On Thursday night at Commonwealth Stadium, the Calgary Stampeders took on the Edmonton Elks in round two of the battle of Alberta. In their last meeting, the Stampeders won by a touchdown. This time, they won by more than seven points.
Early in the game, it looked like it was going to be close after both teams traded field goals. Stampeders’ kicker Rene Paredes made a 29-yard field goal, and then Elks’ kicker Sergio Castillo made a 38-yard field goal to tie the game 3-3 after the first quarter.
However, the Elks were dealt a blow when rookie quarterback Tre Ford went down with an injury and was out for the rest of the game. Ford was 2/3 for 52 yards and two carries for six yards.
The game started to get away from the Elks in the second quarter. After Calgary’s defense pinned them on their own six-yard line, punter Matt Mengel ran out of bounds in the endzone for a safety, putting Calgary up 5-3. The Stampeders’ offense got to the Elks’ nine-yard line before Rene Paredes made his second field goal from 17 yards, extending their lead 8-3.
On Calgary’s next possession, quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell threw an 89-yard touchdown to Malik Henry. Henry was near the sidelines and got around an Elks’ defender before turning on the jets for the touchdown. The Stampeders went for a two-point conversion but did not get it, and it was 14-3 with 4:23 left in the second quarter.
Stampeders’ quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell went 17/22 for 279 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions, while Malik Henry led the receivers with six catches for 150 yards and one touchdown. Calgary led 14-3 at halftime.
The Elks had the ball to begin the third quarter. They made it to the Stampeders’ 38-yard line when Sergio Castillo missed a 50-yard field goal wide right, and Peyton Logan took off for a 122-yard touchdown, making it 21-3 with 13:15 left. Shortly after the touchdown, the game was delayed due to lightning in the area that lasted over an hour before play resumed.
Once the game resumed, the Stampeders picked up where they left off. They reached the Elks’ 21-yard line, and Peyton Logan finished the play by running to his left side for a 21-yard touchdown. The Stampeders’ lead was now 28-3. Calgary’s running backs had a phonemical game with Ka’Deem Carey carrying the ball 12 times for 104 yards, and Logan was second in rushing with five carries for 45-yards and one touchdown.
On Edmonton’s next possession, the Stampeders got the ball back when Folarin Orimolade knocked the ball out of Charles Nelson’s arm, and it was recovered by Cam Judge. The Stampeders’ defense allowed 287 yards, 47 tackles, three sacks, two forced fumbles, two pass breakups, two interceptions, and two fumble recoveries.
It took Calgary three plays to find the endzone. From the shotgun, Bo Levi Mitchell threw a bomb over three Elks’ defenders and into the hands of Luther Hakunavanhu for 28-yards, and it was 35-3 with 2:40 left in the second quarter. After three quarters, the score remained 35-3 Stampeders. Jake Maier was the new Stampeders quarterback to begin the fourth quarter. Maier was 4/4 for 26 yards.
In the fourth quarter, Elks’ quarterback Kai Locksley threw a pass to Raphael Leonard, who fumbled the ball, and Cam Judge recovered it and took it to the house for a 63-yard touchdown, which made it 42-3 with 11:08 left.
With the game out of reach, Elks’ kicker Sergio Castillo made a 42-yard field goal, trailing 42-6 with 5:51 left in the game.
To add insult to injury, the Stampeders scored one more touchdown. After Tre Robinson picked off Elks’ quarterback Nick Arbuckle and got them to the 15-yard line, Calgary’s offense reached the one-yard line. Then, Calgary’s third-string quarterback Tommy Stevens ran it in with a quarterback sneak for a 49-6 lead with 35-seconds left.
The Elks ran a couple of plays to run out the clock, and Calgary routed Edmonton 49-6 to improve to 4-0, while the Elks are now 1-3.
Nick Arbuckle and Kai Locksley combined 15/23 for 149 yards, no touchdowns, and two interceptions. In addition to playing quarterback, Kai Locksley led the receivers with two catches for 61 yards, while running back Sherman Badie led the rushers with ten carries for 38 yards. The Elks’ defense allowed 470 yards, 48 tackles, two sacks, two forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries.
It’s back to the drawing board for Edmonton. They seemed to have momentum heading into this game after getting their first win last week, only to be sent back to reality. If they were in the East Division, they would be tied for first place. They play the Montreal Alouettes next Thursday night at 7:30 pm on ESPN2.
For Calgary, the win keeps them on pace with the rest of the West Division. They will remain tied with either the Winnipeg Blue Bombers or the BC Lions, who play each other on Saturday. The Stampeders will have a tough challenge next Friday when they play the Winnipeg Blue Bombers at 8:30 pm on ESPN+.
