Eskimos set their sights on the Stampeders in pre-season opener

Training camp for the Eskimos opened back on May 28. After 18 practices over 13 days, the Eskimos will finally get to play a pre-season game on Sunday as they host the Calgary Stampeders on The Brick Field at Commonwealth Stadium.

The Eskimos will dress 83 players in the game, and the starters will see plenty of action in the first half with some seeing playing time in the second half.

Quarterback Mike Reilly will start and is expected to see at least a quarter of work. Backup pivots James Franklin, Danny O’Brien, and Zach Kline are all expected to play.

Head coach Jason Maas says much of the focus of pre-season games is on evaluating your talent but as professionals, his team will try to win the game on Sunday.

“I don’t like to lose at anything and I don’t think our players like to lose at anything,” Maas said. “Our message to our players is, ‘We want to win every game, we want to win every play, and you want to win every battle you face. At the end of the day, the standings of wins and losses don’t really count but what the hell else do you play the game for? You’re out here to win when the lights are on, and that’s our focus.'”

The Eskimos will be without veteran receiver Shamawd Chambers for the game as he continues to rehab from a suspected hamstring injury which occurred in week one of training camp. The Eskimos on Saturday released defensive back Tyler Thornton.

The following are the projected Eskimos offensive and defensive starters for Sunday’s game:

Offence

Quarterback: Mike Reilly

Running Back: John White

Offensive Line: Joel Figueroa-Simeon Rottier-Justin Sorensen-Matt O’Donnell-Tony Washington

Receivers: Vidal Hazelton-Adarius Bowman-Cory Watson-Brandon Zylstra-Chris Getzlaf

Defence

Defensive Line: Odell Willis-Almondo Sewell-Euclid Cummings-Philip Hunt

Linebackers: Adam Konar-J.C. Sherritt-Kenny Ladler

Defensive Backs: Johnny Adams-Garry Peters-Neil King-Brandyn Thompson-Marcell Young

The Calgary Stampeders will be playing their second and final pre-season game after opening with a 23-18 win over the B.C. Lions last Tuesday night at McMahon Stadium. Most of the starters for the Stampeders will see significant playing time, quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell is expected to see anywhere from 15 to 25 snaps.

630 CHED will have live coverage of Sunday’s pre-seaon game starting with Countdown to Kickoff at 3:30 p.m. The opening kickoff on The Brick Field at Commonwealth Stadium will be at 5 p.m.