THE CANADIAN PRESS
EDMONTON — Richie Hall officially kicked off his career as the head coach of the Edmonton Eskimos on Wednesday by putting the boots to his old team.
Rookie Eskimos quarterback Jared Zabransky completed 10-of-14 passes for 109 yards and one touchdown as Edmonton beat the Saskatchewan Roughriders 45-12 in CFL pre-season action.
It was the first game as head coach of the Green and Gold for Hall, who was hired in the off-season after serving 15 years as a Saskatchewan assistant and defensive co-ordinator.
"I couldn’t have asked for a nicer script," Richie, with an ear-to-ear grin, told reporters afterwards.
"But keep things in perspective. It’s pre-season."
The new coach did have plenty of praise for his offensive line: "They made some pretty big holes. I could’ve run through some of those holes."
It was the Eskimos defence, however, that made life miserable for ‘Riders starting quarterback Darian Durant in front of 34,793 fans at Commonwealth Stadium.
Durant, 26, is the man Saskatchewan is counting on to lead their inexperienced corps of signal callers.
The fourth-year import completed 7-of-12 passes for 68 yards and one interception before he was replaced by Steven Jyles midway through the second quarter.
Most of Durant’s completions were short swing passes and dump offs. He overthrew and underthrew receivers on many of the longer routes.
He also killed off a first-quarter drive in Eskimos territory by telegraphing a 20-yard sideline pass that defender Bobby Keyes easily picked off, stepping in front of receiver Chris Jones.
"I think I need to speed up my timing a little bit … quicken my reads up," said Durant.
"If I do that and make sure I get on the same page as the receivers, we’ll be better."
Saskatchewan head coach Ken Miller gave Durant a passing grade.
"He made some really good throws. There were a couple where I thought he held the ball a little bit," he said.
"But Darian is a good quarterback and he’s going to build on this game."
Zabransky, a 25-year-old from Boise State, led the Eskimos on a nine-play, 82-yard drive midway through the second quarter for his team’s first major.
At the five-yard line, he hit a streaking Efren Hill with a perfect strike to the wide-side of the field, with the receiver catching the ball just inside the pylon.
"It just felt good. Things started going for me. I started seeing the field better. Things started slowing down," said Zabransky.
"You just get into a groove."
.Zabransky was replaced by Lester Ricard and the 25-year-old Louisiana native drove the Eskimos for two touchdowns in the third quarter to break the game open. The last was a four-play, 85-yard march that ended with a running back Ciatrick Fason rumbling over from two yards out.
Eskimos running back Jesse Lumsden, the prized off-season free agent signed to ignite the ground attack, ran in untouched from nine yards out with nine minutes left to send most of the fans heading for the parking lot.
Both teams were using the first pre-season game of the year to sort out their quarterback situations.
Ricard and Zabransky are fighting for the No. 3 quarterback job behind Edmonton starter Ricky Ray and backup Jason Maas. Ray didn’t play Wednesday.
For Saskatchewan, Jyles looked good in relief. He scored on a seven-yard touchdown run after getting flushed out of the pocket with a minute left in the first half.
The TD capped a six-play, 73-yard drive highlighted by a perfect 27-yard rainbow that receiver Jason Clermont caught over his shoulder in stride while surrounded by defenders.
Notes: Jyles and Dalton Bell are battling for the backup job. The pre-season wraps up Tuesday, when the Eskimos play the B.C. Lions in Vancouver while Saskatchewan hosts the Calgary Stampeders at Mosaic Stadium … The Eskimos open the regular season at home July 2 against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Saskatchewan hosts B.C. on July 3.
