CALGARY — Bo Levi Mitchell threw two touchdown passes to lead the Calgary Stampeders over the Toronto Argonauts 25-20 on Monday night.
Jon Cornish ran for another touchdown for the Stamps (2-1), who rebounded from a 29-11 road loss to the Montreal Alouettes on July 3.
Rene Paredes kicked a field goal for Calgary, while Rob Maver added a single.
Toronto quarterback Trevor Harris threw touchdown passes to rookie receivers Kevin Elliott and Tori Gurley while Ronnie Pfeffer kicked a pair of field goals for the Argos (2-1).
Neither team could get much going early on until Harris completed an eight-yard touchdown pass to Elliott late in the first quarter to cap off a seven-play, 78-yard drive.
Tim Brown appeared to give Calgary great field position with a lengthy punt return early in the second quarter, but the play was negated due to a penalty for face-masking on linebacker Karl McCartney.
Undeterred, Mitchell tossed a 43-yard pass to Eric Rogers to start off a nine-play, 102-yard scoring drive. Rogers completed the drive by catching a three-yard TD pass from Mitchell, before Paredes missed the convert.
The Stamps then regained possession when Jeff Hecht stripped the ball from Chad Owens at midfield. Josh Bell recovered the fumble and ran eight yards lateralling the ball to Fred Bennett, who raced downfield to the Toronto four-yard line.
After Cornish ran the ball into the end zone on the next play, Mitchell found McDaniel for a two-point convert to put the Stamps up 14-7.
Following a quick two-and-out by the Argos, Calgary struck again at 12:21 of the second quarter when Jeff Fuller reached over Toronto defender Akwasi Owusu-Ansah for a six-yard touchdown pass from Mitchell.
The Argos answered right back just over a minute later when Gurley caught a 44-yard touchdown pass from Harris.
After a 55-yard punt single by Maver, the Stampeders took a 22-14 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Pfeffer kicked a 48-yard field goal in the third quarter and added a 45-yarder early in the fourth to pull the Argonauts within two points.
Calgary killed the clock in the fourth quarter with an extended 13-play, 62-yard drive that was capped off by a 30-yard field goal by Paredes to secure the victory.
Notes: Calgary offensive lineman Edwin Harrison and Dan Federkeil both had to be carted off the field in the second quarter with lower-leg injuries and neither returned. b& Due to the injuries, Quinn Smith moved from Calgary’s defensive line to the offensive line and had to switch jerseys from No. 90 to 68. Stamps receiver Simon Charbonneau-Campeau also left the game with a leg injury in the third quarter. With 56 yards on the ground, Cornish moved past Lovell Coleman and into fourth place behind Joffrey Reynolds, Kelvin Anderson and Earl Lunsford on Calgary’s all-time rushing yardage list.