Esks fall in ‘turf’ war with Stampeders

June 13, 2010
THE CANADIAN PRESS

EDMONTON — Quarterback Zac Champion’s one-yard plunge with 1:47 remaining gave the Calgary Stampeders a 23-21 CFL exhibition victory over the Edmonton Eskimos on Sunday night in the first-ever game played on artificial turf at Commonwealth Stadium.

It was the first pre-season match for both teams.

Edmonton got on the board on its first possession following a 49-yard punt return by Skyler Green to the Calgary 34. Eskimos quarterback Ricky Ray capped off the drive with a 20-yard toss into the end zone to Jason Barnes.

It remained 7-0 until nine minutes into the second quarter, when the Stampeders kicked a 22-yard field goal by Rob Maver after a long drive engineered by quarterback Drew Tate sputtered out.

Calgary jumped into the lead on a huge defensive play with three and a half minutes to play. Eskimos quarterback Jason Maas, in after the second Edmonton possession, was picked off by Jonnie Dixon deep in Calgary territory. Dixon returned the ball 82 yards for the touchdown and a 10-7 Stampeders lead.

Maas atoned of his mistake before the end of the first half, quickly driving the ball downfield before connecting with Ramonce Taylor for an eight-yard TD with 38 seconds left and a 14-10 edge at halftime.

Jared Zabransky took over as quarterback for Edmonton in the third quarter and had a good start, hooking up with Brad Smith on an eight-yard passing strike to make it 21-10 for the Eskimos.

Edmonton was pressing again before Zabransky was picked off on the Calgary 19 by Greg Trent. Maver kicked a field goal to make it 21-13.

Calgary closed the third with a big gain as Tate threw a 75-yard to Deon Murphy down to the Edmonton 21, but the Stamps were held to a Maver field goal to make it 21-16 early in the fourth quarter.

Calgary took the lead with less than two minutes remaining as the Stamps third quarterback on the night, Champion, scored on a one-yard plunge after Edmonton had been called for pass interference in the end zone. The two-point convert attempt failed leaving Calgary up by one, 22-21.

Edmonton had fourth-string QB Floyd Haigler in for most of the fourth and he was unable to engineer a comeback.

Maver added a punt single to close out the game.

Both teams wrap up the pre-season next Sunday as the Stampeders host the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Eskimos travel to B.C.

Notes: The Esks and Stamps became the first teams in professional football to play on the new, upgraded, state-of-the-art FieldTurf Duraspine Pro surface on Sunday. Only one other team in pro football — the New England Patriots — has installed the new next-level turf to this point, but has yet to play a game on it… Eskimos returner Tristan Jackson left the game with a shoulder injury and did not return… Speedy receiver Kelly Campbell, who returned to the Eskimos earlier in the week, did not dress. Campbell debuted with the Eskimos in 2008 and stood out with 54 catches for 1,223 yards… The Alberta rivals met four times during the regular season and once more in the Western Semi-Final. Calgary had the edge, winning three of the four regular-season match-ups and also prevailing in the playoff encounter… Edmonton sat out a number of key veterans including receivers Fred Stamps and Kamau Peterson and running back Arkee Whitlock… Joffrey Reynolds, Nik Lewis, Romby Bryant, Wes Lysack and Charleston Hughes were among those sitting out for the Stampeders… With Commonwealth Stadium undergoing extensive repairs the Eskimos have been changing in nearby Clarke Stadium. That meant the only dressing room available for the game was the visiting one occupied by Calgary, leading Stamps coach John Hufnagel to jokingly offer the use of the bathroom in their room to the Esks at a rate of $5 a pop.