CALGARY — Friday night features a potential Western Final preview, as the Calgary Stampeders welcome the Saskatchewan Roughriders to McMahon Stadium.
The Riders and Stamps are battling for top spot in the West Division. Saskatchewan currently sits atop the division, but Calgary is just a game behind heading into this pivotal head-to-head meeting. The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are in the mix as well, also just one win behind the Riders, but having played one more game than their division opposition.
“This feels like a must-win, this is October,” Stamps linebacker Wynton McManis told Stampeders.com. “You have to win in October, that’s when games start to mean the most. This is a game in our conference, so we really want this win.”
» Depth Charts: SSK | CGY
The first meeting of the season between the teams came back in Week 4. Calgary emerged convincing 37-10 winners, but much has changed since early July.
Bo Levi Mitchell wasn’t available for the Stamps, but is now back to his winning ways, while Cody Fajardo has presented himself as a potential Most Outstanding Player candidate.
Fajardo was in his typical form last week, passing for 300 yards in a convincing win over the Blue Bombers. One very encouraging sign for Fajardo is his ball security – he hasn’t thrown a pick in nearly a month.
Turnovers and mistakes got the better of Fajardo in Week 4. In only his third start, he completed nine passes and tossed two interceptions before being replaced by Isaac Harker. It has been smooth sailing for the first-year starter since, as he is third in passing yards and owns the highest completion percentage of any current starter (71.8%).
This is the second time the Dickenson brothers are facing off as opposing head coaches. Interestingly, Craig was once on a coaching staff when younger brother Dave was still playing. Craig was the special teams coordinator in Calgary in 2009 – Dave’s final year as a player. The duo from Great Falls, Mont., were then on the same staff, with Dave as the running backs coach and Craig still working with the special teams for the Stamps.
“It’s just another game to be honest,” Craig told Riderville.com, downplaying the sibling rivalry. “It’s so much more important than just family bragging rights. This is about the players, the teams, the organizations and the fanbase. It just so happens the two guys that are coaching are related.”
The Riders will have to make do without star linebacker Cam Judge, who finds himself on the one-game injured list. Micah Teitz is slated to get the start, with Dickenson saying veteran Sam Hurl should also see some playing time.
It will be a special game for both Teitz and Hurl, who both attended the University of Calgary and were standouts for the Dinos football program. Friday will be Teitz’s first game at McMahon Stadium since the 2017 Mitchell Bowl, a game Calgary lost to the Laval Rouge & Or.
“It’s nice that I can go back home and [start] in front of my friends and family,” Teitz said. “I want to impress everyone who comes out, but it’s really just another game for me. I’ve been behind Cam all year and watching him. It would be nice to get another win back at McMahon.
One of the few bright spots for Saskatchewan in Week 4 was their ability to contain Stamps wideout Eric Rogers. The sure-handed Rogers was held to just 26 yards on three receptions, although he did find the end zone.
The fourth-year American is 121 yards shy of the 1,000 receiving yard plateau and is entering Week 18 hot, having notched 22 receptions for 330 yards in his last three contests. Reggie Begelton has already surpassed 1,000 yards and the duo are trying to become the second set of teammates to reach the mark this season, joining Brandon Banks and Bralon Addison of the Tiger-Cats.
“We’ve beaten them before, so we’ll go out here and do the same thing,” Rogers told Stampeders.com. “They’ve got pretty much the same team. We took care of their quarterback pretty well last game as well. We took what they gave us on defence and then hit them over the top a couple of times. We’ll do the same and hopefully come out with another convincing win.”
Calgary was hit with its second dumping of snow in as many weeks. However, no more snow is in the forecast and clear skies are expected to clear the field for kickoff.
BY THE NUMBERS
5 – Turnovers by the Stampeders last week, their highest total of the season.
1970 – The last time the Riders produced a 9-1 stretch.
.829 – Calgary’s winning percentage at McMahon Stadium since 2012 (58-12 over 70 games played).
9-3 – Fajardo’s record in his first 12 games as a Saskatchewan starter is the best in club history.
Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. and can be seen on TSN, RDS and ESPN+.
– With files from stampeders.com and riderville.com
– With files from Riderville.com/Stampeders.com
AFI, Yare Media and the CFL
American Football International is collaborating with Yare Media and the Canadian Football League to present 2019 CFL games live. This is more than a livestream. This is a stream of the top flight TSN network television broadcast.