Ugly CFL effort by Calgary Stampeders hurts them in Labour Day Classic

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It was supposed to be a blackout at McMahon Stadium.

But not this way.

While Calgary Stampeders fans were urged to come dressed in black for the Labour Day Classic on Monday, their team went one step further, looking unconscious themselves for much of the annual tilt.

They blacked out, for sure — and couldn’t quite recover enough once they woke up in the 35-20 loss to the rival Edmonton Elks.

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“Frustrating — that was a poor performance,” said Stamps GM/head coach Dave Dickenson, visibly upset following the effort in front of 28,467 spirited fans. “It was right from the git-go. Guys weren’t ready to play, and that’s the coaches’ job.

“That one was tough to swallow.”

Worse yet to swallow was when they did regain consciousness in the fourth quarter, Stamps quarterback Jake Maier threw three timely interceptions in the final frame.

Too often, that’s happened, begging the question of whether Logan Bonner is due for more snaps — after getting some late-game — in the near future.

“I’m not saying I’m going there, but we’ve got to be better,” said Dickenson, when asked about the days ahead at quarterback. “I don’t know. Jake’s battling — he’s our leader. People have bad games and bad coaching days.

“But not good enough — he knows it,” continued Dickenson of Maier, who finished with 22-of-34 for 297 passing yards and one touchdown against four(!) INTs. “I don’t mind some interceptions, but just too many just kind of lob throws. We won’t be able to play as an offence if we continue to do that.”

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After getting down 20-6 late in the third quarter — yeah, it took that long to get on track — the offence got it chugging behind Maier for a 69-yard drive, capped by a 12-yard catch-and-run touchdown for their first major of the contest.

But on their next drive, an ugly pick thrown by Maier into double coverage downfield — and right into the hands of the lurking Elks defender Loucheiz Purifoy — sewered momentum.

It didn’t help that bad luck befell the Stamps a few plays later, when the Elks fumbled a ball — after Eugene Lewis caught the pass downfield — but saw it scooped up by teammate Tevin Jones, who ran it 81 yards for a remarkably deflating play of 106 yards. Dakota Prukop then snuck in from one yard out for a TD and a 27-13 lead with just 10 minutes left.

Then on the next march — again with the Stamps threatening — Maier threw into double coverage, with Devodric Bynum coming away with the ball again for the Elks.

The second of three fourth-quarter INTs tossed by Maier capped a tough triple-play against the home side, effectively killing the game for the Stamps.

Peyton Logan’s electrifying 104-yard punt return for the team’s first special-teams score of the season with just 3:19 left gave the Stamps late life, but the Elks responded with another big play of 73 yards for Jones’ second score of the affair.

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Indeed, Coach, it was another tough one — both the big play and game — to swallow.

“You can’t win with 18 yards rushing for and 500 yards given up passing,” said Dickenson of Elks QB McLeod Bethel-Thompson’s day — 25-of-36 for a whopping 486 passing yards and three touchdowns.

“We’re fooling ourselves if we think that can win football games, because that will not win football games.”

Neither will such a lacklustre effort out of the gates — something Dickenson was openly concerned about after 18 days off from their last outing.

The Stamps’ only points in the first half came off the foot of veteran kicker René Paredes. He hit extreme field-goals of 57 yards — the longest of this career — and 13 yards.

“We got whooped,” said Stamps linebacker Micah Awe. “They not only won more plays than we did, they won a lot more plays than we did.

“We weren’t prepared — we weren’t ready. And they were prepared — they were ready. Obviously, yes, we watch film and we had all this extra time to prepare. But at the end of the day, what it comes down to is when you get on the field, you’re going to get punched in the mouth and are you prepared for that? And we weren’t.”

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“And then we just weren’t playing well enough,” continued Dickenson. “They physically out-played us — ran harder. The effort was just not enough.

“We gotta clean it up. Probably have to make some changes.”

The result leaves the Stamps — with a 4-7 record — lacking a win in their last three tilts, putting them in danger of dropping into last spot in the CFL’s West Division.

The Elks — at 4-8 — currently occupy that basement placing but gained a game on the Stamps with the victory.

That’s not good with the rematch and the Elks owning home-field advantage coming up Saturday at Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium (5 p.m., TSN, QR Calgary).

“We gotta find ways to get better,” added Dickenson. “We have to play them in five days, so an opportunity will be there to play better. We should be able to compete with them better than we did (Monday).

“We get another shot at them.”

SHORT YARDAGE

OL Bryce Bell (calf) was scratched just ahead of game-time for the Stamps … In other CFL news, former Stamps QB Bo Levi Mitchell is now 7-0 in Labour Day starts after guiding the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (3-9) to a 31-28 Monday upset of the Toronto Argonauts (6-5). Oof! … Gotta love it when technology gets in the way of a football game. Making what was a snoozer even more of a sleep-fest was the spider cam — that camera that follows the action from directly above the field — malfunctioned and stalled close to the turf during play, stopping the contest for at least five minutes. Blacked out, it did.

tsaelhof@postmedia.com

http://www.x.com/ToddSaelhofPM

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