The most important weekend for Canadian Football League has come and gone, leaving some rivals teams bitter while others are celebrating and going right back to the drawing board to secure another win. Unfortunately for the ever-improving Edmonton Elks, they have fallen short on Labour Day for a second year in-a-row against their provincial rivals, The Calgary Stampeders.

   In this week's edition of The Turnover, we'll break down the "break down" of the Edmonton Elks in what was a very winnable game for the Green and Gold.

GAME DAY VIBES

   Expectations are a very strange feeling for Elks fans this year. For most games this season we've had to drop our expectations for this team, however, the Labour Day Game showed great hope and promise of a win, and for the first time in years, Labour Day was a very meaningful day for playoff implications. The Stampeders have been floundering and picking up more losses than wins, and with the Elks on the rise and riding a 2-game winning streak, all signs pointed to the possibility of an Elks win. To get our Herd in a Game Day mood, we cooked a great amount of food and invited friends to our house to watch what would be a very exciting football game.

GAME TIME

   With the excitement of Labour Day in the air, the game kicked off with the Stampeders wearing their trusty Labour Day Outlaw Black uniforms and the Elks throwing it way back with the Snowball look in all-white uniforms. Calgary started rolling early with Jake Maier throwing down the field and constructing a drive that resulted in a field goal. While the Elks offense didn't make much noise in the first quarter, the defense made alot of noise with crucial sacks from Jake Ceresna and Noah Curtis, allowing only 1 more point during the quarter. Quarterback Tre Ford found his game with less than 2 minutes left in the quarter by using his legs and speed to bring the ball to the 2-yard line. From there, Cornelius stretched over the goal line for a touchdown. 7-4 for the Green and Gold.

   In true classic fashion, the Stampeders would see a good amount of return yards from their special teams and more specifically, Tommy Lee Lewis in the second quarter. The Stampeders would tie the score at 7-7 after a semi-successful drive that the Elks managed to halt near the endzone. After another stalled drive for the Elks, the defense managed to intercept in a Marcus Lewis catch from Maier. With that, the Elks came to life. Running back Kevin Brown started to find his legs and contributed to a drive that resulted in another field goal. After the Edmonton Elks defense terrorized Jake Maier and company for a quick set of downs, Tre Ford went to work, utilizing almost every reciever to obtain a touchdown via Steven Dunbar Jr.
18-10 at the half thanks to Dean Faithfull's steady leg.

With the help of Kevin Brown, Emmanuel Arceneaux and Dean Faithfull, Edmonton managed another field goal early in the second half. Moments later, Calgary answered with another field goal of their own. This is when Tre Ford ran around 100 yards to obtain 30, a truly remarkable scramble for everyone watching. With reciever Kyran Moore getting a crucial first down, Ford tossed a ball over many heads to Dunbar for another touchdown, making the score 28-13.
   Calgary would answer back with a touchdown of their own moments later, with Maier running into the endzone on his own terms. The mighty Elks defense that held off many great drives and plays, finally started to crack and crumble. Maier and company would make play after play in a fourth quarter of momentum for the team from Southern Alberta. Between bad coverage, penalties and plays, the Elks could not efficiently run the clock and stop what seemed to be inevitable from the start of the fourth quarter; The Calgary Stampeders beat the Edmonton Elks 34-31.

3 THOUGHTS FROM MONDAY:

1. Why wouldn't you call the timeout at the end? The Elks let the game fizzle out on a drive that had enough time for a second play. The game was most likely lost at that point, but you know what Gretzky says...

2. Elks had the lead for most of the game, defense was leaky tonight. For some reason the team fell apart in the fourth quarter so, we are hoping for a much better fourth in the Labour Day Rematch.

3. Lots of positives but losing Labour Day always sucks. Good effort by the Team. At least this team is delivering entertainment again, a feature this team lacked for 8 to 9 games this season.

FOR FANS FROM FANS

   Labour Day is a tradition and unfortunately for us Elks fans, it's been a tradition of losing for most of the last decade. While the home team is supposed to win, the Green and Gold faithful saw this game as a step towards playoffs and claiming some respect in the CFL West. All expectations were once again crushed for a team and fanbase that can't afford any more losses in the quest for the playoffs. While it's a blessing to still retain playoff hopes after a nine-loss start to the season, winning in Calgary would have the Elks tied with Calgary in the West standings, heading back home on a high. Now, Edmonton must regroup as a team and fanbase, and go harder than ever before in a game that couldn't be more meaningful.

ON TAP: EDMONTON ELKS VS CALGARY STAMPEDERS

The Edmonton Elks welcome the Calgary Stampeders to Comonwealth Stadium on September 9th at 5 PM Mountain. Family Day will have everyone re-learning their ABC's so be sure to come down to Commonwealth and support the best Albertan Football Game of the Year. You can find us at the Tailgate Party in Stall #44 for eats, SpEEker's Corner and Tailgate Trivia! Go Elks!

For more Edmonton Elks talk, tune in to The Elks Call Podcast on YouTube Wednesdays or Thursdays LIVE at 8:30 PM, and the rewind on Edmonton Sports Talk on Fridays at 8 PM!