THE CANADIAN PRESS
CALGARY — A good effort and a strong showing from the first-team offence give the Stampeders something to build on next week, but outside of that Head Coach Dave Dickenson says the only direction is up.
The Stampeders committed six turnovers and failed to score an offensive touchdown on Saturday night at McMahon Stadium, dropping their pre-season opener to the Edmonton Eskimos 23-13.
Luckily for the rookie head coach and his team there’s still plenty of time between now and the season opener on June 25 in Vancouver.
“The effort was there, they just outplayed us at the skill positions and just made more plays than us,” said Dickenson.
The Stampeders jumped out to a 6-3 lead over the Eskimos as Bo Levi Mitchell and Drew Tate each produced a field goal in their limited action in the offence. With those two in the game the Stamps moved the ball well and while they didn’t finish drives, they set up two easy field goals by kicker Rene Paredes.
» RELATED: Turnovers sink Stampeders in pre-season Battle of Alberta
Action from Saturday night’s pre-season duel in Calgary. The Eskimos won 23-13 (The Canadian Press)
After that, the struggles set in. Bryant Moniz, battling for the third-string quarterback position, threw two interceptions. The Stampeders also fumbled three times and turned the ball over on downs once.
Aside from that, the offence failed to score a touchdown, the team’s only major coming on a defensive fumble recovery from defensive back Ciante Evans.
Dickenson said after the game that effort wasn’t a factor – only sloppiness.
“Our guys, they played hard,” he said. “It’s not a well-oiled machine by any means. They made a lot of mistakes – a lot of mistakes.
“There’s tonnes of room for improvement. I feel like there’s only one way to go, which is up.”
The good news for the Stampeders is they weren’t outplayed when the starters were on the field. The game was 3-3 when Mitchell headed to the bench after going 5-of-6 for 56 yards. Mike Reilly for the Esks had a similar outcome against Calgary’s defence, going 5-of-8 for 54 yards.
With Tate under centre, the Stamps’ offence also hummed. He also set up a Paredes field goal and completed seven of 12 passing attempts for 67 yards. Both Tate and Mitchell found immediate chemistry with Joe West, a veteran who’s vying for a chance to start following the departures of Jeff Fuller and 2015 league-leading receiver Eric Rogers.
West finished with a game-high 80 receiving yards on five catches.
“I think everything went well,” said West, the 32-year-old now entering his fifth CFL season. “I got my plays and I executed them well.
“We’re missing Eric, we’re missing Jeff Fuller – we’re missing some big guys so somebody’s got to step up,” he added. “We’ve got Marquay McDaniel, he’s out here paying attention to detail every day in practice, helping the young guys.
“We’re all getting out there but somebody’s gotta step up and I’m willing to do that if the ball’s coming to me for sure. It’s my job.”
“There’s tonnes of room for improvement . . . there’s only one way to go, which is up.”
Dave Dickenson
Eskimos pivot James Franklin led all passers with 94 yards and a touchdown on 10-of-14 passing. Jordan Lynch, who scored the game-winning touchdown in the 103rd Grey Cup Championship vs. Ottawa, scored on the ground and through the air to put the Stamps in a 23-6 stranglehold.
Edmonton’s run of 20 straight points came to an end in the fourth when Evans scored the Stamps’ only touchdown on a fumble recovery – inconsequential in the game but a big play for the second-year corner who’s fighting for his spot on the team.
“I’m just hustling, trying to give effort, trying to run to the football,” said Evans. “I know our coaches preach that a lot during practice so I was just trying to run to the football and be in the right spot at the right time and I was able to score.
“We have to get better and we have to improve, I’m looking forward to next week though.”
Next week will come fast for the Stampeders as they’ll travel to Vancouver for a Friday night affair with the BC Lions – a preview of the regular season opener. First, however, Dickenson has some tough decisions to make, as teams must reduce their roster to 65 on Tuesday.
