Football’s Battle of Alberta turned into a playoff celebration for Edmonton and another damaging defeat for Calgary.
The Elks routed the Stampeders 53-16 in Saturday’s Labour Day Rematch at Commonwealth Stadium, sweeping the CFL home-and-home series and clinching their first post-season berth since 2019.
Edmonton won its fourth straight game to improve to a West-leading 10-3.
Joe Robustelli caught two touchdown passes as the Elks followed Monday’s comeback victory at McMahon Stadium with a far more decisive result at home.
Calgary fell to 5-8 and remains at the bottom of the West Division with five regular-season games left. The Stampeders entered the weekend one win behind the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and BC Lions. in the race for the final West Division playoff position, but another loss leaves them needing a strong closing run and help elsewhere.
Winnipeg and BC also won on the day to further hurt the Stampeders chances. Both are on 14 points, four ahead of the Stampeders.
One Alberta rival is officially headed to the playoffs. The other is running out of road far too quickly.
5 Key Plays Why The Stampeders Lost
1) Stampeders linebacker Kelechi Anyalebechi is flagged for a needless horsecollar penalty in taking down ShunDerrick Powell when the defence has the Elks running back surrounded to set up a second-and-long down. The penalty moved the ball to the Stampeders one-yard line, and the Elks take advantage with an easy touchdown conversion for a 13-7 second-quarter lead.
2) On the next drive, Jalen Philpot has a long ball fall through his arms that would’ve moved the Stampeders from the shadow of the goal posts to midfield. The Stampeders eventually punt it back to the Elks, who get good field position and quickly put together another scoring drive that ends with a Joseph Robustelli 22-yard touchdown catch, helping to make it 19-7.
3) The Elks extended their lead to 16 on the first drive of the second half with a contested catch by receiver Joshua Cephus in the endzone on rookie defensive back BoPete Keyes. The catch was a killer, given the Stampeders defender looked to have gotten a hand on the ball to try and knock it away.
4) The dagger came late in the third quarter, when Mark Vassett’s punt from the end zone was blocked by Elks lineman Silas Hubert, who then fell on the loose ball for the sudden touchdown. That helped make it 36-13, and the route was on.
5) Just three plays later, Elks defender Kordell Jackson forced Philpot to fumble the ball for another turnover. A home-team recovery inside Stampeders’ territory led to another touchdown by the home team a few plays later for insurance on the scoreboard.
4 Stories
1) The Stampeders badly needed the victory but didn’t get it to further hurt their playoff chances. Now at 5-8, they are in must-win territory through the final five games, beginning with two straight games against the winless Ottawa Redblacks. That set begins next Saturday at McMahon Stadium, with the kickoff at 5 p.m.
2) Star running back Dedrick Mills was knocked out of Saturday’s game after just three carries to really hurt the Stampeders chances. When he gets the ball a lot, the Stampeders are winners. Receiver Dejon Brissett and cornerback Ben Lacrosse also left the game with injuries. Injuries have become a thing for the Stampeders in these two games against the Elks. They came in to Saturday’s game with injuries on the defensive side to sideline two solid starters in linebacker Kyle Wilson and halfback Zy Alexander.
3) The return of receiver Reggie Begelton was all the buzz around the Stampeders heading to Edmonton, as they tried to turn the page from the Labour Day collapse. Begelton was a non-factor Saturday, though, with just two catches on five targets for 25 yards.
4) The Stampeders turned over the ball five times in Saturday’s loss. You don’t win football games when you lose the turnover battle, which the Stampeders did badly 5-0. Add in 11 penalties for 111 yards, and it was a lot of going backwards by the team.
3 Stars
1) ShunDerrick Powell, running back, Elks — Powell was really the star of the two-game set, stepping up with star rusher Justin Rankin leaving the game Saturday with an injury and hurting the Stampeders on the evening with 97 rushing yards, 21 passing yards, 49 punt-return yards and 27 kick-return yards.
2) Joshua Cephus, receiver, Elks — The first-year CFL player enjoyed a banner game with six catches for 119 yards, both game-highs, including the sensational touchdown reception.
3) Clarence Hicks, defensive lineman, Stampeders — Hicks tried to set the tone for the Stampeders with two early sacks of Elks quarterback Cody Fajardo, who torched the Stampeders with his feet in the Labour Day Classic.
2 Stats
1) 53 — The points allowed by the Stampeders is the most in the history of the Labour Day Rematch dating back to 1989.
2) 20 — The amount of points scored by the Elks off Stamps turnovers. That’s a game-changer.
1 Quote
Stampeders general manager-head coach Dave Dickenson — “They beat us. They put a whoopin’ on us. So not really words on that one. We definitely got beat. We took our lumps on this one.”