MontrealAlouettes.com
Montreal, August 11, 2011 – The Montreal Alouettes (4-2) return to Percival Molson Stadium after a two-game road trip to face their Western rivals, the Edmonton Eskimos (5-1) tonight at 7:30 p.m. in what will be their lone home game of the month.
Both teams have managed to position themselves as contenders in their respective divisions with Montreal currently occupying the second spot in the East and Edmonton sitting atop of the West at this early point in the season.
Both the Alouettes and the Eskimos have followed similar paths to success so far this year, relying on the stellar play of their quarterbacks to pick defences apart.
With six weeks of football already in the books, Calvillo leads the league in passing yards with 1,834 and in passing touchdowns with 12. He is also expected to surpass 70,000 career passing yards tonight, as he currently sits only five yards away from the mark, in addition to being only two touchdown passes away from becoming the first quarterback in CFL history to reach 400 career passing touchdowns.
Likewise, Edmonton pivot Ricky Ray has been having a career season thus far in 2011, passing for 1,718 yards and 11 touchdowns in six games, following a forgettable 2010 season.
Calvillo’s play has been complemented by that of his teammates, some of whom also lead the league in various other categories.
Non-import kicker Sean Whyte, for instance, leads the league with an impressive 93.8% field goal completion rate. After missing his first attempt of the season against his former team during June 30th’s home opener versus BC, Whyte has successfully connected on 15 straight field goals.
Similarly, Brandon Whitaker, who had a strong outing last week against the Toronto Argonauts while rushing for 150 yards, leads the league in the category with 493 yards, and has rushed for over 100 on three occasions so far this season.
Whitaker will likely look to leave his mark again this week against an Edmonton defense that is currently ranked fourth in the league for yards allowed on the ground and has accorded an average of 100,7 yards per game.
On the topic of league leaders, the Eskimos are also represented in a category, namely, receiving yards by slotback Fred Stamps, who is the only receiver in the league to have over 600 receiving yards and leads his peers with 619. Following emergency surgery in Winnipeg on Saturday however, Stamps will likely be out of action for the next four to six weeks.
Of note on the Alouettes’ receiving corps, Kerry Watkins needs just 12 catches to reach 500 career receptions. The last time Watkins faced the Eskimos was in 2010, when he reeled in six grabs for over 100 yards.
The Alouettes will face the Edmonton Eskimos at Percival Molson Stadium this Thursday, August 11 at 7:30 p.m. (RDSHD, TSNHD, CKAC, CJAD and Sirius 157).
Tickets for the game can be purchased by visiting TicketMaster.ca or by calling 514-790-1245.
Alternatively, tickets can also be purchased on the day of the game at the Percival Molson Stadium ticket office, located near the stadium’s main entrance along Parc Avenue.
