Given his chance Jason Maas wanted to make things right.
The veteran backup quarterback threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Skyler Green with the final seconds ticking off the clock as the Edmonton Eskimos defeated the BC Lions 36-32 in both team's CFL exhibition finale Sunday afternoon.
A crowd of 24,763 saw an exciting end to the first game played at Empire Field, the outdoor, temporary venue the Lions will play in this season.
Maas wanted to make amends after a fumble he coughed up while being sacked resulted in the Lions jumping into a 32-29 lead with 2:27 left.
"You never want to turn the ball over and have it lead to points," said Maas. "It was nice resilience on our offence to take the ball down there and score the touchdown."
The Eskimos actually tied the game on a 35-yard Derek Schiavone field goal but there was a penalty on the play. The Lions were called for offside, giving the Eskimos a third-and short.
The Eskimos took the points off the board and managed to get the first down.
On the winning touchdown Green found himself wide open behind BC rookie Hamid Mahmoudi.
"I think they messed coverage up," said Maas, who completed six of 11 passes for 101 yards in the fourth quarter. "It was nice to see him behind everybody.
"I threw it out there and he made a great catch."
Green was surprised to be so alone.
"Not toward the end of the game you don't expect to be open," he said. "We fought for 60 minutes. It fell our way."
The Lions trailed 24-10 at halftime but rallied to tie the game with a pair of third quarter touchdowns.
Lions quarterback Travis Lulay gave the Lions the lead when he hit Terence Scott with a 26-yard touchdown.
"We did some good things," said Lulay, who competed eight of 12 passes for 144 yards and also ran for a touchdown.
"We would have liked to have finished it. I think there is good reason to be optimistic going forward into the regular season."
Eskimos quarterback Ricky Ray was near perfect in the first half. He completed 13-of-14 passes for 175 yards and a 20-yard touchdown pass to Jason Barnes.
Big fullback Calvin McCarty also had a good game for Edmonton. He had two catches for 26 yards and ran 44 yards on eight carries and scored a touchdown.
Defensive back T. J. Hill returned an interception 59 yards for another Eskimo TD.
BC running back Jamal Robertson, who signed as a free agent from Toronto in the off-season, scored on a short run and a one-yard pass from quarterback Casey Printers.
Printers started the game for BC but got off to a shaky start. Hill picked off his first pass and returned it to the end zone. Printers finished the day completing 13-of-22 passes for 263 yards, a touchdown and an interception.
"If we didn't give them seven points on offence in the first quarter we win that game," said Printers.
Still, Printers was pleased with the way the Lions played.
"We played well enough to win," he said. "We left some points on the board in the second quarter.
"It's tapering down the penalties, tapering down on the turnovers and cleaning things up. That's what this process is all about."
Lions running back Jamall Lee looked good in the second quarter, grabbing a Printers pass and rumbling 95 yards. That set up Robertson's first touchdown.
In the third quarter Derick Armstrong caught a 50-yard pass from Printers. That drive was capped off with Robertson's second touchdown.
Lulay took over midway through the third quarter and hooked up with Geroy Simon on a 52-yard pass. Lulay finished the drive with a one-yard run.
The Lions opened their exhibition season last week with a 19-17 win over Saskatchewan while Edmonton was beaten 23-21 by Calgary.
Printers liked the feel of Empire Field. The tight confines of the stadium means the crowd sits close to the field.
"It's awesome," he said. "The crowd is right there. It's a treat."
Chris Albright and his six-year-old son Richard gave the thumbs up to the Lions' temporary home.
Albright isn't worried nostalgia may suffer this fall when the temperatures drop and cold rain pours down.
"I'll put up an umbrella and enjoy the game," he grinned.
Empire Stadium was the Lions' home from Aug. 11, 1954, when they played the Montreal Alouettes, until 1982.
Empire Stadium was demolished in January 1993.
