Alford, red-hot Stampeders look to keep rolling vs. Alexander-less Alouettes on TSN

CALGARY - Damien Alford says before his nickname was "Moose", it was "Bambi".

"My freshman year, I was all skinny and didn't have that much weight on me," recalled the Calgary Stampeders wide receiver Wednesday.

"My coach called me Bambi before the season started. As my career went on and I got bigger, stronger, I got more experience, I had a breakout game versus Army. He said, 'we can't call him Bambi no more. We've got to call him Moose.'"

The 24-year-old from Montreal has quickly become an offensive threat in his rookie CFL season with five touchdown catches in his last three games.

The Stampeders (5-1) ride a three-game win streak into Thursday's clash with the Montreal Alouettes (4-2) at McMahon Stadium.

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The six-foot-six, 224-pound Alford was the first overall pick in this year's CFL draft by Calgary after a season with Utah and four at Syracuse. It was the first time since 2014 that the Stampeders owned the first selection.

"This year was really just to come out, do what I got to do, learn from the best that are here, and whenever my name gets called to go on the field and execute the way I know I'm able to," Alford said.

Vernon Adams Jr., expressed an interest in large targets to throw at when Calgary acquired the quarterback from the B.C. Lions last November. 

The Stampeders signed the six-foot-four Dominique Rhymes — Adams' former Lions teammate — in free agency. Stampeders coach and general manager Dave Dickenson confirmed Wednesday that Alford also filled that desire.

"It plays into our thought process for sure," Dickenson said. "We knew Vernon likes those big targets and he trusts them. And also, there's just not that many of them, especially in the Canadian side."

Alford has caught five of Adams' eight touchdown throws over the last three games, but the quarterback says Alford is still a work in progress.

"He's a super-raw, super-talented kid," Adams said. "We think the world of him, but he's still learning and still learning some different things."

Complementing Alford's exploits in recent games has been a Calgary defence that's contributed four touchdowns while giving up the league's fewest at seven.

"I've never had a defence like this that has had my back the way they have my back," Adams said.

The Stampeders and Alouettes tied 19-19 at McMahon the last time the two clubs clashed Sept. 14, 2024.

The Als, tied for first in the East Division with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, eked out a narrow 26-25 win over the Toronto Argonauts last week.

With Montreal quarterback Davis Alexander on the six-game injured list with a hamstring ailment from that game, McLeod Bethel-Thompson gets his third start of the season. 

The 37-year-old veteran, looking for his first win of 2025, has thrown for 472 yards and three touchdowns. The Alouettes dealt quarterback Cody Fajardo to the Edmonton Elks in December for Bethel-Thompson.

"I felt better the second start after the first one and the third one is just a growth from there, so I definitely feel more comfortable and I'm excited to have that show on the field," Bethel-Thompson said.

While Calgary leads the league in average rushing yards per game (130), Montreal's defence allows a league-low 5.8 yards per run.

"We're number one at the run stoppage, they're number one at rushing, you're going to battle strength versus strength," Alouettes head coach Jason Maas said. "I know they're not going to not run it, so we're going stop it. Our guys are looking forward to that challenge.

"I think you're going to find every one of our guys are excited about playing this one."

IN AND OUT

Stampeder running back Jeshrun Antwi, who missed the last three games with an ankle injury, returns to face his former team of four seasons.

"We do feel like getting Antwi back against his former team, motivated and also good at special teams, but also one of our smarter guys that has played against this defence in practice a lot, he could be a big asset, not only just when he's playing, but on the sideline as well." Dickenson said.

Montreal returner Lincoln Victor, who attended the Ottawa Redblacks training camp, will make his CFL debut in place of James Letcher Jr. (broken hand). 

Safety Scott Hutter of London, Ont., makes his Alouettes debut after five seasons with the Edmonton Elks. Als receiver Tyson Philpot, the brother of Calgary's Jalen Philpot, will miss a second straight game with a knee injury.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 23, 2024.