Eskimos insist they beat selves in holiday classic

Exactly who beat whom in Monday’s Labour Day Classic appears to be a matter of contention heading into Saturday’s rematch.

Or, rather, who beat the Edmonton Eskimos.

There is no disputing the Calgary Stampeders came out on top on the scoreboard, 23-20 over their northern rivals.

But one member of the losing side who, following the game, suggested Calgary didn’t win as much as the Eskimos beat themselves, seems to have gotten a nose or two out of joint at McMahon Stadium.

“They’re not as good as everybody thinks they are, they’re a regular team like everybody else,” Eskimos running back C.J. Gable said of the league-leading Stampeders from the visitors lockerroom after the game.

“We just f---ed ourselves.” While the Eskimos surrendered three second-half turnovers and committed a penalty that wiped out a sack that would have prematurely ended Calgary’s game-winning drive, Stamps quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell saw it differently when asked about Gable’s comments following Wednesday’s practice.

All the while defending Gable’s right to free speech, of course.

“It’s disrespectful. If you think you only beat yourself, you still had to come out here and try to beat us,” Mitchell told reporters. “Let the man say whatever he wants to say, whoever it is that says it, they can say anything they want.

“The fact is, we’re not going to give the game away, and if you felt like you did, that’s on you. We didn’t give the game away and made sure to take advantage of it when they did.”

Mitchell took to the airwaves later that afternoon to bolster his argument, pointing to Calgary’s lone loss of the season, a 40-27 loss in Regina in Week 10.

“Saskatchewan proved the critics wrong, they came out and beat us by 20 points,” he said on SportsNet 960. “They’re not as bad as (people) say they are. “Don’t say you proved everybody wrong when you lost"

WALKER ON THE LIMP

Star Eskimos receiver Derel Walker, who suffered a knee injury while getting tackled by Stampeders cornerback Tre Roberson on Monday, won’t play in Saturday’s Labour Day rematch.

“It doesn’t look good,” said Eskimos head coach Jason Maas.

“I think he’s got a little road to recovery but I think he’ll be back at some point.

“It was unfortunate, what happened to him, but I think at the same time fortunate because it could have been a lot worse.”

Just how bad, time-wise, remains to be seen.

“We’ll get more word down the road, what time frame we get him back, I don’t know,” Maas said.

“I think a lot of that’s got to do with the athlete and how well he does with treatments.

“He’s never been hurt in his life, so it’s a new experience for him. But I know Derel very well, enough to know that he’ll work his butt off to come back.”

The Labour Day rematch last year was the exact point in the season Walker rejoined the Eskimos after taking a run at cracking the Tampa Bay Buccaneers roster of the National Football League.

The Stampeders also lost the services of Kamar Jorden in Monday ’s game, which saw both the secondand third-overall receiving-yards leaders in the league get hurt in the same second quarter.

KIDS IN FREE

Family is the focus of Saturday’s Labour Day rematch at Commonwealth Stadium (5 p.m., TSN, ESPN+, 630 CHED). “Our Family Day game is an explosion of festivities for kids,” said Eskimos president Len Rhodes, adding children 17 and under will get access to the game at no charge. “This is a statement to the next generation that the future is now.”