The Calgary Stampeders beat the Ottawa Redblacks 45-31 at TD Place Stadium on Saturday, their second win over Ottawa in seven days. Head coach and general manager Dave Dickenson opened his post-game availability by speaking about Mylan Hicks, the Stampeders defensive back who was killed on September 25, 2016, 10 years and one day before the game.
"I want to start out, Mylan Hicks lost his life 10 years ago, and I felt him," Dickenson said. "It was interesting how we had talked about it as a team and an organization. I just felt him with us. It was one of those gritty plays, one of those things that I thought, we had chances to maybe back off and lose it, but we just kept grinding and found interesting ways."
Philpot on His Season
Jalen Philpot caught six passes for 127 yards. Asked what his season has meant, he pointed to work done before kickoff. "It means a lot, man. There's a lot that goes into it, offseason preparation, but just trusting the coaches, trusting the O-line, my quarterback, and just being put in the position to make the plays and just have the trust," he said. "I couldn't do it by myself. It's a full team effort, so I'm just very thankful."
Philpot pointed to an injury in his second year as the change in his habits. "When I took my major injury in year 2, that kind of really made me lock into the little things, yoga, just really preparing what I eat and stuff like that. So it's just been one of those things where I knew I could do it, it's just got to keep working hard and stay healthy, and it's just prayer and it came to fruition."
Dickenson said Philpot has been given more opportunities this season. "He's super consistent. We're giving him more opportunities, but he's taking advantage of them. He's just such a good yards-after-the-catch guy, but he's looking fast and running with the ball. He does a lot of gritty stuff in the run game as well," Dickenson said. "I do believe he's got room to improve, but he's having a good year and I just believe he's important for us. If we're going to do well, he's got to continue to be the guy."
Adams Jr. and Jones on the Offence
Dominique Rhymes, who played for Calgary in 2025 and announced his retirement in February, attended the availability with his son Beckham and spoke about his former teammates. "This is my son Beckham Jeffrey Rhymes, and his uncles came and showed out. ... It just feels good to see my brothers, man, seeing them ball out. There's great things coming for these guys," Rhymes said.
Quarterback Vernon Adams Jr., who completed 24 of 30 passes for 422 yards and three touchdowns, said the offence was built around staying on the field. "Our biggest goal, we wanted to stay on the field and give our defense a rest," he said.
Asked how the offence responded through the game, Adams Jr. said the group kept at it. "We just kept working. We kept plugging at it. I still had that same belief that we had last week. I just want to keep getting better for the team, keep protecting the ball, and just trying to give our defense that break that they deserve."
Asked about a first half in which the deep ball worked repeatedly, Adams Jr. credited his receivers. "I just try to go through my reads, and I trust my guys when it's a one-on-one out there. I think of it as a 90-10 ball for those guys, and I believe they're going to come down with the rock. Like this guy here, Clark, on the first drive."
Tevin Jones caught eight passes for 122 yards and a 15-yard touchdown in the third quarter. "I'm just glad to be a part of the offense, because there was a point in time where I thought I wasn't going to be playing anymore," Jones said. "So now that I'm back on the field, I'm just glad to be part of my brothers. I'm glad to contribute and I'm just glad to pour into everybody else."
Dickenson on Barnes and the Secondary
Clark Barnes caught three passes for 109 yards, including a 60-yard touchdown with 53 seconds left in the fourth quarter. "I think Clark's just looking for opportunities. To me, he's one of my smartest players. He never makes a mental error. He competes. He's just got a quiet personality," Dickenson said. "But I just thought those were some excellent plays, and especially late. We just call it a smoke route. Just means you stop at the line of scrimmage, and if it's full blitz, here, here's the ball and make a guy miss. Great decision by Vernon and great play by Clark."
On the secondary, Dickenson said the group has work to do. "We need to be better. We did a pretty good job for the most part on the line of scrimmage. It's a whole group. It's our zone coverages, it's our linebackers. We do have to find ways to get people off the field. But the rules in CFL are slanted to help offenses. And so ultimately, I thought our guys just kept competing and ultimately got the win."
Fourth Quarter
Deonta McMahon rushed 14 times for 52 yards and a four-yard touchdown and caught one pass, a 12-yard touchdown on Calgary's opening drive. "It felt great to finally get my first two this year and just to help the team carry this momentum into next week," McMahon said. "Before the last game, I was a bit nervous, but going into that game and playing that game gave me a lot of confidence to come out this game and do the same thing."
McMahon said the takeaway is finishing. "Learn how to finish. That's what we can definitely learn. The run game is pretty good right now. Passing game is pretty good. The potential for the special teams is like no other. So we step it up on that side, we'll be phenomenal."
Ottawa outscored Calgary 18-10 in the fourth quarter. The Redblacks fell to 0-14 and Calgary moved to 7-8 in the West Division. "I got a lot of respect for a team that hasn't won a game this year, but the fight is there each and every snap," Dickenson said. "It was our job though to keep the gas down. We're playing for a little bit more and our guys had to show that urgency and make plays, and I thought they did."
Jones said the finish followed a pattern. "It's not what I'm learning from it. It's just that I'm just glad that we're coming out on top because every game I think that it's close. This is the CFL. Every game comes down to the fourth quarter, and our coaches did a good job. Our line did a good job. The defense did a good job. Special teams did a good job, and we came out and did what we're supposed to do."
Watch the Full Videos
Calgary Stampeders: Jalen Philpot | Post-Game | 26.09.26
Calgary Stampeders: General Manager & Head Coach Dave Dickenson | Post-Game | 26.09.26
Calgary Stampeders: Deonta McMahon | Post-Game | 26.09.26
Calgary Stampeders: Rhymes, Adams Jr., Jones | Post-Game | 26.09.26