The Edmonton Eskimos came as close as a team could to winning a football game on Labour Day.
At the end it was the Calgary Stampeders who won the Labour Day Classic for a seventh straight season as Rene Parades kicked a 43-yard field goal with no time left on the clock to seal a 23-20 win.
On Saturday, the Eskimos will get another shot at their provincial rivals as they will host the Stampeders in the Labour Day rematch on The Brick Field at Commonwealth Stadium.
Monday’s loss was the Eskimos third in their last four games, dropping their record to 6-5 and third place in the Western Division.
Listen below: Quarterback Mike Reilly says getting a win over the Stampeders is crucial and it doesn’t matter how his team gets that win
The Eskimos failure to score points in the second half reared its ugly head again as they scored only three points. In their last three losses the Eskimos have been out-scored 46-6 in the second half.
Against the Stampeders, the Eskimos turned the ball over three times. Defensive back Aaron Grymes said the loss on Labour Day hurt, but he’s more upset at losing three of their last four games.
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“I think we’ve been dealing with this more than just Monday, we’ve been dealing with this since we played in B.C.,” Grymes said.
“This is something that just isn’t going to change overnight for us or in the past week, this is something we’ve been trying to change for a little while now. Hopefully we get a hold of it and figure out what it is.”
The most notable change to the Eskimos roster for the rematch is at receiver. Derel Walker will be out of action for the next six-to-eight weeks because of a left-knee injury suffered on Monday.
Walker is fourth in the CFL in receiving with 875 yards and is tied with CFL receiving leader Duke Williams (1,065 yards) with eight touchdowns.
Listen below: Head coach Jason Maas says the loss on Labour Day hasn’t shaken his team’s belief system
Stepping in for Walker is a familiar name to Eskimos fans in Bryant Mitchell who has played three games and received one start against the Montreal Alouettes on Aug 18. Mitchell caught seven passes for 128 yards and scored a touchdown. Last season he played seven games recording 482 yards and three touchdowns.
Two other changes for the Eskimos to their 46-man roster after defensive lineman Mark Mackie was placed on the practice roster.
Expect Canadian defensive end Arnaud Gascon-Nadon to make his Eskimos debut, giving the team a true rush end behind starter Kwaku Boateng.
Nadon’s best CFL season came in 2016 when he recorded 14 defensive tackles and six quarterback sacks in nine games. The final change will see running back Shaq Cooper added to the roster and linebacker Brandon Pittman moving to the practice roster.
The following is the projected offensive and defensive starters for the Eskimos:
Offence
Quarterback: Mike Reilly
Running Back: C.J. Gable (Fullback: Calvin McCarty)
Offensive Line: Matt O’Donnell-Travis Bond-Justin Sorensen-David Beard-Colin Kelly
Receivers: Bryant Mitchell-Duke Williams-Natey Adjei-Vidal Hazelton-Kenny Stafford
Defence
Defensive Line: Kwaku Boateng-Almondo Sewell-Mike Moore-Alex Bazzie
Linebackers: Christophe Mulumba-Tshimanga-J.C. Sherritt-Chris Edwards
Defensive Backs: Mercy Maston-Aaron Grymes-Josh Woodman-Forrest Hightower-Nick Taylor
The Stampeders won the game on Labour Day but paid a heavy price in the injury department.
Receiver Kamar Jorden underwent season-ending knee surgery on Thursday. He’s the CFL’s second-leading receiver with 944 yards and has scored six touchdowns, Reggie Begelton will draw in.
Running back Don Jackson who is the league’s fourth-leading rusher is out as well, he recorded a 100-yard rushing game on Monday. He will be replaced by Romar Morris in the backfield.
Also out for the Stamps are All-Star defensive back Ciante Evans, starting centre Ucambre Williams and starting fullback Charlie Power.
The Stampeders have swept the Labour Day series the last two seasons and four of their last five seasons.
You can hear live coverage of the Labour Day rematch between the Eskimos and Stampeders on 630 CHED starting with an extended edition of Countdown to Kick-off at 3 p.m. The opening kick-off on The Brick Field at Commonwealth Stadium is 5 p.m. with Morley Scott and Dave Campbell calling all of the live action. Plus hear analysis from former Eskimos offensive lineman and two-time Grey Cup champion Blake Dermott and Brenden Ullrich will be reporting from the Eskimos sidelines.
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