Elks’ offensive line looks for better ‘execution’ in rematch with ferocious Stampeders’ pass rush

From left, offensive linemen Mark Evans II, Carter O'Donnell and Mark Korte at Edmonton Elks practice on Sept. 4, 2025, at Commonwealth Stadium.

Mark Korte and his fellow Edmonton Elks offensive linemen know they’ll be up against formidable opponents once again on Saturday.

They’ll line up Saturday across from a Calgary Stampeders’ pass rush that shredded the Elks’ offensive protection on Labour Day in a 28-7 Edmonton loss.

The unit accounted for three of the Stamps defence’s four sacks, two of its three tackles for losses and one of its two fumble recoveries.

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Tackle Jaylon Hutchings stood out for Calgary with the fumble recovery, a sack, three tackles and seven pressures in total.

Korte said Thursday after Elks practice at Commonwealth Stadium, which will play host to Saturday’s 5 p.m. rematch, that he and his o-linemates have “got to win our one-on-one (battles) when we get them.”

“They’re good players, and they’ve got a scheme that puts them in a spot to succeed,” Korte told media. “We’ve got to do some things to manage them.”

Defensive end Forlain Orimolade, one of three new starting pass rushers the Stampeders added to their roster before 2025, said after Monday’s win his unit’s dominant performance – particularly in the second half – came from a “regrouping” at halftime more so than from making adjustments.

“It’s not like we were doing so much to change,” Orimolade, who was acquired from the defending Grey Cup champion Toronto Argonauts in January, told media. “We just had a renewed focus ... we’re not reinventing the wheel when we go into the locker-room.”

Hutchings, too, is new to the Calgary defensive line this season after being signed late in the 2024 Canadian Football League campaign in which the Stampeders finished last with a 5-12-1 record, while Miles Brown – who had one tackle for a loss on Monday – signed with them in February after three years with the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

Second-year Stamp Clarence Hicks, who had three tackles including one for a loss, a sack and a knockdown against the Elks, rounds out the front four.

Calgary quarterback Vernon Adams Jr., who had a quiet outing passing-wise on Labour Day after completing 13 of 23 passes for 162 yards and a touchdown, on Thursday recalled a fired-up defensive line on Labour Day in their McMahon Stadium locker-room at halftime.

“When we came in, we had a lead, and those guys were like, ‘We’re not letting them score again,’ and we’re like ‘Oh, if they don’t score, then we win,’” Adams Jr. told media after practice.

“As an offence, it’s about getting first downs, flipping the field and at least getting points if our defence can do that for us, and in those six games (wins over West opponents), I think we’ve done that.”

Stampeders head coach Dave Dickenson said after Monday’s game the home-and-home Labour Day series with the Elks presents them with an opportunity to further cement their aspirations of making the playoffs after missing them last year.

Heading into Week 14’s CFL games, Calgary sits in second place in the West with an 8-3 record, two points behind the 9-2 Roughriders.

The Stampeders have handed the Roughriders both their losses this season.

“It is a pivotal two-game stretch,” Dickenson told media of the home-and-home matchup with the Elks. “If you can ever sweep it, it really does allow you to get to where you want to get to.”

Korte, like Dickenson, expects a completely different game on Saturday compared to Monday’s defeat in Calgary.

“We weren’t able to execute, particularly in the red zone, and had some gaffes that we needed to move past,” Korte said of the Labour Day game. “I think across the board, we’re all going to play better. I think it’s an execution thing.

“There’s stuff there. We’ve just got to take advantage of it.”