Veteran receiver Joe West carried the offensive load in Sunday’s annual Red and White mock game at McMahon Stadium.

The intra-squad game was highlighted by the fifth-year pass catcher and former Texas-El Paso standout hauling in a deep toss over the middle before burning up field for six points in front of more than 1,000 fans savouring the sunny skies.

“It went well,” said the 32-year-old wideout. “We got everybody in there and everybody got great reps. The rookies got in there and they got to compete and they looked good. The defence was getting after it and I think we got everything we needed out of the scrimmage. We are off to a good start.”

Deliberately designed to create game-like scenarios and simulate specific situations, the non-contact mock game was the first chance for Stampeders rookies to perform outside of a routine practice.

And for those first-year hopefuls having previously played exclusively in the United States, the mock game is considered their initial opportunity to adapt to the nuances of the Canadian rulebook.

Yet more experienced players such as West can also greatly benefit from the glorified scrimmage, familiarizing themselves with the process of play calls being relayed from the sideline and CFL officials on hand to enforce penalties and on-field infractions.

“I think it was good because we’re always out on the field together all the time and it’s good to be (back) on the sideline,” said West, coming off a 2015 campaign with 36 catches for 285 yards and two touchdowns over six games. “(We could) get groups out there on the field and see what they can do.”

The one-time Dallas Cowboy, New Orleans Saint and St. Louis Ram was pleased with his individual performance on Sunday afternoon and was quick to credit his work ethic and laser-focus through training camp thus far.

“Oh yeah, definitely,” the soft-spoken West offered when asked whether he was satisfied with his mock-game performance, which included a series of targets and receptions. “I work hard every day and I’ve paid attention to detail as camp continues to go on. But I expect it to get better and better so I’ll keep on working.”

With 15 receivers currently on the training camp roster, West is aiming for a starting role in Week 1, but knows there’s a long way to go before the 46-man roster is set.

The biggest test to date will be this upcoming Saturday when the Stamps play host to the Edmonton Eskimos for both teams’ first pre-season tilt of 2016.

“I’m looking forward to the season, but we’ve got a couple more days,” said an optimistic yet cautious No. 85. “We’ll try to get everything out of these couple days.”