CALGARY – Bo Levi Mitchell and DaVaris Daniels connected on a pair of touchdowns and kept momentum heading into the playoffs as they handled the Toronto Argonauts 31-13 Friday night at McMahon Stadium.
The Stampeders now improve to a dominant 15-1-1 on the season with a perfect 9-0 home record.
The Argos took to the field with a slim chance of making the playoffs but those were dashed while their contest was still underway after a Hamilton win simultaneously across the country against Ottawa.
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Regardless of the playoff scenarios, it was imperative that the Argos not only kept pace but got off to a strong start against a Calgary squad that hasn’t lost at home all year.
With their starting quarterback, Ricky Ray, back behind centre for the first time since Labour Day, they did just that. Ray connected with Kenny Shaw and Diontae Spencer as part of a 5-play, 75-yard opening drive which was capped off with a screen pass to RB Brandon Whitaker who powered for a 3-yard touchdown.
The Whitaker major followed an opening drive field goal by the Stamps to give Toronto an early 7-3 lead.
The Stamps responded with a solid drive that put another three points on the board off a 37-yard Rene Paredes boot.
As the second quarter got underway, Mitchell found his groove. The fourth-year starter connected with Daniels and Kamar Jorden as part of a 90-yard drive that was finished with a 1-yard Andrew Buckley major.
Paredes added a field goal on the following Calgary drive to take a 17-7 lead with five minutes remaining in the first half.
The Argonauts’ best chance to stymie Calgary’s momentum came with 58 seconds left in the half when Spencer took a Rob Maver punt deep into Stampeders territory. Ray promptly delivered a corner route to Shaw who set the Boatmen up at the Calgary 3-yard line. Two incompletions from Ray to Spencer force the Argos to kick a 10-yard field goal and take a 17-10 deficit to the locker room at halftime.
The Argos opened the second half the way their finished the previous one. Another solid return – 42 yards off the kickoff by Anthony Coombs – and another stalled drive inside the redzone, kicking a 15-yard field goal to cut the Calgary lead to four.
Ricky Ray looked sharp, passing for over 300 yards in the Argos loss Friday night,
Ray completed a pair of passes on the aforementioned drive which put him second all-time in Argonauts passing, ahead of Damon Allen (13,974) and behind Condredge Holloway (16,619).
Turning seven’s into three’s wasn’t going to cut it against a Calgary squad that has dominated the CFL all season. Mitchell answered with a quick three-play drive where he connected with Daniels behind coverage for a 41-yard reception down the sidelines which he took to pay dirt to regain the 11-point advantage.
Daniels wasn’t done there, hauling in a 19-yard touchdown on the Stamps next drive to extend the lead to 31-13 with 8:52 remaining as a part of a 9-play, 63-yard possession.
That major took away any hope the Boatmen had of trying to put together a comeback, despite a solid performance from Ray who passed for 311 yards.
The Argos will take a bye next week before closing out the regular season with a road game in Edmonton. Calgary plays in Montreal next week before taking an early break before hosting the Western Final.
