THE CANADIAN PRESS
EDMONTON — If the Edmonton Eskimos hope to become a playoff team after two years on the outside looking in, a lot of the burden will lie on the newly recovered throwing shoulder of quarterback Ricky Ray.
So when Ray ended up on his back for a long stretch after a late hit with just over six minutes left to go in the second in Thursday’s 37-7 win over Saskatchewan his first start since a season-ending injury last September — there was a bit of concern on the face of Eskimos head coach Danny Maciocia.
"For about 30 seconds there it was here we go again," he said. "But I knew his shoulder was 100 per cent and that nobody had landed on it. He just got knocked out."
Ray left the game with 6:22 left in the second as Rider Dek Bake was guilty of a late hit to the head of the Eskimos pivot. Ray suffered a minor burner to his neck on the play and didn’t return, although he is expected to be fine for the start of the regular season.
"I just got my head ripped off my neck there for a minute," Ray said. "Thank God it wasn’t worse that it was."
Ray also gave his recovered shoulder a passing grade.
"It felt fine," said Ray, who completed 10 of 18 passes for 115 yards. "It was just nice to get back out there and be in the fire again."
The Eskimos finished CFL pre-season play with a 1-1 record.
The Riders, who left several key veteran players at home for the contest, also concluded the pre-season at 1-1.
"In a game like that you really try and find the bright spots," said Saskatchewan head coach Ken Miller. "We had some players that showed us they had the ability to play. But overall we didn’t perform well as a team in any area, offence, defence or even our kicking game.
"We had a mixed and matched group on the field at any given time and that really showed."
Edmonton held a 3-0 lead on a 26-yard Noel Prefontaine field goal after the first quarter and added an early second quarter touchdown to go ahead 10-0 as Ray connected with Damien Anderson on a shovel pass and the running back pushed 15 yards into the end zone.
Saskatchewan got onto the board five minutes into the second frame as Edmonton conceded a safety but the Eskimos quickly put some points back into their own column as rookie Tristan Jackson found a seam and turned on the afterburners for a 72-yard punt return TD and a 17-2 Edmonton advantage.
It was Jackson’s second special teams TD of the pre-season. He also recorded a 92-yard kickoff return the previous week against Calgary.
.After Ray went down, Jason Maas came in his stead and quickly had an impact, hitting receiver Fred Stamps on a 51-yard long bomb for a major and a 24-2 Eskimos lead.
The Riders had a chance to put some points on the board with just over a minute left but quarterback Steven Jyles was intercepted in the Edmonton end zone by Bradley Robinson. Prefontaine added a 32-yard field goal with time expired to make it 27-2 Edmonton at the half.
Maas was rock solid for the Eskimos in relief, completing 16 of 19 passes for 256 yards before coming out at the end of the third.
Maciocia says it is quite clear what Maas is capable of bringing to the team when called upon.
"There is something about Jason Maas coming off the bench in Edmonton and playing well," he said. "In baseball terms I would consider him the best reliever out there." The second half slowed down considerably with the Esks notching three field goals and a single from Derek Schiavone and the Riders a field goal and a safety before the final whistle sounded.
The two teams will face each other again to start the regular season on Saturday, June 28, in Regina.
Notes: Last week in their first pre-season game, the Roughriders, with a relatively veteran lineup slammed the B.C. Lions 33-13. The Eskimos went with a relatively raw group in Calgary and were soundly beaten 39-14 by the Stampeders, scoring their first points of the game late in the fourth quarter … The Riders sat out quarterback Marcus Crandell and about a dozen other starters, including Gene Makowsky, John Chick, Scott Schultz, Wes Cates, and James Johnson … Many cuts will be coming in the next day and a half by both teams as all CFL clubs have to be down to 53 players (46 on the active roster and seven on the practice roster) by Saturday at 1 p.m.
