The Calgary Stampeders dominated the Edmonton Eskimos 39-18 Monday afternoon to win on Labour Day for the sixth straight year.
The Stamps lead the CFL West with a mark of 8-1-1. The Esks are in third place at 7-3. They’ve lost three straight.
“It’s been the same story for the last three weeks. We’ve done enough to hurt ourselves in all three games, and other teams have capitalized on it,” said head coach Jason Maas. “We’ve dug ourselves too big of a hole to come back from.”
Calgary scored a field goal on the opening drive of the game and never looked back. They recovered a Cory Watson fumble on the Esks opening possession and eventually turned it into a four-yard touchdown run by Jerome Messam. Chris Milo, making his Eskimos debut, nailed a 22-yard field goal late in the first quarter as Calgary was up 11-3 after 15 minutes.
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Anthony Parker scurried for a 24-yard major early in the second quarter. Roy Finch returned a punt 90 yards for a score later in the frame, helping the Stampeders to a 26-6 halftime advantage.
Mike Reilly’s first pass of the third quarter was intercepted, setting up another touchdown run by Messam. Rene Parades added a field goal late in the third, putting Calgary ahead 36-6.
The Eskimos finally found the end zone in the fourth quarter, with Kenny Stafford catching a seven-yard touchdown pass and Brandon Zylstra hauling in a 41-yard score.
Parades added another field goal to round out the scoring.
Reilly finished 34/53 for 320 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. Zylstra had nine catches for 127 yards.
The Eskimos will host the Stampeders on Saturday. 630 CHED will have the Countdown to Kick-off at 5:30 p.m. with the game starting at 7 p.m.