Courtesy Edmonton Journal:

Halfway through the second quarter Thursday, Ricky Ray was crumpled on the green, green grass of home.

The trainers made like pass rushers as they scrambled to his aid, while Edmonton Eskimos head coach Danny Maciocia’s heart was in his throat.

Deja vu all over again?

Not this time, fortunately, but it was still an anxious time for the Eskimos with their quarterback going down again in his first action since separating his throwing shoulder in the 13th game last season.

This time, Ray was only shaken and escaped with a pinched nerve in his neck after two Saskatchewan Roughrider pursuers — Kitwana Jones and Dek Bake — nailed him with a grabbed facemask and a blow to the head.

Ray was done for the night after completing 10 of 18 passes for 115 yards and a touchdown strike to running back Damian Anderson in the 37-7 pre-season romp, but he’ll live to fight another day. He’ll be playing pitch-and- catch next Saturday in a rematch at Regina to kick off the CFL regular season.

It was a fairly tidy bit of work for Ray in his 23 minutes, and all he needed was a little bit of body work.

“I got my head ripped off my neck and got a little bit of a burner. I got a little numbness and tingling in my left arm … thank God that’s all that happened,” admitted Ray, who watched from the sidelines as veteran Jason Maas was a terrific 16-for-19 for 256 yards before giving way to Stefan LeFors for the fourth quarter.

Read more….