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Streaking Stampeders play host to Eskimos

Wed 11th, August 2010

Calgary, AB (Sports Network) - The Calgary Stampeders try to continue their domination at home this season as they welcome the Edmonton Eskimos to McMahon Stadium in Alberta on Sunday.

A perfect 3-0 mark at home in 2010, Calgary is tops in the Western Division at the moment with a record of 5-1, while Edmonton is tied with British Columbia for last place in the division with just a single victory in six opportunities.

Last week the Stamps played another tight game but managed to come away with the 27-22 victory over the Lions on the road, marking the seventh straight for Calgary over BC during the regular season since the start of the 2008 campaign. Henry Burris hit on 22-of-32 passing for 238 yards and two touchdowns, while backup Drew Tate added a one-yard major of his own when he found Rob Cote in the second quarter. The scoring strike was the first in the pro career for Tate, who again appeared in place of Burris during a short- yardage situation.

The return of Ken-Yon Rambo to the lineup after a lengthy stint on the injury list, continued to pay dividends for the Stamps, as he reeled in three passes for 77 yards, including a 48-yard effort that resulted in his second touchdown in as many weeks.

Even though the defense for the Stampeders did allow a couple of rushing touchdowns to Jamal Robertson, the unit limited the home team to just 58 yards rushing overall and took down starting quarterback Travis Lulay four times in the backfield, prompting the Lions to bring out Jarious Jackson to finish the effort.

Meanwhile the Eskimos were trying to win their second straight outing on August 6 when they hosted Toronto and nearly pulled it off before allowing Cory Boyd into the end zone for the third time late in the fourth quarter of a 29-28 loss. Quarterback Ricky Ray managed to hit on 24-of-35 for 272 yards and a score, while Arkee Whitlock tacked on a team-best 147 yards and a major on 16 carries coming out of the backfield. Receiver Fred Stamps led with seven catches for 70 yards, but in the third quarter he suffered a dislocated shoulder and the league's second-leading pass receiver will be watching from the sidelines for the next few weeks as he heals.

Heading into this week's action Stamps had 38 catches for 609 yards and a score, but with him on the shelf, slotback Kelly Campbell is now the primary option for Ray, having captured 37 passes for 503 yards and a score himself.

Ray has one of the top completion percentages in the league through six games with his 68.1 percent, but with just six touchdowns and five interceptions he has bowed to the pressure of opposing defenses thus far. Now in his eighth season in the league, all of which have been with Edmonton, Ray has shown some personal success against Calgary, throwing for no less than 342 yards in five straight encounters between 2007 and 2009. However, more recently his numbers have fallen off to the point where he threw for a combined 698 yards in the last three meetings in 2009 and was sacked a total of five times.

Because Ray has been inconsistent this season the Eskimos are second-to-last in scoring with an average of just 21.7 ppg, compared to Calgary at 27.8 ppg. When it comes to defensive efforts, the Stamps are at the top of the list with just 21.2 ppg allowed, which is just one of the reasons why Calgary is atop the most recent power rankings as well. Edmonton is currently tied with Saskatchewan for the weakest scoring defense in the league, permitting 30.5 ppg, but don't blame that on Chris Thompson, who is by far the best cover man with a staggering five interceptions already. No one else in the league has more than a pair of picks through six games.

With 13 TD passes, Burris is first in the CFL entering action this week and yet he is also charged with the most interceptions thrown with nine on 218 attempts. Nik Lewis and Romby Bryant have helped Burris keep the Stamps offense moving in the right direction, the receivers posting 36 and 30 receptions, respectively, while combining for seven of those scores. The return of Rambo to the lineup will only make the offense stronger and give Burris another quality option to seek out.

The most recent regular season meeting between the clubs took place in late October of last year, with Calgary wrapping up a 30-7 home win over the Eskimos. The victory was the third in a row and the fourth in the last five meetings for the Stamps over Edmonton.

However, as dominate as Calgary has been in the series lately, the fact remains that the Esks own a convincing 121-78-3 advantage in regular season encounters dating back to 1949. The teams are slated to face each other twice in early September during a four-day span.