Elks pushing for playoff position after drubbing Stampeders 37-16

The Edmonton Elks are finding a way to return to respectability in what initially looked like a lost season.

McLeod Bethel-Thompson threw a pair of touchdown passes as the Elks defeated the Calgary Stampeders 37-16 on Saturday to leapfrog their Alberta rivals into fourth place in the CFL's West Division.

Edmonton (5-8) has now won five of its last six games after a woeful 0-7 start to the season that included firing Chris Jones and bringing in Jarious Jackson as the interim head coach.

"It feels great," Jackson said. "Especially with the type of season we have been having. We've turned it around these last five or six games and to be where we are, that is pretty exciting."

It was the first time that Edmonton has swept the home-and-home Labour Day series with Calgary in 20 years, going back to 2004.

"I think it is awesome," said Elks receiver Eugene Lewis, who led the team with 97 yards and a touchdown. "It is awesome for this organization, it is awesome for these fans and it's awesome for us. It's a big rivalry. It's huge. It is something we wanted to accomplish and we believed it, we knew that we could do it."

Calgary (4-8) has now lost four straight for the first time since 2004 — a span of 331 games. The Stampeders have yet to win a game on the road, dropping to 0-6 away from home.

"I need to step back and figure out what is going to resonate and who is going to listen and who is willing to put in the hard work," said Stampeders head coach Dave Dickenson. "It's not going to change overnight, though. Right now we are not a good football team, we are not doing a lot of things well. We are doing very little well."

The game started with Edmonton recording a pair of punt singles, with a 32-yard field goal by Calgary's Rene