Two Weyburn athletes will meet up on the CFL field again this season for week 18 action, as Brendon LaBatte and the Roughriders will be in Calgary to face Brett Jones and the Stampeders on Friday, Oct. 24.
In addition to featuring a battle of longtime rivals, and two local athletes, it is the Stamps annual PinkPower game to raise awareness and funds in the battle against women’s cancers.
The Stamps clinched first place in the east division of the CFL, after earning a 33-23 win over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Saturday. Meanwhile, the Riders lost their opportunity for a home-field playoff game after they lost 24-19 to the Edmonton Eskimos on Sunday.
The Eskimos came onto the field with a spark in the second half, to secure the win. They were down by two scores, but a 95-yard return touchdown on the half’s opening kickoff helped the Esks to claim the win.
Head coach Corey Chamblin noted that he had learned something from the loss, which was the fourth-straight for the Riders. “It’s about having that fire and as I told some of the guys after the game, there are some guys out there who understand what playing championship football is all about. There are guys out there busting their hump, but there are guys who still don’t understand what it is to give their best, each and every day, each and every down. We have to find those guys going into the playoffs — guys that have a burning desire to win each and every day.”
The Calgary defense had to turn down a late-game comeback from the Blue Bombers, during their game. The Bombers battled back from a 23-7 second-half deficit to trail by just three points late in the fourth quarter.
With the win in Winnipeg, John Hufnagel’s career coaching record improved to 86-36-1. He joins Hall-of-Famers Wally Buono (254-139-3) and Don Matthews (231-133-1) as the only coaches in CFL history with a career mark that is at least 50 games over .500.
