What to look for in CFL’s Battle of Alberta

The 4-0 Eskimos play host to the 3-0 Calgary Stampeders tonight, marking the first relevant Battle of Alberta game in at least three seasons. The Journal’s Chris O’Leary sets things up.

D-LINE SHUFFLE

Defensive end Marcus Howard’s broken thumb has made for the only substantial change on the Eskimos’ depth chart this week.

Howard will be replaced by a pair of Canadian Football League rookies, in starter Willie Jefferson and backup Cameron Sheffield, who comes in off of the team’s practice roster.

Linebacker J.C. Sherritt is listed as the starting Will linebacker, but hasn’t practised in weeks. He’ll likely be replaced by rookie Dexter McCoil.

The strength of the Eskimos through this first month of the season has been their adaptability to injuries. McCoil has thrived as a starter, while Jefferson and Sheffield appear poised to do the same.

CORNISH SIX-GAMED

Calgary tailback Jon Cornish’s leave from the game is turning into an extended one. The reigning Most Outstanding Player in the league was placed on Calgary’s sixgame injured list on Wednesday morning, as his concussion symptoms won’t clear up to allow him to return to the field.

“It’s disappointing,” Eskimos quarterback Mike Reilly said of the news on Cornish.

“I got to spend some time with him in Toronto (during the off-season). He’s a great guy and obviously a very good football player.

“You want to play against a team when they’re at their best … and I think the fans want to see a guy like him out on the field and playing. At the same time they’ve done a nice job filling in his absence. They’re by no means a bad team running the ball without him, but certainly with him he brings something to the table that not a lot of people do in this league.”

REILLY VS. MITCHELL, ROUND 1

Calgary pivot Bo Levi Mitchell is perfect (6-0) as a CFL starter and is a win away from tying Jeff Garcia’s league record for the best start ever. To do that, he’ll have to solve the not-- fully-stickered Rubik’s Cube that is the Eskimos’ defence. Mitchell is fifth in the league in yards (781) and has made 52 of 84 passes this year with six touchdowns and a clean slate on interceptions.

Meanwhile, Reilly is on a nice streak of his own, having won five games in a row, going back to last season’s Week 19 win over Saskatchewan. The second-year starter is third in yardage (930), making 91 of 139 passes, with eight touchdowns and three interceptions.

FINES FOR SOME, STERN GLANCES FOR OTHERS

Eskimos’ defensive end Elie Ngoyi will go into this week’s game a little lighter in the wallet thanks to slipping a punch into his repertoire last week.

The league fined Ngoyi an undisclosed amount of money for punching an opponent during the Eskimos’ win over the Blue Bombers. Conversely, Bombers’ halfback Demond Washington was not fined or suspended for his late hit on Esks’ slotback Fred Stamps. The play was flagged and though Stamps spent the night in a Winnipeg hospital, he flew home Friday morning and will play on Thursday against Calgary.

GET RICH OR DIE BUYING

There’s a big non-football story growing at Commonwealth Stadium that will have a very happy ending for one lucky fan. Last week’s 50/50 jackpot of $71,732 went unclaimed and will carry over into Thursday night’s game against Calgary. As of 6 p.m. Wednesday, the Eskimos had sold 32,086 tickets to the game. Players were speculating on Wednesday morning that the combined pots would hit $200,000 this week.

Check the Journal’s website for a video on Eskimos players and coaches insights as to how they’d spend the winnings of the draw, however high it might be.