The Calgary Stampeders and Edmonton Eskimos renew hostilities in the annual Labour Day Classic, highlighting Week 9 action in the CFL.
The two teams have met at McMahon Stadium every year since 1969 (save for 1973 and 1981) as part of the biggest weekend on the CFL schedule, a slate that features three traditional Labour Day matchups. Both teams are entering the game coming off big wins — Calgary (4-4, third place in the West) went on the road and beat the Riders 17-10 while the Eskimos (5-3, second in the West) also won on the road, a 26-17 win over the Argos to complete the season sweep.
The game this week is the first between the two Alberta teams and marks the first time since 2005 that the teams have had their first meeting this late in the schedule. Calgary and Edmonton play each other four times in the last 10 games and the result of this series could play a huge role in the eventual playoff positions of each team.
Calgary dominated the Labour Day Classic in the ’90s, winning six straight games from 1993-98 — but since then, the Eskimos have the edge, winning eight of 13 contests.
More recently, Calgary is 4-2 in the last six Classics and the two teams are tied 2-2 in the last four. Edmonton won last year’s Classic 35-7, its largest margin of victory since 1990. Calgary last won in 2010 when the Stamps prevailed 52-7, the largest margin of victory in Labour Day history and also the largest margin of victory ever by the Stamps over the Eskimos.
Calgary is 4-2 in the last six home games overall against Edmonton (back to 2009) and is 2-2 (but 0-2 in the last two games) at home in 2012. Calgary is also 2-1 against Western teams while Edmonton is 2-1 against the West and 2-2 on the road.
THE KICKOFF
The Alberta teams begin their fight for provincial bragging rights at 2:30 p.m. MDT on Monday, Sept. 3 at McMahon Stadium in Calgary. The game will be televised on TSN and can be heard on the radio at QR77 (AM 770 on the radio dial and www.qr77.com on the Internet) and on SIRIUS Satellite Radio, channel 157 and channel 160 for XM subscribers.
Fans in the U.S. can see the game live on NBCSN and via webcast on ESPN3 (www.espn.go.com). The game will also be seen the next day at www.tsn.ca on TSN’s video-on-demand page.
THE OFFENCE
Calgary’s offence scored 17 points in the win over Saskatchewan, the third time in four games the Stamps have failed to score 20 points. The Stampeders are third in league scoring, averaging 27.1 points per game (but only 14.8 points per game over the last four games) and are third in touchdowns scored with 20.
The game last week was played under extreme wind conditions and neither team was able to score a point going into the wind. Calgary’s run game won the day for the Red and White by totalling 185 yards and allowing Calgary to win the time of possession battle 31 minutes to 29.
It was the third game this season in which the Stamps rushed for more than 100 yards and Calgary is now 3-0 when the topping the century mark in rushing.
RB Jon Cornish rumbled for 159 yards to win Canadian player of the week honours for the third time this season. Cornish has 372 rushing yards in his past three games and this surge has vaulted him into the CFL lead with 571 yards and raised his rushing average to a respectable 5.3 yards per carry. Calgary is third in the CFL in rushing, averaging 106.6 yards per game.
WR Joe West made his CFL debut a memorable one as he led the team with five catches for 68 yards and his first CFL touchdown, a 34-yard pass from QB Kevin Glenn. WR Romby Bryant is heating up of late as well, catching five more passes for 52 yards and a major score, giving him eight receptions in the past two games.
Glenn rated out at 111.6 for the game thanks to a 62.5-per cent completion rate and two touchdown passes. Glenn’s season rating is 97.0, second best in his 12 years as a CFL quarterback.
Calgary totaled 356 yards of offence on the night and average 357 yards per game on the season, good enough for sixth spot in the CFL.
Calgary has averaged 42 points scored in its two most recent Labour Day wins and 11.5 points in the two latest losses. Calgary averaged 489 yards in the wins (including a total of 388 yards rushing), racked up 54 total first downs and averaged more than 35 minutes of possession in the wins. The stats completely reverse themselves in the losses with an average of only 235 yards (including an average of 163.5 yards passing), just 31 total first downs and an average of 24 minutes in time of possession.
THE DEFENCE
The Stamps defence continued its stout ways of late, allowing just 10 points against the Riders and making it three straight games allowing 22 points or fewer.
Calgary is still in the bottom half of the league in points allowed at an average of 25.8 points per game (fifth best). The Stamps average 358.7 yards of offence against per game, including 101.1 yards rushing, which ranks them fourth in total yards and fifth in rushing yards allowed.
The Stampeders gave up 152 yards rushing in the Week 9 win, the second-highest total allowed this season, but continued its streak of not allowing a 100-yard rusher. Calgary has now gone six straight games without allowing a 100-yard rusher, with then-Argo, now-Eskimo Cory Boyd being the last to accomplish the feat back in Week 2.
The Stamps gave up only 179 passing yards against the Riders, the fourth time this season they have given up fewer than 300 passing yards. Calgary is 4-0 when allowing fewer than 300 passing yards and 0-4 when allowing more than 300 yards. The Stampeders rank third in pass defence, allowing an average of 275.5 yards per game.
DE Charleston Hughes was named the CFL’s top defensive player of the week as he had two sacks, two forced fumbles and a terrific interception against Saskatchewan. Hughes now leads the team in sacks with four, tackles for losses with four and forced fumbles with three.
Juwan Simpson continues to lead the team in tackles with 36 (three last week) followed by LB Malik Jackson (team-leading five last game) with 29 and S Eric Fraser with 25. DB Quincy Butler leads the team in interceptions with two. Calgary is fourth in the CFL in interceptions with seven but has only one in its past four games.
THE SPECIAL TEAMS
P Rob Maver earned his paycheque in the game against the Riders, punting six times for 211 yards, an average of 35.2 yards. Maver punted three times into a fierce wind in the fourth quarter and kicked punts of 33, 36 and 36 yards despite the adverse conditions, keeping the battle for field position in Calgary’s favour.
K Rene Paredes had his field goal streak snapped at 11 as he missed a 23-yarder into the wind but did connect on his next attempt to finish the night with five points. Paredes’ field-goal percentage also dropped to 88.2 but he still leads the CFL in that category.
Marquay McDaniel got some time on the returns team, totaling 55 yards on three returns. Larry Taylor was limited to just 14 yards on two kickoff returns.
THE OPPOSITION
It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that the Eskimos are a surprise at 5-3, but the Eskimos were a playoff team in 2011, winning 11 games and beating Calgary 33-19 in the West semifinal played.
Edmonton then proceeded to remake their offence by trading away their all-time leading passer, QB Ricky Ray, in hopes of diversifying their attack and adding overall depth.
QB Steven Jyles (#3) has been under the microscope since coming over in the Ray trade and has had his ups and downs as the starter. The Edmonton QB sits seventh among starters with 1,497 passing yards, five touchdowns and a QB rating of 84.9. Jyles has lots of weapons to work with including top receiver Fred Stamps (#2, 32 catches for 433 yards) and RB Hugh Charles (#7, third in the CFL with 504 yards rushing and third on the team with 284 receiving yards).
He also now has RB Cory Boyd (#28), who is slowly working himself into the Eskimos offence after coming over from Toronto. Boyd is fourth in CFL rushing with 494 yards but has only 47 yards in two games with the Eskies.
The Eskimos boast one of the top defences in the CFL (second in points allowed at 19.3 per game) and are anchored in the middle by MLB J.C. Sherritt (#47) who, with 70 tackles, is on pace to shatter the CFL record of 129 set in 1994 by Toronto’s Calvin Tiggle. Sherritt also has three interceptions and a fumble recovery.
Sherritt is tied for the league lead in picks with teammate Joe Burnett (#22). Burnett has 22 tackles and a fumble recovery to go along with those picks and has scored two touchdowns including a 108-yard interception-return score.
The Eskimos have a veteran defence featuring LB T.J. Hill (#12) and DB Chris Thompson (#29) as well as promising third-year players such as LB Damaso Munoz (#45) and DB Weldon Brown (#35).
THE OTHER GAMES
Labour Day weekend features some interesting matchups this year across the CFL. Friday Night Football starts the ball rolling with a battle of first place teams as the Alouettes (5-3) host the Lions (6-2) followed by the annual Saskatchewan-Winnipeg Labour Day weekend game on Sunday. This is a battle of last place teams as the Riders are fourth in the West at 3-5 and the Bombers sit last in the East at 2-6.
Toronto (4-4, second in the East) visits Hamilton (3-5, third place) on Monday in the latest chapter of their storied Labour Day rivalry.
NEXT UP
The Annual Labour Day Rematch is set for Friday, Sept. 7 in Edmonton as the Stampeders and Eskimos play the second half of their back-to-back series. Calgary won last year’s rematch game 30-20 and is currently on a five-game winning streak in the rematch dating back to 2007.
— Mike Hardiman