By Mike Hardiman
Special to Stampeders.com

The Calgary Stampeders pack their bags in Week 2 and head east to Regina for their first road game of the season.

Both teams won divisional games in Week 1 and share top spot in the West.

The Stamps and Riders will face off for the first of three meetings in 2013, with this being the only time Calgary will play at Mosaic Stadium in the regular season. Of course, the Stampeders hope to play at Mosaic once more, that being in the Grey Cup game, which will be held in Regina for the third time in league history (1995, 2003).

The Riders are looking to continue the streak of teams winning the Grey Cup at home after both the Lions (2011) and Argos (2012) captured the championship in their home stadiums.

The two teams met three times in the 2012 regular season, with Calgary winning twice — 41-38 in an overtime thriller at McMahon in Week 4 and again in Week 9 in Regina by a 17-10 score. Saskatchewan managed to avoid the sweep by beating Calgary 30-25 in Week 13 at home.

Calgary led the division in both road wins (five) and wins against Western teams (seven) last season. The Stamps have been a very good road team under head coach John Hufnagel, finishing with winning records in four of five seasons posting an overall winning percentage of .600 (27 wins in 45 games) away from home.

The Kickoff

When/Where: Friday, July 5 at 7 p.m. MDT at Mosaic Stadium in Regina
Television: TSN’s Friday Night Football, ESPN3
Radio: News Talk 770, Sirius Satellite Channel 157, XM Satellite Channel 160
Internet: www.newstalk770.com

>> Calgary Depth & Roster

>> Game notes

The Stampeders 

Calgary served notice to the West Division and to the CFL in general that they will be a force to be reckoned with in 2013 as they piled up a Week 1-high 44 points in an impressive win over a BC Lions team that won a CFL-best 13 games in 2012.

The Lions handed Calgary their worst home loss last season, a 34-8 drubbing in Week 5, but Calgary exacted a measure of revenge by scoring the most points against the Lions since Calgary scored 48 points in Week 9 of 2010.

QB Drew Tate played a solid game, passing for 237 yards and three touchdowns while rating out at 118.9 on the night. SB Maurice Price led the team with six catches for 77 yards while newly acquired Jonathan Hefney led the team with 10 tackles.

CB Derrius Brooks had the Stamps’ first interception of 2013 to go along with three tackles and a pass knockdown. KR Larry Taylor also started the season off on the right foot with 11 returns for 179 yards while K Rene Paredes was perfect — two-for-two — in his field-goal attempts and scored 11 points.

Who to watch:

Jon Cornish, RB, #9

2012 stats – 1,457 yards rushing, 5.6 yard average, 11 rushing TDs. Led the CFL in rushing, won the CFL’s Most Outstanding Canadian award
Last week – 24 carries for 174 yards, 7.2 yards average, two touchdowns against BC. Was named the CFL’s top Canadian player for Week 1.
2012 vs Ssk. – 47 carries, 265 total rushing yards, 5.6 yard, 0 TDs.  Had 154 yards rushing in the Week 9 win in Regina

Nik Lewis, SB # 82

2012 stats – 100 receptions for 1,241 yards, 10 touchdowns. Set a career best in catches, tied his career high in touchdowns. Named CFL All-star for the third straight season.
Last week –  5 receptions for 56 yards, 0 TDs against BC
2012 vs Ssk. – Led team against the Riders with 14 receptions for 182 yards, 3 touchdowns in three games

Joe West, WR, #85

2012 stats – 24 receptions for 353 yards, two touchdowns in seven games played
Last week – 5 catches for 51 yards, 2 TDs against BC
2012 vs Ssk. – 8 catches, 103 yards , 1 touchdown in two games

Dan Federkeil, OT, #65

Last week – Former Calgary Dino, was his first game in the CFL after four seasons in NFL (2006-09) and three seasons away from football. The Stamps rushed for 200 yards and gave up zero sacks. Should match up against Riders DE John Chick this week.

Charleston Hughes, DE, #39

2012 stats – 53 tackles, 11 sacks, 5 forced fumbles, 7 tackles for loss, 1 interception, and 3 pass knockdowns
Last week – 4 tackles, three sacks versus B.C. Was named CFL’s top defensive player for Week 1
2012 vs Ssk. – 8 tackles, 3 sacks, 3 forced fumbles, 1 interception, 1 pass knockdown in three games

The Roughriders

The Riders finished third in the CFL in 2012 and came within a late Drew Tate to Romby Bryant touchdown strike from knocking off the Stampeders at McMahon in the West semifinal.

The Riders added several CFL veteran players in the off-season in hopes of giving the team the extra push they need play in the Grey Cup game in front of their home fans this November. The Riders have only six rookies on the team (tied for second fewest) and are second in the CFL with 12 players with more than six years of service under their belts.

Saskatchewan added SB Geroy Simon (#81), DE Ricky Foley (#95), DB Dwight Anderson (#33), DT Jermaine McElveen (#98), MLB Rey Williams (#48) and DB Weldon Brown (#35) to an already veteran team featuring such stars as SB Weston Dressler (#7), SB Chris Getzlaf (#89) and S Tyron Brackenridge (#41).

The key stat to watch for the Riders is turnovers — Saskatchewan is 11-1 in the past two seasons when the team wins the turnover battle and 1-17 when the Riders lose it. Last week, they were plus-5 in their 39-18 win over Edmonton.                                 

Who to watch:

Darian Durant, QB, #4

2012 stats – 3,878 yards passing, 20 TDs, 12 Ints, 64.4% completion rate, 92.4 QB rating. Set career highs in completion percentage and QB rating. Riders were 6-1 in games where he threw zero interceptions in 2012.
Last week – 14 completions on 22 attempts, 171 yards, 3 TDs, 0 ints, 133.0 rating
2012 vs Cgy. – 662 passing yards on 58 completions, 57.4% completion rate, 4 TDs, 2 ints in three games played

Korey Sheets, RB, #1

2012 stats – 1,277 yards rushing, 5.6 yard average, 517 receiving yards, 13 total touchdowns. Third in CFL in both yards from scrimmage and touchdowns scored.
Last week – 17 carries, 131 yards rushing, 1 TD
2012 vs Cgy. – 35 carries, 204 yards rushing, 3 TDs in three games played

John Chick, DE, #97

2009 stats – 32 tackles, 11 sacks, 2 fumble returns. Was named CFL Most Outstanding Defensive Player. Spent 2010-12 in the NFL
Last week –  2 tackles versus Edmonton

Stats

Here are the two teams’ offensive and defensive totals and league rankings for last week’s games

The CFL this Week

The CFL this Week: 

Thursday, July 4, 5 p.m. – Montreal (1-0) at Winnipeg (0-1)
Thursday, July 4, 8 p.m. – Toronto (1-0) at B.C. Lions (0-1)
Sunday, July 7,  3 p.m. – Edmonton (0-1) at Hamilton (0-1) at  Alumni Stadium in Guelph, Ont.