On Saturday night at Commonwealth Stadium, the Calgary Stampeders took on the Edmonton Elks for the final time of the season. They had won their previous three meetings and were looking to close in on the BC Lions for second place.
The Stampeders’ defense got Calgary on the board in the first quarter. They blitzed Edmonton quarterback Taylor Cornelius, who quickly threw the ball intercepted by Trumaine Washington and taken to the house for a 45-yard touchdown. Calgary led 7-0 with 12:01 left. Edmonton moved the ball a bit before punting it back to Calgary. However, they caught a break as Peyton Logan missed the catch, and Edmonton recovered on Calgary’s 22-yard line.
They took advantage of the turnover when quarterback Taylor Cornelius dumped the ball to Tanner Green, who ran over a Calgary defender to score a 17-yard touchdown, tying the game 7-7 with 6:58 left.
On the Stampeders’ next drive, quarterback Jake Maier threw a couple of passes, and Ka’Deem Carey got two carries for eight yards to reach the Elks’ one-yard line. Calgary quarterback Tommy Stevens scored a touchdown with a quarterback sneak, giving Calgary a 14-7 lead with 3:06 left.
Then, after the Elks went two-and-out, Calgary’s special teams blocked the punt and recovered it on the Elks’ one-yard. Once again, Tommy Stevens came in and scored his second touchdown with another quarterback sneak, extending their lead 21-7 with 41-seconds left. Edmonton had the ball when Kevin Brown broke out for a 33-yard run as time expired for the first quarter.
In the second quarter, it was the kickers who did the scoring. Elks’ kicker Sergio Castillo made a 24-yard field goal, cutting the Stampeders’ lead 21-10 with 12:44 left. Then, Calgary kicker Rene Paredes made a 15-yard field goal for a 24-10 lead, followed by Edmonton kicker Sergio Castillo’s 32-yard field goal to trail Calgary 24-13 with 2:39 left. Just as the second quarter ended, Calgary kicker Rene Paredes made a 20-yard field goal, and Calgary led 27-13 at halftime.
The Stampeders had 205 yards on offense, while quarterback Jake Maier was 10/15 for 171 yards. Meanwhile, Edmonton had 211 yards on offense, and Taylor Cornelius was 10/14 for 135 yards, one touchdown, and one interception.
In the third quarter, the Stampeders’ defense pinned Edmonton on their eight-yard line, Duron Carter took a knee in the endzone for a safety, and Calgary’s lead grew 29-13 with 13:32 left. On the fourth play for Calgary, running back Ka’Deem Carey carried the ball for 28 yards. They got help from Edmonton after Jake Maier’s pass to Reggie Begelton was incomplete, but a defensive pass interference put Calgary on the one-yard line. Tommy Stevens came in and scored his third touchdown with a quarterback sneak. It was now 36-13 with 9:24 left.
Late in the third quarter, Edmonton quarterback Taylor Cornelius threw three passes for 47 yards into Calgary’s four-yard line. Then, Cornelius found Jalin Marshall, who snagged the ball in the air for the touchdown, cutting Calgary’s lead 36-20 with 2:31 left. The Stampeders had the ball to begin the fourth quarter, facing first and ten on Edmonton’s 27-yard line.
Calgary quarterback Jake Maier and running back Ka’Deem Carey led the offense down to the Elks’ one-yard line, and for the fifth time of the night, Tommy Stevens scored a touchdown with a quarterback sneak, making it 43-20 with 11:06 left.
Edmonton moved the ball a bit and went for it on third down, but Shawn Lemon sacked Taylor Cornelius, and Calgary took over possession. Five plays later, quarterback Jake Maier threw a 50-yard touchdown to Malik Henry for a 50-20 lead with 4:04 left.
Edmonton quarterback Taylor Cornelius threw four consecutive passes for 73 yards. Then, he got help after a general penalty was called on Calgary, moving Edmonton to Calgary’s 11-yard line. Taylor Cornelius took the ball and ran in for the touchdown. They converted a two-point play, and the score was 50-28 with 2:10 left.
Late in the game, Calgary running back Ka’Deem Carey ran for a 40-yard touchdown as Calgary won the game 58-28. Calgary swept the season series against Edmonton and improved to 8-4, while the Elks dropped to 3-10 for the season.
Calgary quarterback Jake Maier went 20/26 for 287 yards and one touchdown. Running back Ka’Deem Carey had nine carries for 118 yards, and one touchdown, while wide receiver Reggie Begelton had five catches for 112 yards.
Calgary’s defense allowed 401 yards, 47 tackles, four sacks, two pass breakups, one interception, and one fumble recovery. Calgary hosts the BC Lions next Saturday at 7 pm on ESPN+.
Edmonton quarterback Taylor Cornelius was 23/32 for 292 yards, two touchdowns, one interception, one carry for 11 yards, and one touchdown. Running back Kevin Brown had ten carries for 91 yards, while wide receiver Dillon Mitchell had five catches for 120 yards.
Edmonton’s defense allowed 467 yards, 46 tackles, one forced fumble, one pass breakup, and one fumble recovery. Edmonton plays the Saskatchewan Roughriders next Friday at 9:30 pm on ESPN+.
