Five takeaways as Calgary Stampeders pummel Edmonton Elks in final preseason game
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A first-play first down followed by a first-drive touchdown.
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That's the way to get the home fans feeling good about the Calgary Stampeders for the 2025 Canadian Football League campaign.
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Even better was parlaying that early success into a convincing win over the rival Edmonton Elks in the CFL pre-season final for the Stampeders — a 31-4 decision Saturday night in front of 15,531 fans at McMahon Stadium.
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A desired result? Double check.
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The Elks didn't offer much in the way of starters — 40 rookies peppered the visiting team's roster — but it still makes for a feel-good start for a franchise in need of it this season.
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And with that the Stampeders are off to the regular season — with a monster break between now and their first game Saturday, June 7 against the visiting Hamilton Tiger-Cats at McMahon (5 p.m., CHQR 770 AM/107.3 FM the Edge, TSN).
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Fans at McMahon got their first look at Vernon Adams Jr., and the much-heralded quarterback acquired in the off-season strutted his wares.
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The prized QB — nicknamed 'Big-Play V.A.' — was gunning right from the start and moving the ball with authority, instantly wiping away the stumbles seen at the position of previous years which have maligned the offence.
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Points were scored on all three drives Adams engineered — a couple of touchdowns on QB sneaks by fellow pivot Logan Bonner and a 52-yard field-goal bombed by veteran kicker René Paredes.
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After that, it was P.J. Walker's chance to show his wares at quarterback for the Stampeders. And he marched the club downfield on a handful of drives, hooking up with receiver Daylen Baldwin on a 13-yard TD on a third-and-long gamble in the fourth quarter.
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Josh Love mopped up at QB for the Stamps.
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