The Edmonton Elks will look to punch their ticket to the playoffs for the first time since 2019 when they complete a home-and-home set against the visiting Calgary Stampeders on Saturday.
The West-leading Elks (9-3) erased an 18-point deficit in a 38-28 victory over the Stampeders (5-7) in the annual Labor Day Classic in Calgary.
Edmonton scored 24 points in the fourth quarter to win the first edition of the Battle of Alberta.
Cody Fajardo threw a pair of touchdown passes and Justin Rankin rushed for a 50-yard score for the Elks, who are bidding to win four in a row in one season for the first time since 2017.
“I liked our fight. Obviously the way we finished (Monday’s) game, we need to start that way,” Edmonton head coach Mark Kilam said following practice on Thursday. “I think that’s a major focus for our football team.”
The major focus of the Stampeders likely will be forgetting what transpired in the fourth quarter of Monday’s game.
“Words are words, and to me, it’s got to be about action,” Calgary general manager and head coach Dave Dickenson said. “We just got to keep competing and fighting. Talking’s just talk, and action to me is what it’s about.
“As a coach, it’s keep working, get them in better situations, find out how to take less penalties and try to win ball games.”
Although the Stampeders find themselves in the cellar in the West, their remaining six-game schedule is rather favorable in their bid to secure a postseason berth. Sure, Calgary faces second-place Saskatchewan on Oct. 2, but a home-and-home with the winless Ottawa Redblacks could be just what the doctor ordered for the Stampeders’ quest to reach the Promised Land.
“Yes … we’ve got a little work to do there,” said Stampeders president Jay McNeil, per the Calgary Herald. “We’ve got some work to do there. Obviously, we’re not happy with, you know, our outcome of Labor Day. We still control our fate. And we’ve got an opportunity to go back up to Edmonton, show some character and get that win. And then, we’ve got a hold.”
Vernon Adams Jr. threw for two touchdowns in Monday’s loss to the Elks.
–Field Level Media
