CALGARY - Rene Parades kicked the game-winning field goal in the fourth quarter as the Calgary Stampeders hung on to edge the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 10-7 on Friday in Canadian Football League action.
The Ticats had a chance to tie the game, but kicker Justin Medlock was unable to kick a 29-yard field goal due to a botched snap. Quarterback Dan LeFevour, who was the holder on the play, tried to run the ball instead, but was flattened by a big hit from veteran Calgary defender Brandon Smith much to the delight of the 27,546 fans in attendance at McMahon Stadium.
Brad Sinopoli scored his first-career CFL touchdown on a 26-yard run in the second quarter, while Paredes atoned for an earlier miss by kicking a 39-yard field goal, which stood up as the game-winning points.
A week after throwing four touchdown passes in Calgary's 34-15 road win over the Toronto Argonauts, quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell failed to find the end zone against Hamilton. Mitchell still completed 19-of-34 passes for 196 yards as the Stamps improved to 3-0
Kicker Justin Medlock kicked a pair of field goal and added a single to account for all of Hamilton's points.
Jeremiah Masoli made his first career CFL start at quarterback for Hamilton (0-3) and completed just nine-of-19 passes for 107 yards and an interception before being replaced by LeFevour in the third quarter. LeFevour completed eight-of-10 passes for 70 yards in a relief appearance.
Neither team could get anything going in the first quarter as the Stamps accounted for just 44 yards in offence, while the Ticats managed only 22 yards.
Medlock accounted for all the scoring in the first quarter as he booted a 91-yard single on the opening kickoff before adding a 42-yard field goal with 2:05 left to play in the opening frame.
Mitchell then engineered an 11-play, 85-yard drive in the second quarter that was capped off by a 26-yard touchdown run by Sinopoli on a broken play. Mitchell handed the ball off to Sinopoli, who sidestepped onrushing Hamilton linebacker Taylor Reed before running the rest of the way into the end zone untouched.
On the next possession, the Ticats put themselves into position to respond right back, but Calgary safety Joshua Bell picked off an errant pass by Masoli in the Calgary end zone to end the threat.
The Stamps had a chance to extend their lead late in the first half, but a 48-yard field goal attempt by Rene Paredes sailed wide right.
Hamilton had a great chance to take the lead in the third quarter when Brandon Banks returned a Rob Maver punt 38 yards to the Calgary 17-yard line. The Ticats then took and offside penalty before Masoli overthrew a pair of receivers in the end zone, prompting Medlock to kick a 30-yard field goal to tie the game at 7-7.
On Calgary's next drive, Mitchell fumbled the ball at midfield for his first turnover of the season. Linebacker Frederic Plesius recovered the ball at the Hamilton 54-yard line, but the Ticats were unable to convert the turnover into points as Medlock missed a 45-yard field goal attempt wide right at the outset of the fourth quarter.
The Stamps took a 10-7 lead at 8:16 of the fourth quarter when Parades connected from 39 yards out to round out the scoring.
Notes: With Keon Raymond (thigh bruise) and Deron Mayo (groin strain) out of Calgary's lineup, Lin-J Shell and Glenn Love started as linebackers for the Stamps. … Calgary cornerback Buddy Jackson left the game with a hamstring injury in the second quarter, while linebacker Juwan Simpson went down with an arm injury in the fourth quarter. … The Stamps lead the all-time series 56-30 over the Ticats, including a 34-9 edge in games played in Calgary. … Calgary ran its winning streak over Hamilton at McMahon Stadium to 10 straight games dating back to July 4, 2004. The Stamps have also won nine of the past 10 games overall against the Ticats dating back to Oct. 3, 2009