronto; it would come in the form of the Blue Jays in 1977.