Evan Daum
Edmonton Journal
EDMONTON – Grant Shaw was anything but forgotten Saturday night.
Largely an afterthought in last winter’s deal that sent Ricky Ray to the Toronto Argonauts, Shaw played a starring role in his Edmonton Eskimo debut against his former squad, going four-for-four on field goals and adding a convert in a 19-15 win at Commonwealth Stadium.
“They’re the headliners of the trade and I’m in the small print, which is fine by me,” Shaw said about the swap of quarterbacks Ray and Steven Jyles.
“For me, it was an opportunity to get home and I couldn’t be more thankful for that.”
The former University of Saskatchewan Huskie’s big leg was on full display against the Argos, nailing field goals from 44, 27, 42 and 29 yards.
His picture-perfect night came after getting the start over import kicker Swayze Waters, who was brought into the mix after Edmonton’s final pre-season game just over a week ago.
“I really wanted to beat them, regardless of if I was playing or not, and for us to beat them. It’s Week 1 and we just have to build on it,” Shaw said.
“They’re always going to bring competition in and, for me, it just pushes me harder and I just kind of prepared like I would be doing the job all week. When I got the nod, I felt like I was ready to go.”
Shaw’s terrific night stood in stark contrast to counterpart Noel Prefontaine’s outing. Prefontaine, who played with Shaw the last two seasons in Toronto, struggled against the Esks, missing from 32 and 24 yards in a two-for-four outing.
“It’s just unlucky. That’s kind of how it goes for kickers sometimes,” Shaw said. “There’s factors that you might not even know of. It could’ve been a bad hold. There are so many different factors you never really know about.”
Shaw outshining Prefontaine proved to be the difference in a game that saw the teams score only one touchdown each.
“Absolutely clutch,” Eskimo Head Coach Kavis Reed said of Shaw’s night. “We held the decision as long as we possibly could and the young man came in and he’s the reason we’re celebrating this win right now.”
“It feels good. It’s just building on this now and we’ve got to move forward and get better every week. I think we probably left some points on the board,” Shaw said. “As long as we’re winning, I’m happy.”
