Stampeders, Elks renew rivalry for second time in a week

Calgary hopes familiarity breeds more success as the Stampeders will travel to Edmonton to take on the rival Elks in the second game of a home-and-home on Saturday.

The Stampeders (8-3) dominated the first matchup in Calgary on Monday, thumping the Elks 28-7 partly on the strength of running back Dedrick Mills' 106 yards on the ground.

That big day by Mills gives him 844 rushing yards this season, the second-most in the CFL, but he was quick to credit his offensive line this week.

"I love the O-line. They just been out there balling," Mills said. "Communication is a big part of what we've got going on."

The win kept Calgary undefeated against West Division opponents and gave the Stampeders their 11th win in their last 13 games against the Elks. But they're not resting easy.

"We used the time that we had wisely and focused and zoned in on the mistakes we made in the game and fixed them so we can be better next game," Mills said.

In stark contrast to Calgary, Monday's result kept the Elks winless in the West Division.

Edmonton (4-7) was undone by a pair of fumbles and failed to find the end zone in the first matchup, a loss that ended a three-game winning streak.

"I'm just excited for this opportunity. It's not very often in pro sports where you get to play the same team that you just lost to back-to-back, other than baseball," Elks quarterback Cody Fajardo said. "I think we're really excited about that opportunity to kind of wash that bad taste out of our mouth."

Edmonton has defensive lineman Jake Ceresna (knee) and linebacker Nyles Morgan (leg) sidelined due to injury this week. Calgary has eight players listed as out, among them linebacker Morice Blackwell (knee), defensive back Adrian Greene (lower leg) and offensive lineman D'Antne Demery (hamstring).

The teams face off one more time in Edmonton in Week 21.

--Field Level Media