Durant, Saskatchewan give Edmonton Eskimos a rough ride in 39-18 win

EDMONTON – Quarterback Darian Durant passed for three touchdowns as the Saskatchewan Roughriders started off the CFL season in fine form, blasting the Edmonton Eskimos 39-18 on Saturday afternoon.

The Roughriders are off to a 1-0 start in their quest to appear in the 101st Grey Cup in Regina.

The Eskimos lost their first season-opener in three years under head coach Kavis Reed.

Saskatchewan scored five minutes in to the game’s opening drive as Kory Sheets took a handoff from Durant and scampered 19 yards for the touchdown and an early 7-0 lead.

The Eskimos took a string of penalties that allowed the Riders to march downfield and make it 14-0, as Durant hit Taj Smith for a 13-yard TD pass with a minute to play in the opening quarter.

Saskatchewan added a punt single before Edmonton came back with a single point of their own on a missed field goal. The botched kick came shortly after finally having good field possession thanks to a 46-yard passing play to Fred Stamps.

The disastrous opening half for the Eskimos concluded with an extremely poor play. Edmonton found itself deep in its own end with time expired and quarterback Mike Reilly opted to pass instead of going down on a broken play. Renauld Williams picked off the pass and ran it 19 yards into the end zone to put the Roughriders up 22-1 at half.

The Eskimos left the field at the half to a chorus of boos form their hometown fans.

The Roughriders continued their assault to start the third quarter as a 36-yard passing play set up a three-yard TD toss from Durant to Chris Getzlaf to make it 29-1.

Edmonton returner John White fumbled the ensuing kickoff at his own 30 and Sam Hurl was there to pounce on it. The latest in a series of Eskimo miscues set up a four-yard TD pass to Scott McHenry just over a minute after their first major of the half.

The Eskimos finally got some earned points on the board when Grant Shaw kicked a 40-yard field goal to make it 36-4. Saskatchewan also conceded a safety to make it 36-6 at the end of the third.

The Riders added a field goal before Edmonton saved a little face with a touchdown midway through the fourth as Stamps made a leaping catch for a 19-yard major to make it 39-12 after the missed two-point convert.

Shaw added a pair of field goals in the final two minutes for the Eskimos.

The Riders return home to face the Calgary Stampeders on Friday. The Eskimos travel to Hamilton to play the Ticats next Sunday.

Notes: The Roughriders have not had much success at Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium over the years. Saskatchewan came into the game with just a 9-40 regular season record, including a six-game losing streak extending back to September 2009… Saskatchewan finished third in the CFL’s West Division last season with a record of 8-10, while Edmonton was fourth at 7-11. Both teams lost out in the semifinals as the Riders fell 36-30 to Calgary in the West and Edmonton crossed over and lost 42-26 to the Toronto Argos in the East… The Eskimos are one of the most inexperienced teams in the league with 18 players in their first or second year and an average of 2.5 years experience through their lineup. The Riders have an average of 3.5 years experience, tied for second behind B.C. with an average of four years… Star slotback Geroy Simon was unable to make his debut for Saskatchewan after suffering an injury in the Riders’ last pre-season game against Calgary. Simon, the league’s all-time leading receiver, was acquired from the B.C. Lions in the off-season… Stamps hit the 400 career receptions mark in the game.