CFL Preview - Calgary (11-2) at Saskatchewan (9-4) (ET)

GAME NOTES: Sporting the best record in the CFL entering Week 15 action, the Calgary Stampeders try to put even more distance between themselves and their closest rival, Saskatchewan, as the West Division foes clash at Mosaic Stadium on Friday night.

Suffering only two defeats so far this season, falling to British Columbia by a single point (25-24) early on before being thumped in a stunner versus Montreal (31-15) just a few weeks ago, the Stampeders managed to avenge that early loss to the Lions by securing a 14-7 victory at home last weekend.

In that contest Drew Tate, who continues to stand in for an ailing Bo Levi Mitchell, converted only 12-of-23 passes for 162 yards and was sacked three times. Running back Jon Cornish rambled for a game-high 156 yards on 20 attempts, but neither he nor Tate was able to get the ball into the end zone. In fact, the Calgary offense had very little impact on the outing overall.

Instead, it was kicker Rene Paredes who saved the day with his four field goals, on six attempts, while BC punter Ricky Schmitt conceded in the end zone in order to account for the other two points.

Also having a significant impact on the win for Calgary, Jock Sanders averaged 16.8 yards per return on six opportunities, earning himself CFL Special Teams Player of the Week honors. Not to be left out, Cornish was named the top Canadian for the fourth time this season as well.

While Calgary is four points up on second-place Saskatchewan in the standings and heading towards securing the best record in the regular season, the Roughriders still have an opportunity to spoil the party, although losing two of the last three games has not helped their efforts.

Last week, the Riders paid a visit to Edmonton and went from scoring 35 points versus Ottawa five days earlier to being blanked in a 24-0 final. The shutout loss was the first for Saskatchewan since the team came up empty versus Winnipeg (56-0) on July 5, 1986.

Now just 11-41 all-time in the regular season at Commonwealth Stadium, Saskatchewan registered a mere 205 yards of offense while being hit with 11 penalties. Quarterback Tino Sunseri managed to convert half of his 12 pass attempts for 53 yards, but he was sacked four times and tossed an interception. Backup signal caller Seth Doege hit 5-of-11 passes for another 61 yards, but he too was picked off and taken down for two sacks in the dismal display.

Running back Anthony Allen ran for 73 yards on 11 carries and also had a team- best three receptions for another 24 yards, but against an Edmonton squad that came up one yard shy of 300 on the ground, there was little chance of the Riders actually finding a way to win.

Aside from having lost starting quarterback Darian Durant to injury and trying to fill his shoes, the other disappointing aspect for the Riders in recent weeks features defensive end John Chick who has gone from a near-lock for defensive player of the year honors, to someone who has been slowed by the grind of the long season. Since having three sacks in back-to-back games versus Winnipeg and Montreal in August, the Utah State product has logged just two sacks in the last five games, twice being limited to only a single tackle as well.

Defensively, Saskatchewan is now fourth in the league in points allowed, giving up 22.2 ppg and yet the team is still easily the top team in terms of sacks with 52. An interesting combination has Chick and his teammates going up against an offensive line that has allowed a league-low 18 sacks over 13 games.

The history between these two clubs has been rather heated, but when considering only regular-season meetings dating back to 1946, it is Calgary that owns a 121-89-9 advantage over the Riders. The Stamps, who will host Saskatchewan later this month, won the most recent battle by a score of 29-25 at home on Oct. 26, 2013.

Calgary has won two in a row and nine of the last 11 clashes with the Roughriders.

Because the Riders continue to struggle with the quarterback position and opponents have figured out how to slow Chick down, this has all the makings of yet another win for the Stampeders.