The Canadian Press
EDMONTON–Stampeders’ head coach Dave Dickenson liked what he saw in his Canadian quarterback’s late-game poise.
Calgary native Andrew Buckley ran in one touchdown, and passed for another in the fourth quarter, as the Stampeders finished pre-season play with a perfect 2-0 record–defeating the Edmonton Eskimos 36-35 yesterday after Edmonton failed a late two-point convert attempt.
“What I think he does that the other guys can’t do is to get out of the pocket and really have some speed,” Dickenson noted.
“He has young legs and he showed it.
“He is still maturing,” Dickenson stressed. “He is still pretty raw but I liked him.
“I thought the quarterback position played well for us tonight.”
The 23-year-old former University of Calgary Dinos QB was glad to have an impact.
“I’m happy we moved the ball in the end there and were able to score, to put the ball in the end zone and win the game, basically,” Buckley said.
“I had a couple of mental errors here and there, but a win is a win.”
The Eskimos, the final team to play an exhibition game, are 0-1.
“Not the start [we wanted] but we had a lot of good things throughout the game,” said Eskimos’ head coach Jason Maas.
“I’m a positive thinker,” he added. “We battled to the end, took them right to 36-35.
“There was enough stuff throughout the game that you know you can make up that one point, but that’s why we play the game.”
The Eskimos will play their final pre-season game this Thursday in Winnipeg.
The Stampeders, meanwhile, are off until they open up regular-season play June 23 in Ottawa.
