Courtesy Edmonton Journal:

They came to vent their displeasure over the indignity of two agonizing years with a losing team in the Alberta Capital.

But the crowd of 32,706 at Commonwealth Stadium changed the game plan Thursday night as the Edmonton Eskimos won their Canadian Football League home opener by shocking the archrival Calgary Stampeders 34-31.

Slotback Kelly Campbell, an NFL castoff via Minnesota and Miami, impressed the locals with eight catches for 158 yards and two touchdowns in his Commonwealth Stadium debut.

But Ol’ Reliable Jason Tucker stole all the headlines by splitting two Calgary defenders, diving through the air, contorting his body and reaching out his right hand to reel in 36-yard touchdown catch with just 1:09 left on the clock.

“It was an unbelievable catch,” said head coach Danny Maciocia. “There’s just something about him that late in the football game.”

From there, the fresh-faced Edmonton defence stood firm and all-star cornerback Jordan Younger picked off Calgary quarterback Henry Burris to preserve the win.

“A huge win for us,” said Edmonton quarterback Ricky Ray, who completed 27 of 41 passes for 448 yards and three touchdowns. “We had the lead all game and to lose it at the end, it would have been bad for us. But we kept fighting and we got it done.”

Did they ever. But man, it was close.

The potential collapse began with five minutes remaining and Edmonton leading 26-17.

Calgary wideout Brett Ralph outran the entire Edmonton defence to reel in a 65-yard touchdown pass from Burris. The major by Ralph, a University of Alberta product, narrowed the lead to just two points.

Kicker Noel Prefontaine added a 68-yard punt single to give the Eskimos a three-point lead. Calgary marched downfield and slotback Nik Lewis silenced the crowd with a 20-yard touchdown catch to give the Stampeders a 31-27 lead with just 1:42 remaining.

“It’s discouraging,” Prefontaine said. “I don’t think there were too many people on the sideline who felt like we were going to come out of it.”

But Ray hurled the long bomb downfield to Tucker with just 55 seconds left on the clock.

“That might have been the best catch I’ve ever seen,” Prefontaine said.

With the victory, the Eskimos (1-1) vault into a tie with Calgary (1-1) for second place in the Western Conference. The Saskatchewan Roughriders (1-0) tangle with the B.C. Lions (0-1) tonight at B.C. Place Stadium.

“This is something we needed,” Tucker said. “Winning always cures everything. It cures any ailments you have. Anything that was wrong in the past.

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