CALGARY – The Stampeders, which have the best offence of the League, have defeated the Alouettes by the score of 22 to 8. The Als will play their next game on Saturday, October 22 against the Saskatchewan Roughriders. They will play their next home game on October 30.
The defence kept both teams in the game early on before the Stampeders found a groove.
The Stamps receivers moved Calgary downfield. A first down by Anthony Parker was followed by a gain from Kamar Jorden. A John Bowman sack on Mitchell ended the threat and the Stamps grabbed a single on the punt to take the early 1-0 lead.
A pass over the middle to Jorden resulted in a 25-yard gain and moved the ball an additional 15 yards on a facemask penalty. Again, the Als defensce shut down the Stamps offence as Calgary could not convert into any more yards and had to punt away.
Both defences kept the scoreboard in check as the first quarter ended.
The game started off with plenty of sacks and the second quarter was no different. A sack on Cato by Ja’Gared Davis led to a fumble which was recovered by Cordarro Law. Montreal responded with a sack by Bear Woods but the Stamps would add another single on the next punt.
The Als defence continued to frustrate Mitchell as the Stamps struggled to get much going until inside the three minute warning. Completions to Daniels and Marquay McDaniel brought Calgary past midfield where Parker would add his fourth touchdown of the season to open the Stamps lead to 9-0.
A tipped pass from Cato was caught by offensive lineman Kristian Matte but he immediately fumbled it and the football was recovered by Calgary with 26 seconds left. A second down convert by McDaniel moved the Stamps into field goal range but Rene Paredes missed the kick as both teams headed into halftime.
A 27-yard run by Jerome Messam opened up the third quarter moved the Stamps into the red zone as they looked to extended their lead. A rush by Parker was followed by a 25-yard field goal by Paredes and Calgary’s lead grew to 12-0.
Calgary’s defence continued to stop Cato, forcing three-and-outs on successive possessions. Starting at midfield, Mitchell moved the chains with short passes to Daniels and McDaniel. A pass interference call in the end zone put the Stamps at the goal line where Andrew Buckley punched in the touchdown for the 18-0 lead. Messam caught the short pass for the two-point convert as Calgary now led 20-0.
The Stamps didn’t allow any first downs to Montreal in the third quarter and held them to negative yardage in the frame.
Paredes missed another kick, this one from 33 yards out, to open up the fourth quarter. The Stamps pinned Cato at the Als own goal line and Montreal conceded the safety on third down and Calgary now led 22-0.
The Alouettes’ first completion of the second half came five minutes into the fourth quarter, a first down pass to BJ Cunningham.
Jamal Nixon fumbled a punt return and it was recovered by the Als deep in Stamps territory that gave Montreal its first appearance in the red zone all game. The Stamps defence kept them out of the end zone and forced a turnover on downs to keep the Als off the scoreboard.
Starting at midfield, Cato completed a 20-yard pass to Nik Lewis to move into the red zone. An incompletion and a short pass led to third down but the Stampeders defence stepped up again, forcing another turnover on downs.
The Alouettes forced an intentional grounding call on Mitchell with 2:35 remaining in the game, breaking the shutout with a 22-2 score. A late pass interference call put the Als at the goal line with less than 30 seconds left led to a Brandon Rutley rushing touchdown as Montreal added six more points. The two-point convert was not successful.
The two teams combined to record 11 sacks. Bear Woods, Micah Johnson and Charleston Hughes each had a pair.
