Edmonton Eskimos @ Saskatchewan Roughriders
Date: Saturday, June 28, 2008
Place: Mosaic Stadium at Taylor Field - Regina
Kick-off: 5:30pm
Television: TSN
Radio: 630 CHED Edmonton (Bryan Hall & Dave Campbell)
620 CKRM Regina (Rod Pedersen & Carm Carteri)
Overview
If anyone needs extra motivation for the '08 lid lifter, the Eskimos can flash back to October 26, 2007 when the Riders snuffed out Edmonton's playoff hopes with a 36 - 29 OT win at Commonwealth. Much has changed for both teams since that night. The Riders would go on to win the Grey Cup, their first since '89, while the Esks would miss the post-season for the second straight year. No sweeter revenge for the Esks than to start 2008 with a win in Regina over the reigning champions.
Danny Maciocia wasted little time in overhauling his staff, bringing in the likes of Noel Thorpe, Mike Kelly, Ronnie Vinklarek and Don Wnek - all with CFL experience; promoting Rick Worman to Offensive Coordinator and adding the recently retired A.J. Gass as a defensive assistant. On the player personnel side Maciocia was no less active, landing CFL free agents - Jason Maas, Dario Romero and Garrick Jones to bring much needed experience and character. In separate deals, Maciocia traded for CFL All-Stars Fred Perry, Jordan Younger, Noel Prefontaine and Brock Ralph. Maciocia pulled off a draft day coup by swapping first round picks with Calgary and acquiring veteran centre John Comiskey, younger brother of Dan, and promising receiver Kevin Challenger.
Canadian talent was significantly upgraded as the work of Dan McKinnon, Ed Hervey and the scouts paid dividends at the draft table. With the exception of first round pick Greg Wojt (OL-Central Michigan) who has still college eligibility remaining, the remaining five players in the '08 Draft class are on the club's 53 man roster to start the season.
A few well publicized fights garnered headlines, but the real news from training camp '08 was the intense daily battle for jobs. Unheralded rookie Tristan Jackson locked up a spot as the Esks kick returner with a pair of pre-season TD returns. Damien Anderson, the former Arizona Cardinal and late addition in '07 held off some stiff competition to earn the starting running back job.
New coaches and players aside, the fate of the Esks' season rests squarely on the shoulders and arm of Ricky Ray. The Esks all-time leader in pass completions and yards suffered a season ending shoulder separation on September 28 against Toronto and Edmonton would go on to drop the final six games. Ray didn't go under the knife and thanks to a rigorous off-season rehab program, the sixth year CFL veteran is now back in top form.
Notables
- Jason Tucker needs 1 TD receptions to tie Tom Scoott for 2nd in TD receptions in Eskimo history (58).
- Ricky Ray needs 2 TD passes to tie Tom Wilkinson for 3rd in career TD passes in Eskimo history (129).
- Shannon Garrett needs 7 tackles for 600 defensive tackles in his career.
- The Eskimos have won 3 season openers against Saskatchewan and have lost 5 to them.
- For 2 of the 3 season openers won, the Eskimos have gone on to the Grey Cup final.
- The Eskimos are 36-22-1 for season opener games.
- Edmonton Sun Sports Columnist Terry Jones is as old as the Eskimos. He turned 60 years old on Wednesday, June 25.
The Eskimos host the Calgary Stampeders on July 3, 2008. Buy Eskimo tickets online at ticketmaster.ca or call 451-8000. For more information on the Edmonton Eskimo Football Club please visit our website at www.esks.com.
The Eskimos open the 2008 CFL regular season in Saskatchewan, Saturday, June 28 (kickoff 5:30pm) . Edmonton hosts Calgary Thursday, July 3 (8:00pm kickoff). For more information on the Edmonton Eskimos visit our website at www.esks.com.
The Edmonton Eskimo Football Club is one of the most successful teams in CFL history with 13 Grey Cup championships and a North American pro-sports record of 34 consecutive years in the playoffs. A community-owned team, the Eskimos pride themselves on giving back to the community that has supported the organization throughout its illustrious history.
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