Jun
Stamps get win over Leos
Courtesy Calgary Herald:
As a teaching opportunity, the Calgary Stampeders will get plenty out of Wednesday night’s Canadian Football League pre-season victory over the B.C. Lions.
Suffice to say, this is not a polished football team, based on an often-sloppy 37-30 triumph at McMahon Stadium.
Not that you’d expect one just 10 days after the Grey Cup champs opened their 2009 training camp, but considering the Lions were a mere shell of the squad the Stamps beat seven months ago in the West Division final, the 25,463 fans in attendance may have expected more.
The Lions travelled to Calgary on Wednesday leaving their entire defensive backfield from the West final — Ryan Phillips, Korey Banks, Dante Marsh, LaVar Glover and Barron Miles — back in Vancouver, along with receivers Geroy Simon, Paris Jackson and Ryan Grice-Millen, and defensive linemen Brent Johnson and Aaron Hunt.
The Stamps didn’t go deep into the game with their own starters; Henry Burris was pulled late in the first quarter, and the likes of tailback Joffrey Reynolds and receivers Nik Lewis, Jeremaine Copeland and Ryan Thelwell didn’t last much longer.
And there were some injury issues, too; backup quarterback Barrick Nealy, who’d been having a solid night, left just before halftime with a right-leg injury, and tailback Jon Cornish exited two plays later with another leg injury. Earlier in the game, defensive back Brandon Smith hobbled off with an injury to his left leg.
The marquee training-camp battle on the defensive line didn’t offer any clear winners, but no clear losers, either. With defensive end Mike Labinjo having the only nailed-down job, second-year rush end Juwan Simpson did himself a huge favour with a first-quarter forced fumble on Lions starting quarterback Buck Pierce, but his understudy, Malik Jackson, did a nice job, too.
Linebacking hopeful Tray Blackmon actually made his biggest impact on special teams with a couple open-field tackles and constant pressure on B.C. returners.
Offensively, Nealy showed off his running talent, rushing five times for 67 yards and a touchdown before the injury.
In the battle for the No. 3 spot — all the more important with Nealy’s injury status unknown — Drew Tate pulled ahead by navigating a hurry-up touchdown march inside the final minute of the second quarter, capped by a four-yard touchdown pass to Jermaine Jackson.
But then Matt D’Orazio entered in the fourth quarter and made Jabari Arthur’s first CFL reception (albeit one that won’t count in the record books) one to remember; Arthur, who was blanked in four games last season, broke two tackles and race in for an 81-yard major.
Tate hit Jackson again for a 50-yard strike in the third quarter that led to Tate’s one-yard touchdown plunge.
Pierce and former Stamp Greg Hetherington connected on a 12-yard touchdown in the first half for the Lions before Zac Champion tossed a five-yard scoring pass to Emmanuel Arceneaux. Lyle Green hauled in a Travis Lulay pass for the Lions’ other touchdown.
Calgary kicker Sandro DeAngelis was good from 49, 37 and 19 yards, while Sean Whyte, booting in place of Paul McCallum, connected from 41, 26 and 23.
The Stamps complete their pre-season slate Tuesday in Regina against the Saskatchewan Roughriders, a 7 p.m. kickoff.
Roster cuts will follow in time for the regular season lid-lifter, a Canada Day Grey Cup rematch against the Montreal Alouettes, 8 p.m. at McMahon Stadium.
