Calgary Stampeders blame ‘mental lapse’ for blocked punt against Elks

Photo: Graeme Kelly/Edmonton Elks

Not many things went right for the Calgary Stampeders on Saturday, chief among them a blocked punt that resulted in a touchdown for the Edmonton Elks.

Silas Hubert blew through the line of scrimmage unblocked, and fought through Ludovick Choquette to block Mark Vassett’s punt. The Norwood, Ont. native then recovered the loose ball in the end zone for the touchdown, a score from which the Stampeders were unable to recover.

“We had a mental lapse in our punt protection that we haven’t had in years,” Dickenson told the media in Calgary.

“It looked to me like (our front) assumed they weren’t going to rush, and you can’t do that. You’ve gotta make sure you do your job and you do it to the best of your ability.”

The Elks held a two-score lead prior to Hubert’s touchdown, which made it 36-13 late in the third quarter. The Stampeders were unable to bounce back, and eventually lost 53-16. It marked the first time since 2004 that Edmonton scored 50-plus points in a game.

It was the worst performance of the season for Calgary’s offence, which managed only 13 first downs, 16 points, and 245 net yards.

The Stampeders were held under 30 points just once over their first nine regular-season games this year. The team hasn’t scored more than 28 points in their last four outings, with 16 being a new season-low.

“The offence hasn’t been up to par, even though it was early-on quite good, setting scoring records and all that sort of stuff,” said Dickenson.

“It really doesn’t matter. In this league, it’s about winning, so all of us have to do better and find a way to keep our offence on the field more.

“That’s the main thing — we’ve been getting too many two-and-outs, we’ve been off the field too much, and our defence just wears out. As a group, let’s get some first downs — don’t have to score every play, let’s get some first downs, change field position, and ultimately win.”

The Stampeders might have to make some personnel changes on offence this week, as running back Dedrick Mills (hip) and receiver Dejon Brissett (elbow) were non-participants in practice on Tuesday.

“We’ve got a couple of guys that are banged up,” said Dickenson. “We’ll see how it plays out long-term.”

The Calgary Stampeders (5-8) will host the Ottawa Redblacks (0-12) at McMahon Stadium on Saturday, September 19 with kickoff scheduled for 7:00 p.m. EDT. Last week, the Redblacks suffered a narrow loss to the Toronto Argonauts, while the Stampeders got blown out by the Edmonton Elks.

The game will be broadcast on TSN in Canada and CFL+ internationally. Radio listeners can tune-in on TSN 1200 in Ottawa or 770 CHQR in Calgary.