The Edmonton Elks (4-8) concluded Labour Day Weekend on Monday night from McMahon Stadium against the Calgary Stampeders (4-7) in their first meeting of the season. In the history of the Labour Day Classic between these two teams, the Stampeders lead the all-time series 29-28-1.
First Quarter:
Edmonton got the ball to start the game on their 25-yard line. They ran three plays for 18 yards before the drive stalled. Punter Jake Julien punted the ball 87 yards into the end zone and out of bounds for a single point. The Elks led 1-0 with 12:27 left of the first quarter.
Calgary went two-and-out on their first possession of the game. Edmonton would move the ball up to the Stampeders’ 47-yard line before punting the ball back to Calgary. On the third play, Calgary quarterback Jake Maier’s pass intended for Ishmael Hyman was intercepted by Devodric Bynum.
Edmonton got the ball with 4:01 left on their 43-yard line, they went two-and-out. Edmonton punter Jake Julien punted the ball 74 yards into the endzone for another single point. Edmonton led 2-0 with 3:25 left of the first quarter.
Calgary’s offense ran three plays for 18 yards before punting the ball back to Edmonton with 36 seconds left. On the final play of the first quarter, Edmonton quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson threw a 5-yard pass to Tevin Jones reaching their 25-yard line.
Edmonton had 104 yards on offense (75 yards passing, 29 yards rushing), 6 first downs, and no red zone opportunities. Quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson completed 5 of 8 passes for 75 yards. Calgary had 34 yards on offense (25 yards passing, 9 yards rushing), 2 first downs, and no red zone opportunities. Quarterback Jake Maier completed 2 of 5 passes for 25 yards, and one interception.
Second Quarter:
In the second quarter, Edmonton moved the ball up to Stampeders’ 34-yard line before kicker Dean Faithfull made a 41-yard field goal for a 5-0 lead with 11:55 left capping off a six-play drive for 62 yards.
On the second play for Calgary, quarterback Jake Maier threw a short pass to Kylin Hill for a gain of 25 yards reaching the Elks’ 46-yard line. Maier threw two more passes for 38 yards but an illegal block by Calgary backed them up 10 yards to the Elks’ 50-yard line. Kicker Rene Paredes made a 57-yard field goal and the Stampeders trailed the Elks 5-3 with 8:40 left of the second quarter.
Edmonton quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson threw two passes for 45 yards and running back Kevin Brown had a carry for 3 yards reaching the Stampeders’ 22-yard line before the drive stalled. Kicker Dean Faithfull missed a 29-yard field goal wide left but they did get a single point. The Elks led the Stampeders 6-3 with 5:51 left before halftime.
Edmonton defensive lineman Elliott Brown sacked Calgary quarterback Jake Maier for a 4-yard loss and the Stampeders went two-and-out. Edmonton started their next drive from their 26-yard line. Quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson threw five passes for 66 yards reaching the Stampeders’ 10-yard line. Two plays later, Bethel-Thompson threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Eugene Lewis for a 13-3 lead with 1:13 left of the second quarter.
Calgary’s offense started on their 34-yard line. On the third play, quarterback Jake Maier threw a 38-yard pass to Reggie Begelton reaching the Elks’ 17-yard line with 20 seconds left. Maier threw two more passes for 11 yards before kicker Rene Paredes made a 13-yard field goal and Stampeders trailed the Elks 13-6 at halftime.
First Half Stats:
Edmonton had 287 yards on offense (230 yards passing, 57 yards rushing), 15 first downs, and 1 for 1 in the red zone. Quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson completed 14 of 20 passes (70%) for 230 yards, and one touchdown. Running Jevon Leake had 7 carries for 30 yards, and Kevin Brown had four carries for 17 yards.
Wide receiver Eugene Lewis made five catches for 87 yards, and one touchdown, while Kurleigh Gittens Jr. made four catches for 82 yards. Edmonton’s defense made one sack, two tackles for loss, and one interception. They were penalized four times for 42 yards.
Calgary had 142 yards on offense (125 yards passing, 21 yards rushing, 4 yards lost), 6 first downs, and 0 for 1 in the red zone. Quarterback Jake Maier completed 9 of 14 passes (64.3%) for 125 yards, and one interception.
Running back Kylin Hill had 6 carries for 21 yards and three catches for 40 yards. Wide receiver Reggie Begelton made two catches for 52 yards, and Ishmael Hyman made two catches for 23 yards. They were penalized three times for 25 yards.
Third Quarter:
Calgary got the ball to start the third quarter from their 30-yard line. They marched up the field to the Elk’s 55-yard line before punting the ball to Edmonton with 11:43 left.
On Edmonton’s first drive of the third quarter, they took over eight minutes off the clock marching down to the Stampeders’ 7-yard line. On the next play, quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Tevin Jones for a 20-6 lead with 3:23 left of the third quarter capping off a 14-yard drive for 91 yards.
Calgary started their next drive from their 41-yard line. Quarterback Jake Maier threw two passes for 56 yards before throwing a 12-yard touchdown pass to Kylin Hill and the Stampeders trailed the Elks 20-13 with 16 seconds left capping off a five-play drive for 69 yards.
On the last play of the third quarter, Edmonton running back Kevin Brown rushed for a gain of three yards reaching their 13-yard line up 20-13.
Fourth Quarter:
In the fourth quarter, Edmonton punted the ball back to Calgary with 13:33 left of the game. Calgary quarterback Jake Maier threw two passes for 19 yards to reach the Elks’ 36-yard line. On the next play, Maier’s pass was intercepted by Loucheiz Purifoy at the Elks’ 3-yard line.
On the second play for Edmonton, quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson threw a short pass to Eugene Lewis. Calgary defensive back Demario Houston stripped the ball away from Lewis but Tevin Jones was there to recover it and returned it for 106 yards reaching the Stampeders’ one-yard line. Backup quarterback Dakota Prukop scored a one-yard touchdown extending the Elks lead 27-13 with 10:02 left of the game.
Calgary quarterback Jake Maier threw six passes for 57 yards plus an Edmonton penalty moved the ball up to the Elks’ 34-yard line. On the next play, Maier tried to throw the ball to Ishmael Hyman but Devodric Bynum intercepted it on their 28-yard line with 6:17 left of the game.
Edmonton quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson threw a 10-yard pass to Hergy Mayala and Dakota Prukop rushed for a gain of two yards reaching their 40-yard line but short of the first down. Edmonton punter Jake Julien punted the ball to Calgary returner Peyton Logan. Logan got several good blocks and a couple of juke moves led him to scoring a 104-yard touchdown and the Stampeders trailed the Elks 27-20 with 3:17 left of the game.
Edmonton’s offense was back out on their 33-yard line. Running back Jevon Leake rushed for a gain of 4 yards reaching the Elks’ 37-yard line. On the next play, Bethel-Thompson threw a corner route pass to Tevin Jones, who had Brandon Dozier on him. Jones made the catch near the out-of-bounds line before scoring a 73-yard touchdown extending their lead 34-20 with 2:29 left to play.
Calgary quarterback Jake Maier was sacked by Shawn Oakman on the second play forcing third down. On third down, Maier scrambled out of the pocket before throwing the ball not close to his receivers but Edmonton defensive back Loucheiz Purifoy was there for the interception.
He returned it for 15 yards reaching the Stampeders’ 48-yard line. They went two-and-out and punter Jake Julien punted the ball 63 yards into the endzone and out of bounds for a single point. It was now 35-20 Edmonton with 1:10 left of the game.
Logan Bonner replaced Jake Maier as Calgary’s quarterback. He completed four passes for 33 yards but came up short on third down. Edmonton quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson took a couple of kneel downs and the Elks defeated the Stampeders 35-20. The Stampeders have lost three consecutive games, and the Elks have won four of their last five games.
Final Stats:
Edmonton had 586 yards on offense (486 yards passing, 102 yards rushing, 2 yards lost), 28 first downs, and 3 for 3 in the red zone. Quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson completed 25 of 36 passes (69.4%) for 486 yards and 3 touchdowns. Running back Jevon Leake had 10 catches for 53 yards, and one catch for 3 yards, and Kevin Brown had 9 carries for 35 yards.
Wide receiver Tevin Jones made 5 catches for 208 yards, and 2 touchdowns, while Kurleigh Gittens Jr. made 7 catches for 115 yards, and Eugene Lewis made 6 catches for 112 yards, and one touchdown. Kicker Dean Faithfull made 1 of 2 field goals for 41 yards. Edmonton’s defense made 33 tackles, four tackles for loss, two sacks, four interceptions, and six tackles on special teams. They were penalized 7 times for 77 yards.
Calgary had 335 yards on offense (330 yards passing, 18 yards rushing, 13 yards lost), 17 first downs, and 1 for 2 in the red zone. Quarterback Jake Maier completed 22 of 34 passes (65%) for 297 yards, one touchdown, four interceptions, and one carry for one yard, and Logan Bonner completed 4 of 6 passes (66%) for 33 yards. Running back Kylin Hill had 6 carries for 21 yards, 5 catches for 68 yards, and one touchdown.
Wide receiver Reggie Begelton made 7 catches for 118 yards, and Jalen Philpot made 5 catches for 75 yards. Kicker Rene Paredes made 2 of 2 field goals with a long of 57 yards. Calgary’s defense made 46 tackles, one tackle for loss, one fumble recovery, and five tackles on special teams. They were penalized four times for 30 yards.
Final Thoughts:
The Edmonton Elks continue to play some of its best football of the season and have found themselves in the playoff race. McLeod Bethel-Thompson had a good game throwing nearly 500 yards and the offense was rolling after a slow start in the first quarter. Their defense did a solid job pressuring Jake Maier to get four interceptions. A job well done for Edmonton.
As for the Calgary Stampeders, I’ve been saying that Jake Maier needs to be replaced at quarterback. The team is not good with him in there and they would be better having Tommy Stevens, Matthew Shiltz, or Logan Bonner in there. Calgary’s management has got to be frustrated with Maier but this is on them for not benching Maier. They must love losing because they won’t replace Maier and I feel for the Calgary fans.
In addition to Maier, Dave Dickenson barely used the running game which he should’ve done more and maybe the outcome would have been different. The only players to have a good gameis game were Reggie Begelton and Payton Logan on special teams. Lastly, Calgary needs a complete makeover right now with a new front office, coach, and quarterback. Until that happens, this team will continue to lose games.
The Stampeders and Elks will meet again next Saturday in Edmonton at 7 pm on TSN and CFL+. Subscribe to Fubo to watch all of the 2024 CFL Season. Purchase CFL tickets today on StubHub and Viagogo.
