FAMOSO RECAP: STAMPEDERS 34 ROUGHRIDERS 22
REGINA – Bo Levi Mitchell threw three touchdown passes and the Calgary Stampeders improved to 6-0 with a 34-22 victory over the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Saturday night.
The Stampeders exploded with a 24-point first quarter, highlighted by Mitchell’s two touchdown strikes, both of which were set up by Saskatchewan turnovers.
Calgary recovered a fumble at the Saskatchewan 40-yard line and on the ensuing play from scrimmage, Mitchell connected with Marken Michel for a 40-yard touchdown.
After a Rene Paredes field goal and a 78-yard punt return for a touchdown from Terry Williams, Calgary’s defence forced another Saskatchewan turnover.
Jerome Messam, a former Stampeder, fumbled, and Calgary recovered inside Saskatchewan territory. Four plays later, Mitchell hooked up with Eric Rogers on a 15-yard touchdown.
Calgary led 24-0 after the first quarter and the rout appeared to be on.
Saskatchewan’s lone first-half touchdown came on Tobi Antigha’s 52-yard interception return. Kicker Brett Lauther added a pair of field goals for the Roughriders (3-3).
Calgary led 24-13 at the half.
Saskatchewan’s momentum carried over into the second half, as Lauther connected on two field goals to cut the Calgary lead to five (24-19) with five minutes to go in the third quarter.
It marked the first time in 2018 that Calgary had allowed more than 14 points in any game. The 1979 Edmonton Eskimos were the most recent team to record such a stingy start to a season.
Order was restored, however, when Mitchell marched the Stampeders and capped a drive with a 15-yard touchdown strike to DaVaris Daniels.
Calgary led 31-19 after three quarters.
Lauther booted his fifth field goal of the game midway through the fourth quarter to make it 31-22, but that was as close as the home side would get.
Lauther was 5-for-5 on field goal attempts.
Paredes’ second field goal of the game gave Calgary a 34-22 lead.
Former Stampeders standout Charleston Hughes, in his first year with Saskatchewan, had two sacks against his former team.
Saskatchewan will travel to Edmonton to take on the Eskimos next week, while Calgary will host the B.C. Lions.
POSTGAME COMMENTS FROM RIDERS HEAD COACH CHRIS JONES:
– We talked as a team. I’ll be honest, it showed a lot of character to be down 24 points and come back. I’ve never been down that much after the first quarter, I believe. They kept fighting and scratching and Calgary had to play into the 4th quarter to win the game.
– The first quarter was a lack of discipline. We put the ball on the ground and took some bad penalties. A fumble is more making sure of taking care of the football. I wish it was all mental but you have give them credit for stripping it out.
– Calgary’s got a good defense. Give credit where it’s due. Brandon did not throw the ball exceptional tonight and I think he was down percentage-wise from what he was a week ago. Those gimme throws, those 2nd-and-5 checkdowns, need to be made.
– They scored 24 points in the first quarter and then after that they scored 10. Defensively we did a nice job of not panicking and get out of their gaps. They stayed disciplined. Offensively, we were able to move the football. Again, we just have to be more consistent through all three phases.
– I think we got a good football team. There’s no doubt about it. Nobody’ll be looking past us, I can assure you of that.
– We’ve made a commitment to try to be a ball-control offense and slow the game down. We’re trying to get where Brandon can throw a higher percentage. When you’re struggling throwing deeper routes, it doesn’t add up to high completion percentages.
– Naaman Roosevelt will be precautionary. It’s not his head. It’s more of his neck.
– On the 56-yard field goal, there was a tad bit of wind. He hit a 59-yarder in the pregame and he’s been hitting it clean. We were at a point in the game where we needed points and you need to give him the opportunity. I was willing to risk the fact that if we missed it, we’d have to cover it. But we needed the points there.
– I look at the successful teams and try to emulate what they’re doing. Calgary’s offense isn’t greatly different from ours. Play selection becomes very interesting when you’re a defensive coach, looking at what they’re doing with screens. If you take away the turnovers and the returns – which you can’t, but if you do – the games become nip-and-tuck at the end.
– You take away the fumbles, and you can’t give up a 60-yard punt return, and I wish Ed made a better play on the deep ball, but if you takeaway the turnovers and penalties at the wrong times, it’ll be a much tighter ball game.
– I feel like the officiating has been a lot better and the games have been quicker. If they missed one, they’re human too. I’m sure they missed some on Calgary. Some of the calls cost us in the end, and one took away a turnover.
(With files from Canadian Press)
