Despite being sacked seven times in the game, Maas threw for two touchdowns as the Eskimos rallied from a 24-6 deficit to beat the Renegades 40-24 in the Eskimos' home opener at Commonwealth Stadium.
Maas completed 15-of-29 passes for 354 yards, including strikes to Scott Robinson and Terry Vaughn.
The Eskimos now sit atop the West Division with a 2-0 record, while the Renegades drop to 0-1-0-1 in the East.
Edmonton Eskimos Singor Mobley, takes down Ottawa Renegades Jimmey Oliver, (left) during the first half of CFL action.(CP/John Ulan)
For the 11 former Eskimos now playing with the Renegades -- including Ottawa pivot Dan Crowley -- the result wasn't the one they were hoping for.
Still, the expansion franchise gave the Eskimos all they could handle in the first half.
Using a combination of menacing defence and high-octane offence, the Renegades got off to a hot start.
Ottawa scored the first touchdown of the game after Gerald Vaughn blocked a Sean Fleming punt and Shawn Gallant fell on the loose ball in the end zone at 8:27 of the first quarter.
Crowley, the former Eskimos backup, connected with Denis Montana on a textbook 91-yard pass-and-run play for a touchdown at 11:13 of the second quarter. Less than three minutes later, Crowley went deep again, this time to slotback Eddie Brown for a 78 yard major.
But after being booed by 30,152 fans at their home field, the Eskimos got their act together and scored 24 unanswered points on five consecutive possessions.
After an impressive drive, Maas found Robinson from eight yards out with a minute to play in the first half and continued where he left off in the second half, engineering a drive that finished with running back Ronald Williams running in another touchdown just over one minute in.
John Avery scored on an 11-yard run after a pitch out from Maas to give the Eskimos a 27-24 lead. Fleming missed the ensuing convert after Maas fumbled the hold.
Fleming recovered from his missed convert and blocked punt earlier in the game to deliver in the field goal department. He was good from 17, 28, 49 and 38 yards, along with a 57-yard single. His 49-yard field goal was his longest so far this season.
Vaughn gave the Eskimos a 13-point lead when he hauled in a Maas pass and ran the ball in from 19 yards late in the game.
Edmonton's defence shut out the Renegades in the second half.
Game Notes: Eskimos veteran Jed Roberts left the game in the third quarter with a broken ankle. The 34-year-old Ottawa, Ont., native has the most special team tackles in Eskimo history ... The last win by an Ottawa team at Commonwealth Stadium came on Aug. 26, 1983, when the defunct Rough Riders defeated Edmonton 17-14.
