THE CANADIAN PRESS
CFL.ca Staff
EDMONTON– James Franklin did not disappoint in his first CFL start as the Edmonton Eskimos put up 21 points in the fourth quarter to surge past the Toronto Argonauts 38-15 at Commonwealth Stadium.
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Franklin was spectacular in his debut, throwing 29-for-38 for 335 yards and rushing for a game high 51 yards on four carries. He threw for one touchdown and added another rushing major.
The quarterback’s favourite target of the night appeared to be Derel Walker who was equally impressive with seven catches for a game high 164 yards and one touchdown.
Trevor Harris went 20-for-26 with one interception and no touchdown passes.
Franklin’s first quarter as a starting quarterback was virtually flawless.
On his first drive in his first CFL start, Franklin completed his first seven passes to advance his team to the red zone and capped off the drive by rushing 18 yards into the end zone.
Franklin continued to impress in the first quarter by connecting with Derel Walker for a 51-yard pass on Edmonton’s second drive of the game. Unable to finish the drive with another touchdown, the Eskimos settled for a 23-yard field goal by Grant Shaw at the end of the quarter to put them up 10-0.
Toronto finally worked its way into scoring range, setting up Swayze Waters for a 36-yard field goal attempt. However, the kicker uncharacteristically hit the ball wide and the Argos were only able to pick up a single.
The Argonauts were finally able to crack the league’s best defence at the end of the second quarter after a six play, 60 yard scoring drive. Harris connected with Diontae Spencer for a 28-yard pass to put the Argos a yard short of the end zone. A short rush by Adrian McPherson with less than a minute left on the clock cut the Eskimos lead to 11-8 and put the Argos right back in the game at half.
Franklin had an impressive first half in his CFL debut, completing 79 per cent of his pass attempts for 204 passing yards.
Franklin continued to dazzle in the second half by throwing a 53-yard pass to Derel Walker which lead to a 21-yard field goal. Shaw nailed his third field goal of the game on the next drive, this time from 32 yards out, to increase the Eskimos grip over the Argos to lead by nine.
But the comeback kids would not go down easily and sought to spoil Franklins’ debut.
A costly pass interference call against the Eskimos advanced the Argos within striking distance of the end zone to set up a one yard pass to Vidal Hazelton for a major with just seconds left in the quarter to end the third at 17-15.
Toronto has become infamous for its fourth quarter comebacks, but was unable to pull out a come from behind victory as the Eskimos pulled away in the final 15 minutes.
Kendial Lawrence returned a 65-yard punt for a touchdown with 10:52 remaining to regain the Esks nine-point lead and to shift momentum in favour of Edmonton. The touchdown ignited the Eskimos as they continued to charge full throttle at the Argos.
On the next drive, Franklin rushed 12 yards for a pivotal first down on second and long to put the Esks at the Toronto eight-yard line. He then found Walker in the corner of the end zone for an eight-yard touchdown to cap off a seven play, 48-yard drive to extend the lead.
But the Eskimos weren’t done their fourth quarter scoring there and continued to put the game out of reach of the Argonauts with an interception by Aaron Grymes that was returned for 54 yards. Jordan Lynch then took over the drive, rushing nine yards for the touchdown.
The Argonauts will seek redemption when they travel to the Hammer on Sept. 7 to face the rival Hamilton Tiger-Cats at Tim Hortons Field while the Edmonton Eskimos pay a visit to their western opponents, the Calgary Stampeders, on Sept. 7 at McMahon Stadium.
