EDMONTON — CFL fans had their first taste of the battle of Alberta on Sunday night as the Edmonton Eskimos played host to the Calgary Stampeders and it was a high-scoring, entertaining affair as Calgary took the contest 36-35.

It was Calgary’s Andrew Buckley who tossed the game-winning touchdown to Richard Sindani with just over a minute late in the game – and the score tied.

And with under 20 seconds left in the contest, the Eskimos had cut the Stampeders lead to 36-35 but after an unsuccessful two-point convert it was the Stampeders who held on for the victory.

James Franklin – who connected on eight of 12 passes for 188 yards in the contest – helped the Esks back from a 15-0 deficit but it wasn’t enough to defeat the reigning West Division champion Stampeders in pre-season action.

Bo Levi Mitchell got the start for the Calgary Stampeders in his team’s second, and final, pre-season game and finished his night connecting on eight of 11 passes for 107 yards.

Mike Reilly, who was wearing the No. 0 to honour late Eskimo legend Larry Highbaugh, started under centre for the Eskimos. He finished the night connecting on seven of 12 passes for 73 yards before being replaced by backup Franklin in the second quarter.

Both teams had many of their starters playing in the contest, as Mitchell, Jerome Messam, DaVaris Daniels and Alex Singleton all saw their first action of 2017 for Calgary while Reilly, Adarius Bowman, Brandon Zylstra and John White all started for Edmonton.

Calgary was the first team to get on the scoreboard as Roy Finch scored a punt return touchdown on his first touch of the contest. Finch returned Sean Whyte’s 48-yard punt 81 yards for the major score, and after Rene Paredes’ point after, the Stampeders held a 7-0 lead just four minutes in to the game.

Mitchell Gale, who is fighting for the backup position behind Mitchell this season, scored the game’s second major score on a quarterback sneak.

Mitchell moved his team down the field first handing off to Messam twice, followed by two gains from his early favourite target Kamar Jorden (eight and 36 yards, respectively) before passing to Messam out of the back field. Messam jumped over the first Eskimo defender and then broke a tackle as he brought the Stamps’ offence to the one yard line, setting up for Gale’s major. The score put the Stampeders ahead 14-0 with five minutes left in the first quarter.

The Eskimos’ offence struggled to get going early on in the contest and on their next possession John White fumbled the ball. Calgary recovered, bringing Mitchell and co. right back onto the field.

Mitchell missed his first pass of the first half – after he made eight-of-eight passes for over 100 yards – when he tried to connect with last year’s Most Outstanding Rookie, Daniels. That led to Rob Maver’s punt that bounced through the end zone adding a single point to Calgary’s lead (15-0).

Reilly’s night was finished with eight minutes left in the first half and Franklin entered the game looking to spark the Esks’ offence.

The Eskimos’ pivot moved the chains down the field, setting up the Esks first score of the contest. Sean Whyte kicked a 51-yard field goal, cutting Calgary’s lead to 15-3.

Franklin kept things going on his team’s next series, throwing a 51-yard pass to Zylstra that helped set up Whyte’s second field goal of the evening. The 28-yard kick cut the Stampeders’ lead to 15-6 with under three minutes left in the first half.

On the next series, Gale took over for Mitchell under centre for Calgary. Things didn’t start well for Gale, after he threw a pick to Kent London on his second pass of the contest.

That turnover lead to the Eskimos’ first touchdown of the night as Travon Van ran three yards into the end zone for the score. With Whyte’s point after, the Eskimos cut Calgary’s lead to 15-13 with under a minute left in the first half.

Franklin and co. started the second half exactly where they left off in the first. Edmonton’s quarterback moved his team all the way down the field and after D’haquille Williams thought he had scored a touchdown, a procedure penalty brought it back.

That led to Whyte giving the Eskimos their first lead of the contest after he connected on his third field goal of the evening, this time from 41 yards out, just four minutes into the second half (16-15).

Kwaku Boateng, one of the Esks’ 2017 draft picks, made an impression in his first CFL game after he recovered a Gale fumble bringing Franklin and the Esks offence back to the field that eventually led to another Esks’ touchdown.

This time it was Kendial Lawrence who ran five yards out of the backfield and into the end zone for the score. After Whyte missed the convert kick, Edmonton extended their lead to 22-15.

On the next Stampeders drive, Ricky Stanzi took over for Gale under centre late in the third quarter. Gale finished his night connecting on four of eight passes for 56 yards and one interception. Stanzi orchestrated a scoring drive for the Stampeders, finding Rory Kohlert for a 22-yard major score late in the third quarter to tie things up at 22.

Franklin’s night was finished on the next series – he connected on eight of 12 passes for 188 yards – and Danny O’Brien saw his first action of the game as the third quarter came to a close.

There was another quarterback switch for the Stampeders, as Buckley took over in the fourth quarter and scored a touchdown with just four and a half minutes left in the contest giving Calgary a 29-22 lead.

But on the very next series, Zach Kline tossed his very first throw of the contest to Williams, who ran 90 yards into the end zone to tie the score once again (29-29).

But the Stampeders did not give up as Buckley tossed a 24-yard throw to Richard Sindani for the game-winning touchdown.

O’Brien brought the Esks down to the goal line where Marion Grice scored another major score cutting the Stampeders’ lead to just a single point (36-35). The Esks’ two-point conversion was unsuccessful as the Stampeders held on for the win.

The Stampeders pre-season has now come to a close as they await the regular season to begin and the Eskimos head to Winnipeg to take on the Blue Bombers next week.