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Rookie QBs may be keepers
Courtesy Edmonton Journal:
Jared Zabransky, Ciatrick Fason, Arkee Whitlock, Mark Restelli, Lester Ricard and Bobby Keyes all made early impressions in battles for positions on the Edmonton Eskimos roster.
Jesse Lumsden and Jason Maas then chimed in late as the Green and Gold ran roughshod over the Saskatchewan Roughriders 45-12 in Canadian Football League pre-season openers for both teams.
Zabransky, the rookie quarterback out of Boise State, completed 10 of 14 passes — including five straight at one point — for 109 yards and a touchdown in Wednesday night’s victory before 34,793 fans at Commonwealth Stadium.
Throwing mainly off of rollouts, Zabransky kept the Riders defence off balance for most of the first half, staking the Esks to an 11-3 lead midway through the second quarter.
Zabransky scrambled for 20 yards, then two plays later found Efrem Hill for a five-yard touchdown pass at 7:26 of the second quarter to give the hosts the eight-point advantage.
“He looked good, especially when he took off. He was getting his legs underneath him and he felt comfortable,” head coach Richie Hall said of Zabransky, his starting pivot on the night. “The more reps he got in, the more he felt comfortable and then he allowed his natural abilities to take over.”
Zabransky, who has a shoulder that still isn’t 100 per cent, connected on 10 of 14 passes before coming out of the game after his TD strike.
“Things started going for me. I started seeing the field better, it started to slow down. That’s all it was, getting a feel for everything,” said Zabransky. “In this league, a quarterback that can move his feet, throw on the run, exploit the defence with his feet, can do a lot of damage. I think I’m going to be a guy that’s going to do that.”
His replacement, Ricard, started slowly (three-of-six) before finding Kevin Challenger for a 13-yard TD 1:10 into the third quarter to make it 21-10. It was set up by a Chris Ciezki fumble recovery on the opening kickoff and a 14-yard run by Fason.
Fason then upped the lead to 28-10 four minutes later on a two-yard TD scamper. He added runs of 36 and five yards on the same drive, which also included a 42-yard Ricard completion to Jason Barnes.
Fason finished with 10 carries for 84 yards and the score, while Whitlock — who started the game with carries of 10 and five yards, respectively, on the opening two plays — had six runs for 40 yards.
Other highlights included Restelli’s three tackles and an interception.
“He did a good job,” said Hall, who won in his first game as a head coach.
“He had a pick, and when you look at those two linebackers, him and T.A. (Tumbo Abanikanda), they are a pretty good set battling at the (weakside) spot. They’re two guys you’re going to have hard time keeping off your roster.
“We say read slow, react fast and he was reacting fast,” Hall added of Restelli.
Diminutive linebacker Tim St. Pierre also proved his worth. One of the Esks captains, the six-foot, 235-pound fire hydrant had a quarterback sack and four tackles.
Keyes had a pick, as did Elliott Richardson, and Jason Nugent laid a teeth-jarring hit on Riders kick returner Casey McGahee.
Hill made six catches for 49 yards and the TD, while Barnes and Challenger added three receptions each for 75 and 45 yards, respectively.
Ricard was six-of-11 passing for 106 yards and a TD.
Maas also hit Alan Turner for a 28-yard score in the dying minutes to make the score 45-12. Maas finished a eight-of-11 for 91 yards and the TD.
Everything on the night went the Esks’ way. Hall even won his first officials challenge on a catch by Willie Thornton, who made a catch but had the ground force a fumble.
The Eskimos play their second pre-season game Tuesday in Vancouver.
