Courtesy Edmonton Journal:

A stunning rainbow formed over McMahon Stadium on Friday night as Jason Maas ran off the bench to quarterback the sad-sack Edmonton Eskimos.

But nothing — not even the appearance of the fiery No. 12 — could spark the Eskimos on a stormy night in Southern Alberta as the Calgary Stampeders pounded the Eskimos 39-14 before an announced crowd of 20,219.

Edmonton intentionally rested a star-studded group of veterans, including quarterback Ricky Ray, slotback Kamau Peterson, defensive end Fred Perry, defensive tackle Dario Romero and linebacker Shannon Garrett.

“We came down here and said we were going to evaluate,” said head coach Danny Maciocia. “We left about half of our football team back at home.” The only scoring for the Eskimos came in the final four minutes with the stadium half-empty.

First, rookie cornerback Tristan Jackson busted loose for a 92-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.

“I just had great blocking in front of me,” said Jackson, who likely earned a job on returns. ” I just hit the hole. Hit and run.” To make the score more respectable, rookie quarterback Tyler Donovan hit tailback A.J. Harris for a 19-yard touchdown catch-and-run play with 26 seconds remaining.

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