CALGARY - The Calgary Stampeders don't need any extra incentive to
prepare for their West Division final against the Roughriders in
Saskatchewan next Sunday.
"Winner goes to the Grey Cup, that's motivation enough," said
Calgary coach and GM John Hufnagel, a day after his squad beat the
Edmonton Eskimos 24-21 in the West semifinal.
After the players enjoy two days off to recuperate from Sunday's tough outing, they'll return to McMahon Stadium on
Wednesday to prepare for the Riders.
"The
players want to earn the right to play in the Grey Cup," Hufnagel said.
"They have the opportunity to do that on Sunday. It's going to take a
good hard week of practice and then great execution for three hours on
Sunday."
Having gone 0-2-1 against Saskatchewan in the regular season, the
Stamps will face a confident and rested group of Roughriders at Mosaic
Stadium in the West final (TSN, 4:30 p.m. ET).
"We know we're going in playing the regular-season West Division
champion and rightfully so, they deserved it," Calgary quarterback
Henry Burris said after completing 19 of 32 pass attempts for 264 yards
and two touchdowns against Edmonton. "They've got a defence that flies
around so we're looking forward to going back and getting this
opportunity."
A former Rider, Burris fully expects the crowd at Mosaic Stadium
to make it as loud as possible when the Stampeders have the ball.
"We know it will be tough going against their 13th man," he said.
Although Saskatchewan beat Calgary 30-14 in Regina on the final
weekend of the CFL regular season - earning a bye to the
final - Hufnagel said his players have learned ways to deal with the
hostile situation.
"It's a very loud crowd," Hufnagel said. "We have to be very good
with our poise in the noise. One thing I was pleased about in the last
game against Saskatchewan was that I thought we did handle the noise
situation very well. We didn't have a lot of procedure calls. It didn't
affect our communication offensively or defensively. We just need to
make more plays."
After catching his first touchdown pass in a Stampeder uniform in
the win over the Eskimos, receiver Arjei Franklin said he and his
teammates have fully turned their attention towards earning redemption
against the Riders.
"If we look past them, we will pay for that," Franklin said. "All
we're thinking of right now is Saskatchewan and whatever happens after
that, happens."
Franklin referred to Mosaic Stadium as "a fun place to play."
"It's an us-against-the-world type of environment," he added. "After
a good week of practice, we're excited to get back there and play the
type of football we're capable of playing."
The Stamps might be without the services of centre Rob Lazeo, who
went down with a knee injury in the second quarter of Sunday's game
against Edmonton.
"He has an ankle problem and a knee problem," Hufnagel said,
referring to the ailments as day-to-day. "We'll have a better idea on
Wednesday, but it's not looking good."
Meanwhile, Calgary fullback Teyo Johnson is on his way to making a
speedy recovery. Johnson missed the West semifinal after being stabbed
in the back during a much-publicized incident at a rave concert in the
early morning hours on Friday.
"Right now he's questionable, but I'm very optimistic that he'll be in the lineup," Hufnagel said.