Music: {allcanada} STAMPEDERS HOST ESKIMOS IN PRESEASON CLASH ON TSN

Friday, June 15, 2012

{allcanada} STAMPEDERS HOST ESKIMOS IN PRESEASON CLASH ON TSN

TSN's Friday Night Football coverage kicks off with the Battle of Alberta as the Calgary Stampeders play host to the Edmonton Eskimos in both teams' preseason openers.

Catch all the action live on TSN2 starting at 9pm et/6pm pt. The game is also available TSN Mobile TV.

The Stampeders will be looking to exact a measure of revenge against their provincial rivals after the Eskimos eliminated the Stamps in last year's West semifinal.

Drew Tate is expected to get the start at quarterback for the Stamps.

Tate heads into 2012 as the Stamps' number one pivot after taking over for the since departed Henry Burris at the end of last season.

Stampeders head coach and general manager manager John Hufnagel was impressed enough by Tate's performance in the last four games of the season that he signed the QB to a three-year extension and traded Burris to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

To provide insurance for Tate, Hufnagel acquired veteran Kevin Glenn from the Ticats as part of the Burris trade, and he will serve as the Stamps backup.

Not only did the Stamps jettison their all-time leading passer in Burris, they also cut ties with their all-time leading rusher, Joffrey Reynolds.

Reynolds' replacement is late-season sensation Jon Cornish, who will now be counted on to shoulder the majority of the carries.
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The Stamps are hoping the strong late-season showings of Tate and Cornish will translate into productive 2012 campaigns.

The Stampeders will not be the only team that takes the field Friday night that is going through a transition. The Eskimos made some serious offseason changes, most notably trading star quarterback Ricky Ray to the Toronto Argonauts.

In return for Ray, the Eskimos acquired talented young quarterback Steven Jyles.
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Second year head coach Kavis Reed has said that Jyles is the team's number one QB, but he will be pushed by veteran Kerry Joseph.

Neither Jyles or Joseph are expected to see action in the preseason opener. The starting nod is expected to be given to youngster Matt Nichols, who is in a battle for a roster position with Jeremiah Masoli and Brandon Summers, who are also expected to see action.

The Eskimos will also be without star wide out Fred Stamps, who is still recovering from offseason groin surgery.

Still, Reed says he has no concerns that Stamps -- who has recorded three straight 1,000 yard receiving seasons, and is being counted on to develop the kind of chemistry with the new QB's that he had with Ray -- to be ready for the season opener on June 30.