After a thunderous 44-41 comeback against the B.C. Lions last week, the Calgary Stampeders went into their week seven showdown on Aug. 4 against the Saskatchewan Roughriders with supreme confidence, and rightly so.
The Stamps didn’t always look like a team that’s top of the West Division and the Riders didn’t always look like one that was a bottom feeder, but after a closely fought three-and-a-half quarters, the Stamps showed their class as they pulled away for the 35-15 win in the second half of the fourth.
The win marked the third in a row for the Stamps who once again moved past the B.C. Lions (who won their game earlier Thursday night) to reclaim their first place position in the West.
Stamps quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell had another accurate night, completing 25 of 36 pass attempts for a total of 312 yards, and a touchdown.
He also set a personal milestone in the game by throwing a touchdown pass in for the 21st consecutive game, tying Doug Flutie (1996/97) and Anthony Calvillo (2012/13) for the fourth-longest streak in CFL history.
The same couldn’t be said for Mitchell’s counterpart Darian Durant who was hot and cold all night for the Riders, finishing with 247 yards and a touchdown, completing 17 of 28 pass attempts.
Things got off to a solid start as Mitchell came out of the gates in fine form, completing all five pass attempts on his team’s first drive which was capped off with a 35-yard field goal by Stamps kicker Rene Paredes to give the home team a 3-0 early in the first quarter.
Despite the difference in stats and standings between the two sides, the Riders bounced back instantly when they took possession of the ball with Durant giving the perfect response.
The 33-year-old connected a solid pass to receiver Ryan Lankford for a 25-yard gain straight down the middle, before finding Rob Bagg (who was the Riders’ main threat all night picking up 135 yards and a touchdown) wide open behind the Stamps’ defence a few plays later for a 45-yard touchdown and a 6-3 Riders lead.
After a Riders punt return, Mitchell snapped off perfect passes to Cochrane’s own Rob Cote and Bakari Grant, each picking up first downs before connecting with receiver Anthony Parker – who flew at full-stretch though the air – on the corner route for 16 yards to give the home side a 9-6 lead on a drive which lasted four plays for 53 yards.
On Classic Rock Night at McMahon, this was classic football at its finest.
Paredes added his second convert kick of the game (32 yards) to give the Stamps a 10-6 lead going into the second quarter.
The second quarter saw both defences tighten up, with a battle of the kickers ensuing.
Back-up Riders kicker and former Dino Johnny Mark (filling in for injured starter Tyler Crapigna) missed his first 47-yard attempt, but shook it off and made good on his second, nailing a 42-yarder to give the Riders hope at 10-9.
Paredes responded in kind with a 24-yard field goal of his own, to put the Stamps’ lead up to four again before the pair once more exchanged converts making it 16-13 for the Stamps heading into half-time.
After a fairly close opening 30 minutes compared to the one in Montreal where the Alouettes smashed them 22-0, the Riders could smell blood as they came out for the second half and looked to take advantage early.
Mark again stepped up to the plate, kicking a 34-yard field goal to make it a close 16-15 deficit which lasted until 0:38 left in the third quarter when Paredes showed why he is one of the best in the league, knocking in a 25-yarder and restoring the four-point lead to 19-15 going into the fourth.
Where the pressure only seemed to make the Riders weary in the fourth, it spurred Mitchell and company into overdrive as they took things to the opposition in front of a roaring crowd.
A solid drive from Mitchell and a 19-yard run from running back Jerome Messam pushed the Stamps to the Riders doorstep, before Mitchell completed two quick passes and Andrew Buckley mopped up with a five-yard touchdown run to make it 24-15.
Paredes missed a rare extra-point convert, but the Stamps pushed their lead to 25-15 with seven minutes remaining.
The Riders offence continued to struggle, getting nothing going late on, but the Stamps managed to add to their tally in the dying minutes as the inexhaustible Messam – who had his busiest game of the year with 22 touches for 145 yards – ran in a one-yard touchdown to make it 32-15.
Paredes rounded out the scoring with his fifth field goal of the game, making him 12-for-12 in his last three games and 20-for-24 on the season.
With that win, the Stamps now have a 4-1-1 record and remain top of the West Division, not having lost a game since Week One against the Lions.
They’ll have to stay on their toes however, as the Riders aren’t going to have to wait long for payback.
The two sides play each other again on Aug. 13 at Mosaic Stadium in Regina.
Kick-off is 5:00 p.m.
