After catching a pair of touchdown passes from Jake Maier to lead the Calgary Stampeders to a 26-18 victory over the Edmonton Elks, Begelton praised the 30,479 fans in the stands for their support. “When you get the crowd into it, it makes it a lot sweeter,” said Begelton, who caught five passes for 57 yards. “The juices are starting. You don’t have to find it. It’s already there.” Maier referred to Begelton as a “big player” who has worked hard this season, and the Calgary quarterback was happy to see the talented receiver succeed on such a big stage as the Labor Day Classic. “Everything didn’t always go his way this year,” said Maier, who completed 18 of 26 passes for 238 yards. “He didn’t always have the ball going. In one of our biggest games of the year on Labor Day, he shows up and scores two touchdowns. “He’s just a real sick guy, really selfless. When you have these types of men, these are the things that can happen to them. He’s a great leader for us and it’s been amazing to see.” Calgary coach Dave Dickenson said he had a feeling Begelton would have a big game against the Elks. “I’m not surprised,” Dickenson said. “I just thought he did all the little things, all the hard work. I think he is one of our best workers. I think he’s a very selfless person.” Ka’Deem Carey had a rushing touchdown for the Stampeders (7-4), who avenged a 32-20 loss to the Elks a year ago during the annual Labor Day Classic. Rene Paredes had a field goal and a single for the Stamps, who hit their 400th home run in franchise history. Quarterback Taylor Cornelius threw touchdown passes to Dillon Mitchell and Jalin Marshall for the Elks (3-9), who have lost two straight and five of their last six. “It’s just another moment there,” said Cornelius, who completed 22 of 33 passes for 257 yards. “It felt like we were in their company the whole game. “Then (in the third quarter) we got out, we had a lot of two-and-outs and we couldn’t stay on the field enough, we left our defense out there and that’s when the game really seemed to shift in its momentum. a little bit.” Sergio Castillo hit a field goal for Edmonton, while John Ryan singled. On Edmonton’s first drive, Cornelius took a snap at midfield and Stamps linebacker Derek Wiggan made a neat recovery to give Calgary good field position. Four plays later, Carey ran for a three-yard touchdown to cap a quick 51-yard drive. The Elks responded late in the first quarter when Cornelius threw a 48-yard touchdown strike to Mitchell to cap a six-play, 90-yard drive. Neither team could get anything going offensively in the second quarter as Ryan scored the lone score on a 51-yard scamper to give the Elks an 8-7 halftime lead. Both teams had opportunities to score points off turnovers, but neither could capitalize. Early in the second quarter, Shawn Lemon knocked the ball out of Cornelius’ hands before Cameron Judge took it out of bounds to give the Stamps great field position at the Edmonton 43-yard line. Three plays later, Maier was sacked by Jake Ceresna and the Stamps were forced to punt. On Calgary’s next possession, Mark McLaurin picked off an errant Maier pass, but all the Elks could muster was Ryan’s single. Maier threw an eight-yard TD pass to Begelton at 6:29 of the third quarter to give Calgary the lead. After Malik Henry caught a pass from Maier in the end zone for a two-point conversion, the Stamps went up 15-8. After Edmonton’s third two-and-out to start the second half, the Elks’ woes continued when Romeo McKnight blocked Ryan’s punt and Isaac Adeyemi-Begland picked up the loose ball at the 12-yard line. Two plays later, Begelton made a diving catch in the back corner of the end zone to haul in a 12-yard TD pass from Maier. “Oh man, the excitement, the rush that just went through my body, all glory to God on that,” Begelton said of his highlight-reel game. “I just felt really blessed about it.” On the ensuing kickoff, the ball hit punt returner Peyton Logan in the facemask and bounced right to Edmonton’s Jeremy Dominick, who was downed at the Calgary 35-yard line. Five plays later, the Elks had to settle for a 15-yard field goal by Castillo. After Paredes kicked a 25-yard field goal to give Calgary a 25-11 lead, Cornelius led the Elks on a 10-play, 70-yard drive that he capped by throwing a five-yard TD pass to Marshall in the back of the end zone. Paredes then missed a 40-yard field goal wide left, but the ball rolled through the end zone for a 53-yard single for the game’s final score. “It’s what Labor Day is, you play somebody and then come back and play them five days later,” said Elks coach Chris Jones, whose team will host the Stamps in a rematch at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton on Saturday. “It’s good to get that taste out of our mouths. “We’ll look after our players well this week. I don’t think we’ve breached anyone, thank God.” This report by The Canadian Press was first published on September 5, 2022.
