Geoff Crane
Stampeders.com

As the Calgary Stampeders gallop into Edmonton this Saturday in the annual Labour Day Rematch at Commonwealth Stadium, they will officially kick off the second half of their 2014 season that has begun with a near-perfect 8-1 record.

Despite being atop the CFL food chain in the first half of the season, members of the Red and White are careful not to get complacent as seven of the final nine contests are against high-powered West Division opponents.

“Every west game is a playoff game from hereon out,” says dependable Stamps slotback Marquay McDaniel. “It just has that playoff atmosphere and I know for me personally, I love those types of games. They mean more and they’re definitely big as far as the standings.”

As for the standings, history may be on the side of the Stampeders during the John Hufnagel era. Since taking the reins of the Horsemen in 2008, Coach Huff has guided his squad to a combined record of 37-16-1 in the second half of the season.

That winning trend is certainly poised to continue with the way Calgary has performed in the first half, winning games even when faced with early-season injuries to key players.

One reason for that winning trend has been Calgary’s stifling defence, which has allowed a league-low nine touchdowns and has yet to allow a team to rush for more than 100 yards in a game. Calgary has not allowed an offensive touchdown in its last two contests.

While the numbers are glowing in the defence’s favour, middle linebacker and emotional sparkplug Juwan Simpson is quick to temper the praise.

“We’re doing well,” says Simpson. “We’ve had a few speed bumps to clear but I’m happy where we are. There is still room for improvement, which I think is a key thing for us. If we can keep moving in the right direction, we’ll be good for the rest of the season.”

Simpson knows the Stamps’ recipe for success on the defensive side of the ball has come from a team defence mentality, with all positions playing for one another and each player contributing. To this point of the season, Calgary has had 13 different players sack the quarterback led by the Sack Master Charleston Hughes with eight.

On the offensive side of the ball, the offensive line has been stout yet again this season, allowing a measly 12 quarterback sacks, giving Bo Levi Mitchell plenty of time to find his receivers and allowing five different starting running backs to pound the ball down the field for a total of 1,192 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns.

One of the consistent targets on the Stamps offence, McDaniel has quietly put together a solid first half of the season. He reached a couple of career milestones in the Labour Day Classic with 300 catches and 4,000 yards and is looking forward to much more in the final stretch to the post season.

“We’re getting better every week, which is good,” says McDaniel. “We’re not where we want to be at yet but we’re making strides and seeing positive things.”

Led by a young quarterback in Mitchell, the Stamps offence has been effective in putting points on the board and leaving the rest up to the defence. With the much-anticipated returns of 2013 Most Outstanding Player Jon Cornish and deep threat Maurice Price to the lineup, McDaniel can’t wait to get into the second half and show what the offence is capable of.

“Our goal is to win first place and that starts with this week,” says McDaniel in regards to the third and final Battle of Alberta. “We’ve got to get a big win and (the Eskimos) are going to be hungry. They definitely want to beat us and this is going to kick off our second half to the season, so we got to go get it.”