By Stampeders.com Staff

For the 12th time in Canadian Football League history, the Battle of Alberta will determine who gets to go to the Grey Cup.

The Calgary Stampeders travel north on Sunday to face the Edmonton Eskimos in the Western Final, with the winner advancing to the championship game on Nov. 29 in Winnipeg.

The provincial arch-enemies have met on 11 previous occasions in a division final — the North Division final in 1995 during the U.S.-expansion era and the West the other 10 times — with the Stamps holding a 6-5 lead. Calgary broke the deadlock in last year’s Western Final at McMahon Stadium with a 43-18 victory over the Eskimos.

Including the semifinal round, the clubs have met a total of 22 times in the playoffs with each side winning on 11 occasions.

This year’s contest marks the first-ever meeting of 14-4 teams in the CFL playoffs and ties the record for most combined wins (28) by division finalists. In 1995, the North Division final featured Calgary (15-3) against Edmonton (13-5) while the 1997 East final had Toronto (15-3) going up against Montreal (13-5).

In addition to sporting matching 14-4 records, the Stamps and Eskimos matched up closely in many other categories during the regular season.

Calgary outscored Edmonton by a slim 478-466 margin while the Eskimos had an even narrower advantage — 341-346 — in points allowed.

Both teams were 8-1 at home, 6-3 on the road and 8-2 against West Division rivals.

The difference between the clubs, the factor that made the difference when it came to determining first place and the first-round bye, was that the Eskimos won two of the three meetings during the regular season.

That forced the Stamps to face BC in the Western Semi-Final at McMahon Stadium on Sunday, with Calgary claiming a 35-9 victory.