PREVIEW
STAMPS, ESKS CLOSE OUT MARK’S LABOUR DAY WEEKEND
CFL.CA STAFF
CALGARY — The Battle of Alberta closes out Mark’s Labour Day Weekend, with Bo Levi Mitchell rejoining the Calgary Stampeders as they play host to the Edmonton Eskimos at McMahon Stadium on Monday afternoon.
Mitchell is listed as the starter on the Stampeders depth chart. He hasn’t seen any action since Week 3, but was activated from the injured reserve earlier this week. The eight-year vet tossed for 527 yards in his two starts, throwing three touchdowns and a pair of interceptions.
It was an injury to the 29-year-old’s pectoral — on his throwing side — that kept him on the sidelines for a good chunk of the first half of the season. The rehab was a long one, with the quarterback suffering a setback a few weeks into his recovery, but he now appears set to return.
“At one point, I just said F-it and went as hard as I could on rehab,” Mitchell told Stampeders.com. “And they were like: ‘All right, take it easy.’ But I kinda got to the point of being tired of guys telling me to take it easy. So I just started hitting it harder. As soon as I started doing that, honestly, I think things started to respond.”
The Stampeders were 4-3 without Mitchell in the lineup, although they enter Labour Day on a two-game losing skid. Head Coach Dave Dickenson understands there could be some kinks to work out.
“Bo’s done everything well this week,’’ Dickenson said. “Kinda weird cause you’re in game 10 but you’re probably going to get a few potential lack-of-playing-time type of decisions. Bo not being as sharp with his eyes. He hasn’t been hit in a long time. Those are questions that need to be answered.”
Nick Arbuckle filled in admirably at quarterback in Mitchell’s absence. Arbuckle leads CFL pivots in completion percentage (73.4%) and has kept the Stamps in the playoff picture.
One of Arbuckle’s four wins came at the hands of the Eskimos. The Stamps emerged as 24-18 victors on their home field nearly a month ago, despite Arbuckle throwing for under 200 yards.
That game continued a streak of misery for Trevor Harris versus Calgary. Harris has never beaten the Stampeders – the only CFL club he has yet to earn a victory against – and he is now 0-7-2 against the Stamps, with one of those losses coming in last season’s Grey Cup.
Speaking of losing streaks, Edmonton is looking to snap a seven-year losing streak on Labour Day and came desperately close to doing so last year. Rene Paredes hit a 43-yard walk off field goal to win the contest for the Stampeders. The game featured three lead changes, four ties and was the fourth walk-off, game-winning score in the Labour Day Classic’s history.
One player who contributed to Calgary’s win is now wearing opposition colours. DaVaris Daniels caught 13 passes for 116 yards in last year’s contest, but joined the Eskimos in the off-season. He has been putting up incredible numbers in recent weeks (15 receptions, 362 yards in his last two games) and earned CFL Player of the Week honours for Week 11.
“If you ask us, we feel like we’re probably the best team in the league,” Daniels told Esks.com. “We’ve just hurt ourselves in different situations. The results are the results, but by the end of the season we’ll be a better team. That’s when you want to hit it anyway. You’re not going to win the Grey Cup in August. We’ve got a long way to go. We’ll get there.”
Edmonton should get a nice boost, with offensive lineman Matt O’Donnell set to return for the much-anticipated game. O’Donnell missed seven games with an injury, but the 30-year-old veteran of more than 100 CFL games has been given the all-clear.
“Just got to get out there and make sure your brain is working as fast as your feet are,” O’Donnell said. “I’m lucky. I made it all through college, didn’t miss a game to injury. Ninth year [as a pro], they finally got me. Someone fell wrong and they fell into me [during the game against the BC Lions at Vancouver on July 11th].”
The Stampeders will be looking for a strong performance from Ka’Deem Carey, who’s in the lineup in place of Don Jackson. Markeith Ambles also returns to the lineup at receiver.
BY THE NUMBERS
59 – This is the 59th meeting between the clubs on Labour Day weekend.
6-0 – Edmonton’s record when coming off a loss since October 2018.
600 – Career tackles for Stampeders defensive back Brandon Smith. He is only the 19th player ever to reach the milestone.
53 – Consecutive games with a reception for Greg Ellingson. He makes his 100th start on Monday.
Kickoff is at 4:30 p.m. ET and can be seen on TSN and ESPN+, and followed live via CFL.ca Game Tracker.
STAMPS, ESKS CLOSE OUT MARK’S LABOUR DAY WEEKEND
CFL.CA STAFF
CALGARY — The Battle of Alberta closes out Mark’s Labour Day Weekend, with Bo Levi Mitchell rejoining the Calgary Stampeders as they play host to the Edmonton Eskimos at McMahon Stadium on Monday afternoon.
Mitchell is listed as the starter on the Stampeders depth chart. He hasn’t seen any action since Week 3, but was activated from the injured reserve earlier this week. The eight-year vet tossed for 527 yards in his two starts, throwing three touchdowns and a pair of interceptions.
It was an injury to the 29-year-old’s pectoral — on his throwing side — that kept him on the sidelines for a good chunk of the first half of the season. The rehab was a long one, with the quarterback suffering a setback a few weeks into his recovery, but he now appears set to return.
“At one point, I just said F-it and went as hard as I could on rehab,” Mitchell told Stampeders.com. “And they were like: ‘All right, take it easy.’ But I kinda got to the point of being tired of guys telling me to take it easy. So I just started hitting it harder. As soon as I started doing that, honestly, I think things started to respond.”
The Stampeders were 4-3 without Mitchell in the lineup, although they enter Labour Day on a two-game losing skid. Head Coach Dave Dickenson understands there could be some kinks to work out.
“Bo’s done everything well this week,’’ Dickenson said. “Kinda weird cause you’re in game 10 but you’re probably going to get a few potential lack-of-playing-time type of decisions. Bo not being as sharp with his eyes. He hasn’t been hit in a long time. Those are questions that need to be answered.”
Nick Arbuckle filled in admirably at quarterback in Mitchell’s absence. Arbuckle leads CFL pivots in completion percentage (73.4%) and has kept the Stamps in the playoff picture.
One of Arbuckle’s four wins came at the hands of the Eskimos. The Stamps emerged as 24-18 victors on their home field nearly a month ago, despite Arbuckle throwing for under 200 yards.
That game continued a streak of misery for Trevor Harris versus Calgary. Harris has never beaten the Stampeders – the only CFL club he has yet to earn a victory against – and he is now 0-7-2 against the Stamps, with one of those losses coming in last season’s Grey Cup.
Speaking of losing streaks, Edmonton is looking to snap a seven-year losing streak on Labour Day and came desperately close to doing so last year. Rene Paredes hit a 43-yard walk off field goal to win the contest for the Stampeders. The game featured three lead changes, four ties and was the fourth walk-off, game-winning score in the Labour Day Classic’s history.
One player who contributed to Calgary’s win is now wearing opposition colours. DaVaris Daniels caught 13 passes for 116 yards in last year’s contest, but joined the Eskimos in the off-season. He has been putting up incredible numbers in recent weeks (15 receptions, 362 yards in his last two games) and earned CFL Player of the Week honours for Week 11.
“If you ask us, we feel like we’re probably the best team in the league,” Daniels told Esks.com. “We’ve just hurt ourselves in different situations. The results are the results, but by the end of the season we’ll be a better team. That’s when you want to hit it anyway. You’re not going to win the Grey Cup in August. We’ve got a long way to go. We’ll get there.”
Edmonton should get a nice boost, with offensive lineman Matt O’Donnell set to return for the much-anticipated game. O’Donnell missed seven games with an injury, but the 30-year-old veteran of more than 100 CFL games has been given the all-clear.
“Just got to get out there and make sure your brain is working as fast as your feet are,” O’Donnell said. “I’m lucky. I made it all through college, didn’t miss a game to injury. Ninth year [as a pro], they finally got me. Someone fell wrong and they fell into me [during the game against the BC Lions at Vancouver on July 11th].”
The Stampeders will be looking for a strong performance from Ka’Deem Carey, who’s in the lineup in place of Don Jackson. Markeith Ambles also returns to the lineup at receiver.
BY THE NUMBERS
59 – This is the 59th meeting between the clubs on Labour Day weekend.
6-0 – Edmonton’s record when coming off a loss since October 2018.
600 – Career tackles for Stampeders defensive back Brandon Smith. He is only the 19th player ever to reach the milestone.
53 – Consecutive games with a reception for Greg Ellingson. He makes his 100th start on Monday.
Kickoff is at 4:30 p.m. ET and can be seen on TSN and ESPN+, and followed live via CFL.ca Game Tracker.