Montreal @ Edmonton preview

Montreal at Edmonton

Last Meeting ( Aug 18, 2018 ) Montreal 24, Edmonton 40

The Edmonton Eskimos are set to begin life without quarterback Mike Reilly when they open the new season at home against the Montreal Alouettes on Friday. Reilly spent six star-studded seasons in Edmonton, winning the Grey Cup in 2015 before opting to sign a free-agent deal with the BC Lions but the Eskimos believe they've signed a suitable replacement in Trevor Harris, who hopes to lead the team back into the playoffs after missing out on the postseason for the first time since 2013.

"Everybody that I've been around that's been really successful puts in the time and Trevor is one of those guys," Edmonton coach Jason Maas told reporters. "He'll understand our offence as well as anybody on the team and he's been in the league for eight years." Montreal has already suffered a setback ahead of the new season after coach Mike Sherman decided to part ways with the franchise one week before the team's opener, with offensive coordinator Khari Jones taking the reins on an interim basis. An air of uncertainty hangs over the Alouettes as they failed to make the playoffs for the fourth straight year and were unable to find a buyer for the franchise, forcing the league to take charge until a new owner is secured. Antonio Pipkin has been tabbed the new starting quarterback after beating out Vernon Adams Jr, and Matt Shiltz in a spirited battle and the 23-year old, who has five career starts under his belt, hopes to lead the Alouettes to their first win over Edmonton since Oct. 5, 2013.

TV: 9 p.m. ET, TSN, RDS

ABOUT THE ALOUETTES (2018: 5-13): Pipkin threw for 1,120 yards and three touchdowns while adding eight rushing TDs as he split time with Johnny Manziel - the former Heisman Trophy winner who was released late in the season for violating the terms of agreement in his contract set out by the CFL. Montreal made it a priority to re-sign Geno Lewis, who led the team with 44 catches for 827 yards to go along with four touchdowns while William Stanback will be the lead running back after an impressive rookie season which saw the 24-year-old gain 539 rushing yards on 81 carries. "We'll be ready," Jones told reporters. "We've been working on some things we didn't show in our preseason games and our goal is to dictate the play on offence."

ABOUT THE ESKIMOS (2018: 9-9): Harris was the marquee signing in Edmonton's free-agent shopping spree after throwing for a career-high 5,116 yards and 22 touchdowns last season with the Ottawa Redblacks and will lead an offence, which will feature several new players at the skill positions. Edmonton lost two of the league's best wide receivers as Duke Williams (88 catches, 1,579 yards, 11 touchdowns) went to the NFL and Derel Walker (51, 875, eight) signed with the Toronto Argonauts, but the Eskimos hope free-agent signings DaVaris Daniels and Greg Ellingson can fill the void. C.J. Gable is back after becoming the first Edmonton player to rush for more than 1,000 yards in seven years after racking up 1,063 and seven touchdowns last season.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Edmonton has won 10 straight meetings with Montreal.

2. The Alouettes are 3-17 against West Division opponents since the start of the 2017 season.

3. Ellingson has surpassed 1,000 receiving yards in four consecutive years.

PREDICTION: Eskimos 30, Alouettes 18