Jul
Stamps firing on all cylinders vs Boatmen
Courtesy Calgary Herald:
It took three games, but it was worth the wait.
The Calgary Stampeders finally hit the win column in the 2009 Canadian Football League season, and they did it in emphatic fashion on a warm Retro summer night at McMahon Stadium.
An old-school 44-9 shellacking of the Toronto Argonauts before 33,109 fans snapped a season-opening slide, and showed, albeit long after it was expected, what the Grey Cup champs are capable of doing.
“How big is it? Man, it’s real big,” said cornerback Dwight Anderson in the jubilant Stamps locker-room.
“The guys in here, we just couldn’t imagine being
0-and-3. We know we have a pretty good team in this locker-room, and that would be embarrassing for every man in here. We had to let it hang and just go out there and have fun. And that’s what we did tonight.”
They did it with a sometimes-spectacular combination of clutch offence and game-breaking defence, mixed in with a sampling of some of the boneheaded penalties that played a role in the ugly start.
And, in the end, it was three defensive touchdowns that pushed the Stamps over the top — a dazzling play by linebacker Dwaine Carpenter on which he sacked Argos quarterback Kerry Joseph on a Wildcat reverse, forced and recovered a fumble and then ran 55 yards for the score, followed on the next drive by Anderson’s 52-yard interception return for a major.
Then Brandon Browner put the final nail in the coffin with 94 seconds left in the game with a short interception return for the score.
“If we did not win tonight, we’re still playing 15 more games to try to get things straightened out and make the tournament at the end,” said Stamps coach John Hufnagel, whose team limited Toronto to three Justin Medlock field goals.
“(But) you never want to get into a losing streak, and two was enough. So it was a big win for us. We’re going in the right direction, but still lots of room for improvement.”
For a change, the Stamps were able to get a jump on an opponent.
For the first time this season, Calgary opened the scoring, and it also marked the first time the Stamps have led in a game this campaign.
After a promising opening drive was short-circuited by a Nik Lewis fumble, Henry Burris navigated a near-perfect second drive, a 10-play, 75-yard mostly no-huddle march during which he completed all six of his passes.
The drive was capped by Joffrey Reynolds’ one-yard touchdown run.
“That’s huge, to come back (after the fumble) and put the ball in the end zone,” said Burris, who finished the night 23-for-32 for 348 yards and a touchdown, his best game of the season by far.
“And that’s the way we’ve always played. Whenever we’ve faced any type of situation where things are down and they have a chance to take the momentum, we come back. And that’s the way we played on offence tonight.”
The Stamps would add one more offensive touchdown — a 32-yard Burris pass to Reynolds in the third quarter after Burris scrambled out of the pocket — and the defence handled the rest of the end-zone celebrations.
“They (Calgary’s offence) told us to take a knee and let them score some,” chortled Carpenter, who scored his first CFL touchdown when Toronto’s attempt at a trick play went horribly awry (running back Jamal Robertson took the snap and handed off to Joseph on the reverse).
“But we said we’re having too much fun. As long as we can score and they can score, it’s just a juggernaut for the rest of the CFL.”
Sandro DeAngelis connected twice from 42 yards and once from 26 to round out the scoring.
Calgary’s defence posted a season-high six sacks, led by Odell Willis and fellow rookie end Malik Jackson with two apiece. Jackson also forced a fumble.
“I don’t think the confidence slipped, but what I will say was going wrong was that we were too comfortable around here,” said Browner.
“Guys just thought teams would lay down and roll over for us, but that wasn’t the case. We have to understand that we just won a championship, and guys are going to be after us. It’s going to be tough. All year long.”
Calgary DL Alain Kashama hurt his left leg late in the first half and didn’t return to the game, while long-snapper Randy Chevrier sprained his left knee and will have an MRI today to assess the damage.
Also not finishing the game was reserve running back Derek Watson, with what appeared to be a sprained left ankle.
The Stamps, who were flagged for a season-high 16 penalties and 141 yards, return to action next Friday at B.C. Place Stadium in Vancouver when they take on the Lions (8:30 p.m. MDT, TSN, QR77 Radio).
