By Mike Hardiman
Special to Stampeders.com

The Pregame

The Stampeders play their second straight home game as they take on the visiting Toronto Argonauts in a battle of the CFL’s two first-place teams.

Calgary (9-2) eked out a 26-22 win over Hamilton last week and, in doing so, took over sole possession of first place in the West for the first time this season. Calgary also ran its winning streak to four games, the longest current streak in the CFL, and the win marked the second time this season the Stamps have won four games in a row (they also had two four-game winning streaks in 2012).

Lastly, the win clinched a playoff spot for the Stamps, making Calgary the first team in the CFL to qualify for the post-season in 2013. This will be Calgary’s ninth straight year in the playoffs dating back to 2005 and that streak includes all six seasons with John Hufnagel at the helm.

The Argos (7-4) upset the Riders at Mosaic Stadium last week, beating Saskatchewan 31-29, and Toronto has now won two straight games.

Calgary pounded the Argos 35-14 back in Week 9 to start its current win streak but have lost the last two games played against Toronto at McMahon — 22-14 in Week 8 last season and 23-21 in 2011. The Stamps have won 10 straight home games dating back to last season and it was the Argos who last beat Calgary at McMahon.

Of course the two teams met in the 100th Grey Cup Championship game in Toronto last year, with the Argos winning 35-22, so the rivalry between these two teams is at an all-time high.

Calgary is 5-0 at home and 5-0 against East teams thus far this season while Toronto is an impressive 4-1 on the road and 3-3 against the West.

The Kickoff

When/Where: Saturday, Sept. 21 at 5:30 p.m. at McMahon Stadium in Calgary
Television: TSN, ESPN3
Radio: News Talk 770, Sirius Satellite Channel 157, XM Satellite Channel 160
Internet: www.newstalk770.com

The Stampeders 

Calgary bucked the trend of recent weeks in terms of offensive production last week by losing the first down, total offence, time of possession and turnover battles with the Ticats but still winning the game.

The Stamps still used their ball-control offence effectively and managed to come from behind for the win. Calgary rushed for 110 yards and had five different players carry the ball, highlighted by RB Jon Cornish’s team-high 72 yards. Cornish broke the 1,000-yard mark for the second straight season. It was the 16th time in the past 20 seasons the Stamps have had a 1,000-yard rusher, starting with Tony Stewart in 1994.

QB Bo Levi Mitchell hit eight different receivers in the game but had a bit of help from P Rob Maver, who completed a 31-yard pass to Matt Walter on a fake punt to keep a drive alive in the third quarter. Maver was named the CFL’s top special teams player for the week after averaging 48.8 yards per punt on five kicks. Maver leads the CFL in punting at 45.3 yards per punt.

Calgary’s defence was also uncharacteristic in the win, allowing a season-high 408 yards passing to Hamilton’s Henry Burris after not allowing a single 300-yard passer all season.

What did remain consistent, however, was the pass rush. Calgary collected five sacks on the night to raise its season total to 41, with 19 of the sacks coming in the past three games. 

Who to watch:          

Kevin Glenn, QB, #15
2013 stats – 159 attempts, 109 completions, 68.6% completion rate, 1,266 passing yards, 7 TDs, 2 INTs, 101.8 QB rating in six starts (5-1 record in those games)
Last Week – injured, did not play
2013 vs Tor. – 20 attempts, 14 completions, 70.0% completion rate, 228 passing yards, 2 TDs, 0 INTs, 141.3 QB rating in Week 9     

Maurice Price, WR, #17
2013 stats – 37 receptions, 533 yards, 14.4 yard average, 5 TDs  – second on team in receiving; 80 yard TD last week was longest play from scrimmage this year by the Stamps
Last Week – 5 receptions, 108 yards, 21.6 yard average, 1 TD – led team in receiving
2013 vs Tor. – missed Week 9 game due to injury

Larry Taylor, WR-KR, # 2
2013 stats – 36 kickoff returns, 781 yards, 21.7 yard average; 59 punt returns, 520 yards, 8.8 yard average; 1 missed field goal return, 103 yards – leads CFL in punt returns, second in combined yards
Last Week – 6 punt returns, 108 yards, 18.0 yard average, long return of 70 yards; 1 missed field goal return, 103 yards
2013 vs Tor. – 4 kickoff returns for 104 yards, 26.0 yard average; 3 punt returns for 16 yards, 5.3 yard average in Week 9

Keon Raymond, LB, #25
2013 stats – 37 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 tackle for loss, 6 pass knockdowns – leads team in tackles
Last Week – 7 tackles,  2 pass knockdowns vs Ham. – tied for team lead in tackles
2013 vs Tor. – 5 tackles, 1 pass knockdown in Week 9

Deron Mayo, LB, #42
2013 stats – 33 tackles, 2 tackles for losses, 8 special teams tackles, 4 sacks, 2 fumble recoveries – third on team in tackles
Last Week  – 7 tackles, 1 special teams tackle, 1 sack vs Ham. – tied for team lead in tackles
2013 vs Tor. – 2 tackles, 1 sack, 1 knockdown in Week 9

The Argonauts                                                                        

The Argos lead the East Division with seven wins and are 2-1 since losing to Calgary back in Week 9, with two straight road wins.

The Argos are missing starting QB Ricky Ray, who was knocked out of the game against the Stamps, but have gotten solid play from their offence despite injury problems.

The Argos have had no fewer than three running backs rush for over 70 yards in a single game. Former NFL veteran Jerious Norwood (#34) picked up the slack last week and rushed for 73 yards and a touchdown.

Toronto boasts a good group of receivers including SB Andre Durie (#32), who is second in the CFL among Canadian receivers, SB Jason Barnes (#81) and WR Dontrelle Inman (#11). SB Chad Owens, the CFL’s reigning MOP, has missed the last two games with injury and his status is unknown at this time.

Toronto’s defence is led up front by former Lion DT Khalif Mitchell (#96) after the Argos completely reworked their D-line from 2012. LB Marcus Ball (#6) and former Stamps LB Robert McCune (#45) as well as CB Patrick Watson (#25) highlight the back eight. 

Who to watch:

Zach Collaros, QB, #17
2013 stats – 176 attempts, 120 completions, 68.2% completion rate, 1,492 passing yards, 8 TDs, 4 INTs, 99.9 QB rating – four starts in 2013
Last Game – 29 attempts, 18 completions, 62.1% completion rate, 225 passing yards, 1 TDs, 1 INTs, 83.3 QB rating vs Ssk.
2013 vs Cgy. – 26 attempts, 16 completions, 61.5% completion rate, 221 passing yards, 0 TDs, 1 INT – came on in relief of an injured Ricky Ray in Week 9

John Chiles, WR, #85
2013 stats – 32 catches, 567 yards receiving, 17.7 average, 7 TDs in eight games played – 2nd in CFL in receiving touchdowns
Last Game – 8 catches, 104  receiving yards, 13.0 yard average, 1 TD vs Ssk.
2013 vs Calgary – 2 catches, 21 receiving yards, 10.5 yard average, 0 Tds – Week 9

Demetrice Morley, DB, #12
2013 stats – 17 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 2 special teams tackles, 2 INTs, 2 pass knockdowns in seven games played, six with Calgary
Last Game  – 4 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 1 special teams tackle, 1 INT, 1 pass knockdown vs Ssk. – first game with Toronto after being released by Calgary
2013 vs Cgy. – has not played against the Stamps                               

Stats

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

The CFL this Week

Friday, Sept. 20  – 6 p.m. – Edmonton (2-9) at Winnipeg (2-9)
Saturday, Sept. 21 – 2 p.m. – Montreal (4-7) at Hamilton (5-6) in Moncton
Sunday, Sept 22 – 2:30 p.m. – BC Lions (7-4) at Saskatchewan (8-3)