The Canadian Press
Mitchell, Stampeders ride to comeback win over Als
Posted: August 1,2015 10:00PM
Updated: August 1,2015 11:47PM
CFL.ca Staff
CALGARY -- Without the help of one of the greatest running backs in the league and a beat-up offensive line, Bo Levi Mitchell led the Stampeders to victory by a score of 25-22 over the Montreal Alouettes on Saturday Night at McMahon Stadium.
The Als jumped out to an early 17-0 lead but Mitchell answered back throwing for 329 yards and two touchdowns. Marquay McDaniel absolutely exploited a strong Montreal defence hauling in seven catches for 126 yards while scoring his first two touchdowns of 2015.
The Calgary defence stepped up big in this contest when it mattered most.
With Montreal in striking distance in the second half, Rakeem “The Dream” Cato scrambled before completing a huge pass to Dobson Collins who was then stripped of the football by Calgary defensive back Keon Raymond.
In the first quarter, Als return man and speedster Stefan Logan had a nice punt return for 25 yards to set up Montreal’s second drive of the game. Cato hooked up with his favourite target S.J. Green to gain a first down and a lot more. Green had been scorching hot gaining 236 yards in the two games prior to Saturday night’s matchup. A huge hit across the middle by Stamps defensive back Josh Bell forced the Als to settle for three points to take the early lead.
Dealing with an injury-riddled offensive line, Calgary offensive coordinator Dave Dickenson had to adjust his offense to a quick-hitting scheme to alleviate the pressure off his big guys up front. This would make life even tougher with perennial Most Outstanding Canadian candidate Jon Cornish out of the lineup.
With Montreal back on the offensive side of the ball, the Marshall University alum Cato once again found Green down the left sideline for a gain of 20 yards to pick up a first down. Two plays later Cato hit Green way down the field for a 50-yard touchdown strike to give the Al’s an early 10 zip lead in the first quarter.
After another failed Calgary possession, Logan went untouched for a 71-yard touchdown on the following punt return to give Montreal a commanding 17-0 lead.
Calgary’s offensive line broke down once again leading to a sack by Gabriel Knapton and yet another punt by Rob Maver.
Montreal continued to dial up the blitz packages but Mitchell made them pay with a quick-hit slant to Jeff Fuller for only their second first-down of the game to close out quarter number one. This seemed to spark the Stampeders as Mitchell then hit Greg Wilson who made a beautiful 35-yard toe-tap catch down the sideline to set up a goal-line touchdown pass by Drew Tate to Marquay McDaniel to get Calgary back within 10 points.
A poor punt by Bede and a 30-yard hook up from Mitchell to McDaniel put Calgary in great field position to set up a 35-yard over-the-shoulder touchdown catch by Eric Rogers and all of a sudden Monteal’s lead was trimmed to 17-14.
With Cato looking to get momentum back on the Als side, he heaved a deep bomb down the middle of the field, over-throwing just about everybody until Stampeders defensive back Joe Burnett came out of the nowhere to make an incredible diving interception.
Following the interception, Calgary’s offensive line broke down once again leading to a sack by Montreal defensive tackle Corvey Irvin.
A reverse by Sam Giguere, a couple of runs by Cato and Terrell Sutton put Montreal in the red zone to set up a chip shot by Boris Bede, making it a 20-14 lead for Montreal at the three minute warning.
Bo Levi Mitchell completed 23 of 32 passes for 329 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions in a back-and-forth rematch against the Montreal Alouettes on Saturday night at an electric McMahon Stadium.
A huge blow came late in the first half to the Stamps as left tackle and former Carolina Panther Garry Williams left clutching his arm. With only one backup offensive lineman to begin the game, another loss up front would have been devastating to the Stamps.
Stringing together a series of swing passes, slants and out patterns to variety of receivers and backs led to a 27-yard field goal by Paredes to make it a 20-17 game for Montreal heading to halftime.
Former Stampeder Nik Lewis, aka “Route King Cole,” was held without a catch in the first half in his return to McMahon Stadium.
With minimal running game in the first half, former Calgary Dino star Matt Walter had his longest run of the game for 14 yards to open up the second half. Two more running plays led to a crowded box by the Alouette defence and Mitchell took full advantage by throwing a 42-yard seed to Marquay McDaniel for his second score of the game. The PAT gave Calgary their first lead of the game, 24-20.
A series of defensive stops led to punts being traded back and forth. While going against the wind, Montreal stuck to ground-and-pound approach and a series of runs by Sutton and Cato set up a huge gain before the Collins fumble.
Deep in his own territory with the wind at his back, Mitchell constructed a long enough drive to get Calgary out of harm’s way before Rob Maver pinned Montreal deep.
After a nice return by Tim Brown on the ensuing Montreal punt, Calgary started riding running back Tory Harrison in the absence of Cornish. This drive set up a 36-yard field-goal miss against the wind by Rene Paredes.
Lewis, one of the loudest players in the league, was quiet in his return to Calgary until midway through the fourth quarter until he picked up a critical first down. Unfortunately for the Als, the drive led to a punt while trailing by five.
With just over three minutes left in the game, Cato had a chance to
generate a comeback drive. The 23-year-old displayed incredible
elusiveness in the pocket throughout the game and did no different
escaping defenders before hitting Lewis over the middle for a huge
first-down before the three minute warning.
The Florida-native then hit Green over the middle to set up a crucial third and one when power back Brandon Rutley bulldozed his way for the first down.
After a failed deep ball for Green and a seven yard gain by Jean-Christophe Beaulieu, the Als once again had their backs against the walls, faced with a third and three in Stamps territory but were unable to convert.
Calgary Head Coach John Hufnagel fooled everyone by aggressively throwing the ball on first-down before a Harrison gain let Calgary run out the clock to end it.
The 3-2 Als will head to their province-bordering rival to face the Ottawa REDBLACKS on Friday Night Football while Calgary will enjoy a much needed bye week.
CALGARY -- Without the help of one of the greatest running backs in the league and a beat-up offensive line, Bo Levi Mitchell led the Stampeders to victory by a score of 25-22 over the Montreal Alouettes on Saturday Night at McMahon Stadium.
The Als jumped out to an early 17-0 lead but Mitchell answered back throwing for 329 yards and two touchdowns. Marquay McDaniel absolutely exploited a strong Montreal defence hauling in seven catches for 126 yards while scoring his first two touchdowns of 2015.
The Calgary defence stepped up big in this contest when it mattered most.
With Montreal in striking distance in the second half, Rakeem “The Dream” Cato scrambled before completing a huge pass to Dobson Collins who was then stripped of the football by Calgary defensive back Keon Raymond.
In the first quarter, Als return man and speedster Stefan Logan had a nice punt return for 25 yards to set up Montreal’s second drive of the game. Cato hooked up with his favourite target S.J. Green to gain a first down and a lot more. Green had been scorching hot gaining 236 yards in the two games prior to Saturday night’s matchup. A huge hit across the middle by Stamps defensive back Josh Bell forced the Als to settle for three points to take the early lead.
Dealing with an injury-riddled offensive line, Calgary offensive coordinator Dave Dickenson had to adjust his offense to a quick-hitting scheme to alleviate the pressure off his big guys up front. This would make life even tougher with perennial Most Outstanding Canadian candidate Jon Cornish out of the lineup.
With Montreal back on the offensive side of the ball, the Marshall University alum Cato once again found Green down the left sideline for a gain of 20 yards to pick up a first down. Two plays later Cato hit Green way down the field for a 50-yard touchdown strike to give the Al’s an early 10 zip lead in the first quarter.
After another failed Calgary possession, Logan went untouched for a 71-yard touchdown on the following punt return to give Montreal a commanding 17-0 lead.
Calgary’s offensive line broke down once again leading to a sack by Gabriel Knapton and yet another punt by Rob Maver.
Montreal continued to dial up the blitz packages but Mitchell made them pay with a quick-hit slant to Jeff Fuller for only their second first-down of the game to close out quarter number one. This seemed to spark the Stampeders as Mitchell then hit Greg Wilson who made a beautiful 35-yard toe-tap catch down the sideline to set up a goal-line touchdown pass by Drew Tate to Marquay McDaniel to get Calgary back within 10 points.
A poor punt by Bede and a 30-yard hook up from Mitchell to McDaniel put Calgary in great field position to set up a 35-yard over-the-shoulder touchdown catch by Eric Rogers and all of a sudden Monteal’s lead was trimmed to 17-14.
With Cato looking to get momentum back on the Als side, he heaved a deep bomb down the middle of the field, over-throwing just about everybody until Stampeders defensive back Joe Burnett came out of the nowhere to make an incredible diving interception.
Following the interception, Calgary’s offensive line broke down once again leading to a sack by Montreal defensive tackle Corvey Irvin.
A reverse by Sam Giguere, a couple of runs by Cato and Terrell Sutton put Montreal in the red zone to set up a chip shot by Boris Bede, making it a 20-14 lead for Montreal at the three minute warning.
Bo Levi Mitchell completed 23 of 32 passes for 329 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions in a back-and-forth rematch against the Montreal Alouettes on Saturday night at an electric McMahon Stadium.
A huge blow came late in the first half to the Stamps as left tackle and former Carolina Panther Garry Williams left clutching his arm. With only one backup offensive lineman to begin the game, another loss up front would have been devastating to the Stamps.
Stringing together a series of swing passes, slants and out patterns to variety of receivers and backs led to a 27-yard field goal by Paredes to make it a 20-17 game for Montreal heading to halftime.
Former Stampeder Nik Lewis, aka “Route King Cole,” was held without a catch in the first half in his return to McMahon Stadium.
With minimal running game in the first half, former Calgary Dino star Matt Walter had his longest run of the game for 14 yards to open up the second half. Two more running plays led to a crowded box by the Alouette defence and Mitchell took full advantage by throwing a 42-yard seed to Marquay McDaniel for his second score of the game. The PAT gave Calgary their first lead of the game, 24-20.
A series of defensive stops led to punts being traded back and forth. While going against the wind, Montreal stuck to ground-and-pound approach and a series of runs by Sutton and Cato set up a huge gain before the Collins fumble.
Deep in his own territory with the wind at his back, Mitchell constructed a long enough drive to get Calgary out of harm’s way before Rob Maver pinned Montreal deep.
After a nice return by Tim Brown on the ensuing Montreal punt, Calgary started riding running back Tory Harrison in the absence of Cornish. This drive set up a 36-yard field-goal miss against the wind by Rene Paredes.
Lewis, one of the loudest players in the league, was quiet in his return to Calgary until midway through the fourth quarter until he picked up a critical first down. Unfortunately for the Als, the drive led to a punt while trailing by five.
Video
MUST WATCH: Logan 71 yard punt return TD
The Florida-native then hit Green over the middle to set up a crucial third and one when power back Brandon Rutley bulldozed his way for the first down.
After a failed deep ball for Green and a seven yard gain by Jean-Christophe Beaulieu, the Als once again had their backs against the walls, faced with a third and three in Stamps territory but were unable to convert.
Calgary Head Coach John Hufnagel fooled everyone by aggressively throwing the ball on first-down before a Harrison gain let Calgary run out the clock to end it.
The 3-2 Als will head to their province-bordering rival to face the Ottawa REDBLACKS on Friday Night Football while Calgary will enjoy a much needed bye week.
No comments:
Post a Comment