CALGARY — The Calgary Stampeders were straight-up dominant in the first half, and then straight-up outplayed for a stretch in the second half.
Dave Dickenson’s Stamps figured it out, and a late 10-point surge via a Rene Paredes field goal and Jerome Messam 1-yard touchdown plunge saw them claim a comfortable 27-10 win over the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
The win featured the best — five first-half sacks, a 135-yard performance from Messam, etc. — and the worst — incompletions, mental lapses in defensive coverage, etc. — of the Stampeders, but the overall mood following the win was one of satisfaction.
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“It’s a big-time win for us to stay in the mix in the West,” said Dickenson post-game. “But guess what: We’ve got to get a lot better.”
On a night where Bo Levi Mitchell passed for a relatively-average 253 yards, the Stamps head coach alluded to one area with room to improve.
“Well I didn’t think we protected (Mitchell) real well, honestly,” admitted Dickenson. “He got his arm hit a few times, (and while) the numbers aren’t as big, the guy just manages the game like he’s supposed to.
The play of the defensive line, which saw Charleston Hughes record three sacks and James Vaughters two, was a massive reason for Calgary’s Saturday-night success.
“(Hughes) played well, he was a catalyst for our defence (and) first half, he was unblockable,” lauded Dickenson of his veteran D-end, who now has 92 sacks on his career. “I just knew we needed to get the lead, grind them down — I was hoping our D would step up like they did.”
James Vaughters and the Stamps D-line were dominant in Saturday’s win. (THE CANADIAN PRESS Photo)
Dominance at the line of scrimmage allowed Calgary to establish and then exploit the run game.
“When you play with the lead, you’re going to get more carries (and) we’re a better team when we’re balanced,” said Dickenson. “It takes some pressure off our O-line, and lets Bo (Levi Mitchell) do his thing.”
Mitchell, who completed 16 of 28 passes for 253 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the win, echoed his head coach’s view.
“It’s about having all facets of our game going, as far as specials, defence, offence — offence-wise, when we’re one-dimensional, windows get a lot tighter,” said the Calgary pivot. “When Mess is moving like that, they have to stack up the box (and) it makes things easier.”
Mitchell threw his 100th-career pass touchdown to Marquay McDaniel on Saturday night, then promptly scrambled to find the landmark ball.
“I went up to (McDaniel) and said, ‘hey, you got that ball,’ and he said ‘aw man, I gave it to a kid,'” laughed the Eastern Washington alum. “He pointed him out, so we gave him another ball and I think he got a signed jersey. (The kid) can hit me up on Twitter.”
Ultimately, the Stamps followed their blueprint for success.
“That’s the formula for winning,” said Mitchell, “you get up like that, 17 points at the half, D did a good job shutting them down, (then) putting the hammer down at the end of the game. That’s how you win.”
Calgary will now have a week to reflect on and grow from Saturday’s effort; the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (0-4) will pay McMahon Stadium a visit next Saturday night (9:30 p.m. ET).
