Three turnovers within nine plays plus a penalty that extended the Calgary Stampeders’ game-winning drive were pinpointed as key factors that helped swing the outcome of Monday’s Labour Day Classic in favour of the Calgary Stampeders.
But that was just a tiny fraction of the number of outstanding plays and potential big plays that occurred during the CFL game.
Consider running back C.J. Gable hurdling a Calgary defensive back followed by receiver D’haquille (Duke) Williams’ 45-yard touchdown catch in double coverage near the goal line on back-to-back plays near the end of the second quarter that lifted the Eskimos into a 17-13 halftime lead.
What about a pair of quarterback sacks by Eskimos defensive end Alex Bazzie that stalled Stampeders drives? Or Mike Reilly’s 17-yard death-defying run on a QB keeper to try to ignite the offence early in the third quarter? Or two coffin-corner punts by Hugh O’Neill to pin Calgary at its three- and one-yard lines?
And that’s just focusing on Eskimos plays. Calgary had a host of big plays, too.
“I don’t think that much stuff happened in the game the last time we played Calgary,” said Eskimos strong-side linebacker Chris Edwards, who ends up moving around to other positions in the secondary during the course of a game. “There were a lot of plays that determined this game. Definitely a lot more.”
It wasn’t just the star players making the big plays, either.
Twenty-three-year-old defensive end Nick Usher had a game to remember in only his third appearance with the Eskimos – recovering a fumble and running 40 yards to the Calgary 10, sacking Stampeders backup QB Nick Arbuckle and forcing a fumble on the same play to start the fourth quarter, and also making a defensive tackle.
“I’m just trying to help the team win as much as I can,” said Usher, who played an NFL pre-season game with the New England Patriots last year. “If I get 15 plays or if I get 30 plays, I’m just going to try to be a playmaker in all aspects of the game.
“With that being said, we get to play them again on Saturday, so I’m excited, and we’re working hard, and we’re coming for them this week.”
The Eskimos, 6-5, and Stampeders, 9-1, will battle again in the Labour Day Rematch at 5 p.m. Saturday at The Brick Field at Commonwealth Stadium. It’s the Eskimos Family Day promotion, presented by NISSAN, with children 17-and-under getting in free.
With the exception of 1992, the teams have been playing the mid-season home-and-home series since 1989. While Calgary has dominated the rematch game in recent seasons, the Eskimos used a victory in 2015 to start a 10-game winning streak that culminated with a Grey Cup championship.
On Monday, Edwards forced the fumble that Usher recovered with a hit on Calgary running back Don Jackson in the second quarter.
“I saw him fumble, but I didn’t know if they had fallen on it or who picked it up,” Edwards said. “Once I saw it was us, I turned around, and I still was celebrating. I thought he was going to score a touchdown.”
So did Usher, who hasn’t been in the end zone with the ball since high school.
“I thought I was going to get there, but I looked at the JumboTron, and I heard Alex Bazzie say, ‘Hey, he’s coming,’ so I just covered up the ball and got us to the 10,” said Usher. “I came up a little bit short, but it helped the team, and we got points off it.”
Gable scored Edmonton’s first TD of the game on a two-yard run off-tackle two plays later.
“We played well against them,” said Eskimos safety Josh Woodman, a 2016 draft pick and third-year veteran who has started each of the last four games in place of the injured Neil King.
“There were a couple of plays we’d like to have back that might have cost us the game, but for the most part, our defence played really well,” Woodman continued.
“To hold the best team in the league to one touchdown, that says something and I think we’re ready to do the same thing this weekend.”
Woodman, 26, was involved in several potential game-changing plays on Monday when he made four defensive tackles and knocked down three passes. A prominent ballhawk with the Western University Mustangs – “That’s what I was known for,” he said – Woodman could have had as many as four interceptions in Monday’s game.
“The first play of the game, I’ve got to catch that plain and simple,” he said. “That could have changed the whole outlook of the game if we start off with a turnover. It’s on me. I’ve got to get better at that, and I’m going to be.
“I touched three (passes); I probably could have had four (interceptions) if I caught them. It’s just coming down to me focusing on catching the ball because I get to the right spot and then it’s almost like I don’t finish. I’ve got to finish that play. I owe it to my teammates to make those plays for them, so they’re coming.”
Woodman’s lone CFL interception came last year against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
Other than the lack of ‘picks, Woodman is happy “with the way I’ve been playing and the way I’ve been seeing the field” during his first four CFL starts.
“I’m trying to step into that starting role and show that I’m ready to play,” he said. “It’s been fun. I’ve enjoyed starting. Obviously, we’d like to win a few more games, but for the most part, I could say it’s been a good year so far.”
Woodman was on the Eskimos practice roster for 15 of 18 games during his rookie season – “I was just trying to learn the system” – but played in 12 games last year and 11 so far this season.
Second-year cornerback Mercy Maston, who had two defensive tackles and a knockdown on Monday, is looking forward to the Labour Day Rematch on Saturday because he never got to play in the game last year. He ruptured his Achilles tendon during the pre-game warm-up.
“It was just a fluke incident that happened,” he said. “I was doing warm-up drills, my everyday drills. It was shocking. It just happens.”
Maston, 25, missed training camp this year while still recovering from the injury, but has started each of the last five games at boundary (or short-side) corner beside veteran defensive halfback Aaron Grymes.
“I don’t even think about it,” he said about the injury. “I just go out there and play. It’s been a smooth transition from coming off an injury. I’m just going out there and enjoying every moment because you never know when that injury could happen again.”
Maston started five of his seven games last season before he was hurt.
“Just playing this year is a highlight because last year I was coming up and down from practice squad to active (roster) and then the injury happened,” he said.
It didn’t take him long to get up to game speed after he was able to return to the practice field.
“Once I got out there, I just knew everything because – sitting out – all you do is watch film and learn plays and learn what they’re doing,” he said. “Basically, you get ahead in some ways.”
He’s also now a veteran with a regular position this season while, last year, he was a newcomer playing only because veteran players were injured.
Maston was involved in a couple of big plays for the Eskimos on Monday. He made a key adjustment to leave his short zone and race back to knock down a pass headed toward a Stampeders receiver to help stop a Calgary drive late in the game.
He was also flagged for pass interference in the second quarter, although he doesn’t think he deserved the penalty, which moved the Stampeders 40 yards up the field to the Edmonton 50 (it didn’t result in any points).
He admits, however, that he “could have played the ball a little better” and maybe got an interception.
Edwards also didn’t like the illegal contact penalty he received that gave Calgary new life on their game-winning possession. Instead of being forced to punt after a Kwaku Boateng quarterback sack, the Stampeders had a first down at their 42-yard line with 54 seconds to play.
“I didn’t too much agree with the penalty because of what the receiver was doing,” Edwards said. “(Calgary receiver Lemar Durant) kind of grabbed me, threw up one hand and was holding me (with the other hand), so I felt like he did a good job of manipulating the referee. He fell into the trap. But it’s a judgment call. It is what it is.
“After that, there was more plays to be made,” Edwards pointed out, referring to a pair of back-to-back Calgary completions that moved the ball 28 yards down the field to the Edmonton 40 and into scoring range for the game-winning field goal. “Before that, there were plays to be made, so I don’t think that play decided the game.”
What happened during Monday’s contest is essentially a trademark of the Stampeders, according to Bazzie.
“What they do best is they’re going to hang in the game,” he said. “They’re not just going to let any team blow them out of the water. They’re going to find a way to hang in the game, and they’re going to wait until you hurt yourself.”
Looking ahead to Saturday’s game, Maston said the Eskimos have to “go out there and play hard, play physical and not beat ourselves.”
SHORT YARDAGE: The Eskimos have a four-game winning streak at The Brick Field at Commonwealth Stadium this season … Besides injured wide receiver Derel Walker being replaced in the lineup by fourth-year backup Bryant Mitchell, international running back Shaquille Cooper and recently-signed national defensive lineman Arnaud Gascon-Nadon were also added to the active roster this week. Backup linebacker Brandon Pittman and backup defensive lineman Mark Mackie were moved to the practice roster … Williams has had seven 100-yard receiving games this season, totaling 116 yards each of the last two games. Brandon Zylstra, who recently made the Minnesota Vikings’ NFL roster, set the club record with 10 100-yard games last year … Reilly has an 11-game touchdown pass streak. His career high is 18 consecutive games … Reilly also needs nine rushing yards to tie Damon Allen for third place on the Eskimos quarterbacks all-time rushing list (2,754 yards).