The Canadian Press
EDMONTON — “We just know it’s going to have an impact, especially the Grey Cup with the Western Final,” Edmonton’s J.C. Sherritt stated during the league’s Mark’s Labour Day Weekend conference call with members of both Edmonton and the Calgary Stampeders leading up to Monday’s afternoon matchup.
In the most recent stretch that has seen the Stampeders take the last six consecutive games, Edmonton has missed the playoffs once, crossed over to the East and lost twice, lost to Calgary twice, and have won the Grey Cup in 2015.
It’s a mixture of results, but not the results any team really sets out on by any means, especially when you’re an organization so rich with history and success.
Need we even mention it’s the first time these teams are meeting this season?
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Sherritt, who’s been a member of the Eskimos since arriving to the league in 2011, the last year Edmonton won on Labour Day, has faced his share of holiday meetings with the Stamps at McMahon Stadium in Calgary.
Over the years, Calgary has shifted from two offensively minded coaches in John Hufnagel to Dave Dickenson, and over that stretch of time Bo Levi Mitchell has been the field general of the Stampeders offensive attack for the most part, spending his first two seasons behind Kevin Glenn but still managing to get playing time in both of those year’s Classics.
“It’s a well disciplined, talented team across the board,” Sherritt says. “They’re not dependant on one player, (so) we can’t focus on one player because they have enough people, they have enough weapons to beat you in a multitude of ways, and that means you’ve got to play true team-defence. You just have to play sound football against Calgary. That’s the best way to put it.”
In recent week’s, Edmonton’s head coach Jason Maas has addressed the underlying issue with his team’s discipline and in many ways taking ownership for his team ranking as the league’s most penalized team, which according to Sherritt, will be something the Eskimos won’t be able to afford to have happen on Monday against the Stamps.
Through the first half of the season, Calgary’s offence has looked much similar to that of Edmonton’s. In fact, the only true difference between the two offensively is the 500-yard advantage the Eskimos have in the passing game, but that gap should be expected considering Edmonton has played one more game than Calgary entering into Week 12 of the season.
Nonetheless, it’s been apparent that over the stretch of the past six Labour Day Classic’s between these two teams, Edmonton has lacked their usual offensive power on the last weekend of the summer, as Calgary has outscored them for an average score of 33-21.
The performance of the quarterbacks has also shown its contrast. Although on the team, Bo Levi Mitchell spent his first two years as a Stampeder behind Kevin Glenn. Once he took over the offence, however, he’s averaged 290 yards through the air on Labour Day. As for Reilly, he joined Edmonton in 2013. He then missed the 2014 edition of the matchup due to injury. Then in 2015, Reilly had suffered torn ligaments in his knee in the season-opener. Despite being healthy enough to play, it was then rookie- James Franklin who got the nod as the Esks’ starter. Reilly came into the game in the fourth quarter with his team trailing by nine and finished the game passing for 90 yards. So with only just three starts as an Eskimo on Labour Day, Reilly has averaged 231 passing yards.
That same year that Reilly came into the Labour Day Classic against the Stampeders in 2015, relieving Franklin, Edmonton was hoisting the Grey Cup over their heads a few months later, making any possible analysis on this matchup boiled down to what we’ve witnessed over the course of the past 11 weeks with these two teams.
With all that being said, it’s a major plus for Edmonton to have Reilly coming into the meeting healthy. He’s also been classified as a mid-season All-Star as he continues to lead the league in passing yards and both Duke Williams and Derel Walker have been ranked among the top receivers in the league since the season kicked off in June.
“I don’t think I’ve seen his demeanour change, whether it’s a Grey Cup or a pre-season game,” Sherritt said, a long-time teammate of Reilly. “He’s a true competitor, so if you’re a true competitor you’re not going to let a rivalry game change your outlook or preparation.”
Coming into the matchup, Calgary sits as the second best team in terms of average points scored with 30.2, while Edmonton sits just behind them averaging 28.5. Such is the case for just about every single offensive category – where one is, the other soon follows.
Reilly is coming off of back-to-back games in which he’s passed for three touchdowns. He’s also scored rushing majors in every game but three. His arm, his legs, paired up with the fact that he’s coming into Monday without any injuries – watch out Calgary!
The 59th edition of the Labour Day Classic between Calgary and Edmonton is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. ET on Monday, a day when regardless your record up to this point in the season, all bets are off because there’s no knowing what to expect when it’s The Battle of Alberta.
