Stampeders look to avoid going winless versus Elks, finish woeful season strong

Not much has gone right for the Calgary Stampeders this season, but head coach Dave Dickenson wants a strong finish from his team.

Since defeating the Toronto Argonauts 27-23 on Aug. 4, the Stampeders (4-10-1) have been mired in a woeful 0-6-1 stretch that has seen them fall out of the CFL playoff picture.

Although it will be too little, too late for his team, Dickenson has high hopes that the Stampeders can end their slump when they take on the Edmonton Elks (5-11) on Saturday at McMahon Stadium.

“We just haven’t had the year we want,” said Dickenson. “We do want to try to finish as strong as possible and play to win. Edmonton or any other opponent, it really doesn’t matter to us at this point.

“They’re in the same boat as us. I think both teams will play hard. It’s still professional football. I do believe it’s going to be one of those games that should come down to that last three minutes. We need to start winning some of these and hopefully this is the game we do it.”

Meanwhile, the Elks lost 28-24 to the Saskatchewan Roughriders last Saturday to see their faint dreams of locking down a playoff spot disappear.

“We know we don’t get the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, but we get an opportunity to do a job and at the end of the day there’s so many other players out there that wish they were sitting in these seats, even if they didn’t have a chance to make it to the playoffs,” said Edmonton interim head coach Jarious Jackson.

“Take advantage of your opportunities. We still have two opportunities left to go out and win football games. Let’s try to finish on a high note.”

Both Dickenson and Jackson will turn to their backup quarterbacks to lead their respective teams on Saturday in the third instalment of the Battle of Alberta this season.

Matt Schiltz will start under centre for the Stamps, while Tre Ford will be at QB for the Elks.

Schiltz relieved starting quarterback Jake Maier against the Lions and completed four-of-five passes for 99 yards, including a 53-yard touchdown strike to Reggie Begelton.

“It does kind of whet your appetite and give you a little taste,” said Schiltz of getting into game action against the Lions. “And you always want a little bit more, so it’ll be good.”

Schiltz would like nothing more than to help the Stamps avenge a pair of losses to the Elks earlier this season — a 35-20 setback in Calgary on Labour Day, followed by a 37-16 drubbing by the Elks five nights later in Edmonton.

“It would be awesome,” Shiltz said. “Like I said before, it’s the most important game because it’s the next game, and regardless of how the season is going or how it will go, we want to go out there and win.

“We’re professional athletes. We get paid to do it. But it’s a blessing to do it — to go out there to compete and win every day.”

Ford shared a similar sentiment.

“You get the opportunity to play football for work,” said Ford, who last played on Sept. 21 in a 27-14 loss to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. “It’s a great opportunity regardless of if playoffs are out of the picture or not, so we’ve always got to be grateful for that."

With quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson not dressing for the game, Ford will be tasked with trying to lead the Elks to their third straight win over the Stamps.

“It would be nice to go 3-0 against them,” Ford said. “I didn’t really play the other two, so for me it’s really the first time playing them this year. As a team, to go 3-0 would be really dominant in the battle that we have against them.”