Stampeders 15 Tiger-Cats 14
CALGARY — Sandro DeAngelis booted the Calgary Stampeders into top spot in the CFL’s West Division.
DeAngelis’s five field goals accounted for all of the Stamps’ offence in a 15-14 win over the Hamilton the Tiger-Cats in adverse conditions Saturday at McMahon Stadium.
“It was awfully cold out there and awfully windy,” DeAngelis said. “I kind of had a really good idea before the game even started that it was going to be a busy night for me.”
With the Stamps (8-5) clinging to a one-point lead late in the game, Calgary defensive back Keon Raymond sacked Hamilton quarterback Quinton Porter for a loss of 13 yards.
On the next play, Raymond tackled receiver Dave Stala a few yards shy of a first down to preserve the victory in front of 36,753 fans.
“I said, ‘It’s either me or him’ and it’s got to be me,” said Raymond, who finished the game with nine tackles, one sack and a fumble recovery. “I know in some games when we struggle, (the offence) always has our back. It’s a team sport and we knew we had to step up. You want to be on the field when the game’s on the line.”
Calgary quarterback Henry Burris, who completed 14 of 30 passes for 132 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions, was first to commend the Stampeders’ strong defensive effort.
“Some weeks you’ve got to win shootouts and there’s some weeks you’ve got to win ugly,” said Burris. “It’s good for the defence to have this happen, but now offensively we’ve got to focus on things because we’ve got to be better.”
The narrow victory helped the Stampeders avenge a 24-17 loss to the Ticats (6-7) at Ivor Wynne Stadium in Hamilton two weeks earlier.
“Calgary came with an all out blitz and we did not pick it up,” said Porter, who went 22-of-33 for 262 yards and one interception.
Kicker Nick Setta booted a field goal and four singles for the Ticats, who still sit in second spot in the East Division.
“We put ourselves in a position to win and did not,” said Hamilton coach Marcel Bellefeuille, who commended his defence for keeping the Calgary offence to five field goals. “It’s tough to lose like this.”
DeAngelis started things off for the Stamps in the first quarter by kicking a 37-yard field goal before Setta responded with a 34-yarder to tie the score.
While the Calgary offence failed to get in a rhythm in the first quarter, the defence did its job by forcing a pair of fumbles to give the Stamps good field position.
Tom Johnson stripped the ball from Hamilton receiver Airese Currie on the second fumble and John Eubanks picked up the fumble and returned it 19 yards to the Ticat 29-yard line to set up a DeAngelis 30-yard field goal to give the Stamps a 6-3 lead.
Early in the second quarter, Hamilton jumped out to 10-6 lead when Porter ran for a seven-yard TD to cap off an eight-play, 55-yard drive.
On the ensuing kickoff, Demetris Summers broke off a 56-yard return to give Calgary great field position before Hamilton got the ball right back when Geoff Tisdale picked off a long pass by Burris intended for Jeremaine Copeland.
Four plays later, the Ticats had to settle for a 48-yard single when Setta missed a 35-yard field goal.
Before the end of the half, DeAngelis kicked a 27-yard field goal to pull the Stamps within two points. The Calgary kicker then accounted for all six points in the third quarter by booting field goals from 35 and 29 yards out to put the Stamps up 15-11.
In the fourth quarter, the sloppy play on both sides continued as neither team could sustain any sort of offensive pressure.