Graphic: Provectus Media (PM)
The Calgary Stampeders (6-8) close out their Eastern slate Saturday with a rematch against the Ottawa Redblacks (0-13) at TD Place — one week after Rene Paredes’ 62-yard field goal as time expired sealed a 40-38 thriller at McMahon Stadium.
Paredes tied his career long with a 57-yarder in the second quarter before nailing the winner. Vernon Adams Jr. threw for 350-plus yards for the 13th time in his CFL career, with Tevin Jones and Jalen Philpot both topping 100 receiving yards with a touchdown catch. Deonta McMahon ran for 102 yards in his Calgary debut filling in for the injured Dedrick Mills. Defensively, Derrick Moncrief had the game’s only tackle for loss and Zy Alexander added a timely interception.
The Stampeders will be without a pair of key contributors Saturday. Receiver Reggie Begelton and linebacker Derrick Moncrief are both out on the team’s position chart, along with offensive lineman D’Antne Demery and defensive lineman Khairi Manns. Drawing into the lineup are defensive back Lance Boykin, defensive lineman Daniel Grzesiak, offensive lineman William Barnes and receiver Jeremiah Hunter.
“I’m my own biggest critic,” Jalen Philpot told Stampeders TV’s Natasha Staniszewski in a 1-on-1 posted Thursday on the team’s YouTube channel. “I just had to come back, refocus on the little things, and that carried into the game. I was able to play more confident.”
On facing a winless Ottawa side at home: “It’s pro football at the end of the day, right? They’re going to lock in. They’re hungry... They arguably could feel like they outplayed us. So we know that they’re going to have energy. They’re at home and they really want that first win.”
The offence wants a cleaner start this time around. “We can’t really start off slow and we can’t get into a lull like we kind of did last week,” Philpot said. “We try to come out and play a full four quarters.”
Saturday will be Vernon Adams Jr.’s first start at TD Place as a member of the Stampeders — the 91st start of his CFL career and just his fourth in Ottawa. He is 7–2 against the Redblacks as a starter. Adams needs three touchdown passes to reach 30 this season and 17 completions to hit 250.
Speaking to Stamps TV before the trip, Adams framed the stretch run with a playoff mindset: "It's win-or-go-home mode, that's our thought process. When you're in the playoffs, that's what it is, you win or you go home. We want that mindset for the rest of the season, one game at a time."
On the offensive approach: "Same plan, trying to keep all the pressure off the defense and keep them getting rest. Getting first downs is huge, converting on second, and just trying to flip that field."
Asked about the injured starters, including Reggie Begelton and D'Antne Demery, Adams kept it simple: "It's next man up and that's the mentality that we have to have as professionals."
Ottawa got five touchdown passes from McLeod Bethel-Thompson in his first start of the year, three of them to rookie Keelan White, while Justin Hardy caught 12 passes on 19 targets.
A win would leave Calgary 5-3 against the East — a winning record against the division for just the third time since the 8-0 sweep in 2018. The Stamps have also scored 100 points off turnovers and sit 10 points shy of 500 this season. It would also be career win No. 102 for Dave Dickenson, tying John Hufnagel for the second-most head-coaching wins in Stampeders history, while Jalen Philpot enters the weekend 85 yards shy of 1,000 receiving yards on the season.
Dickenson, speaking to Stamps TV in a pre-game interview posted Friday on the team's official YouTube channel, called losing Derrick Moncrief in day-three practice an unforeseen blow: "He's a great player, great leader, so that was a big hit for us. Just got to make sure the next guy up is looking forward to that opportunity, is prepared, and then the other guys got to rally around them."
Defensively, his ask was simple: "I hope we create turnovers. I think that's number one. If we can create turnovers, that'll certainly help our offense and help us win the game. And then I just want us to tackle better."
On Adams, Dickenson wants consistency and early first downs so the offence can set up plays, find rhythm, stay balanced and play complementary football. And on the stakes, he didn't dress it up: "We certainly haven't talked about must-win, but we understand the urgency. We need the win. We should win."
After the two-game set with Ottawa, the Stamps finish with three straight against the West before a bye, starting Oct. 2 in Regina against Saskatchewan.
Kickoff is Saturday at 1 p.m. MT from TD Place. TV: TSN, RDS2, CTV, Crave. Radio: QR Calgary 770 AM.
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