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October 2, 2018

One Week At A Time

CALGARY, AB - SEPTEMBER 3, 2018: The Calgary Stampeders won 23-20 against the Edmonton Eskimos at Monday afternoon's Labour Day Classic at McMahon Stadium. (Photo by David Moll/Calgary Stampeders)

One-on-one coverage with Micah Johnson?

We dare you to try it.

The defensive lineman had a monster game against the Toronto Argonauts Friday, recording two sacks and three tackles in the Stampeders’ 38-16 victory at McMahon Stadium.

Johnson – who had already recorded six sacks this campaign prior to the game – had no trouble tacking on a couple more given the uncharacteristic coverage he faced.

“This game I had more opportunities and one-on-ones,” he said. “Usually I get double-teamed pretty hard as the centre works my way pretty much every play, but for some reason last game I was able to get some one-on-ones and I was able to capitalize on them.

“We had some good rushes; the defensive backs have been playing lights-out so the quarterback had been holding onto the ball for a few extra seconds, so we had plenty of time to get there.”

The defensive performance was enough to help the Stampeders to the first playoff berth in the CFL, but the work doesn’t stop there.

“You have to take it one week at a time,” Johnson said.

“One of goals this year has been to not get ahead of ourselves, and we’ve done a good job checking off all the boxes. Just to have a playoff spot clinched up doesn’t change anything about our approach, or our preparedness – we have to keep pushing.”

With five regular season games left in the schedule, the Stampeders are still competing to win the west division, and for the post-season bye.

And they’ll have a chance to earn a home playoff date this weekend, as they head to Montreal to take on the Alouettes starting at 11 a.m. M.T.

It’ll prove to be a test for the team: Although the Stampeders currently hold 10-5 record versus Montreal since 2011, they haven’t won a game at Molson Stadium in nearly five years.

“We haven’t done a good job in the past going there playing,” Johnson said. “I think guys are aware of that, and I think the guys are more aware this year of taking it week-by-week.

“We understand this game is right here in front of us, so we’ll prepare like we do every week, go out there and handle business.”