Linebacker struts his stuff with his parents in the house
With his parents in town to watch his Calgary Stampeders play, Alex Singleton put on a show in the first half on Thursday night.
Then he followed it up by being even better to start the third quarter against the Ottawa Redblacks.
Singleton was an absolute beast all over the field, unloading big hits, scoring a touchdown that was controversially called back and then forcing a fumble that led to a Maleki Harris touchdown shortly into the second half.
It was a spectacular performance from the second-year linebacker and it suggested that he might have taken a step forward after a solid rookie CFL season.
With last year’s defensive captain Deron Mayo still recovering from an ankle injury suffered last year, Singleton has stepped up in a big way, while Harris has slotted in well in the other linebacker position.
Singleton finished Week 1 with a team-leading nine tackles and added five more through three quarters Thursday.
There were problems on defence for the Stampeders in their home opener, but Singleton wasn’t one of them.
BACK IN GOOD BOOKS
Stamps receiver Kamar Jorden said he was seeking redemption prior to Thursday night’s game, and he got it.
Jorden lost possession of the ball twice in the Stamps season opener against the Redblacks, and while neither play was ruled a fumble, they were both close.
On Thursday, Jorden’s first catch of the game was highlightreel ready and will go a long way toward erasing the memories of his up-and-down Week 1.
At the 6:28 mark of the first quarter, Jorden dove for a 15-yard pass from Bo Levi Mitchell and fell into the end zone.
No video replay necessary this time — just a nice catch for a touchdown.
TROUBLE IN PAREDES?
Rene Paredes is usually lights out, but he’s struggled through two games this season.
After missing what would have been a game-winning field goal in Ottawa last weekend, the Stampeders kicker missed three converts in the first three quarters — and change — on Thursday night.
The first came in the first quarter when the ball he booted hit the upright, while the second was a complete miss early in the third quarter, and the third came in the early going of the fourth quarter.
Paredes’ resume speaks for itself, and the Stampeders will surely be patient with him.
But the misses have to be a concern.
SACK CITY
The Stampeders didn’t manage a single sack in Week 1, but they put in a performance that will surely give Redblacks QB Trevor Harris nightmares on Thursday night.
Micah Johnson led the way with two sacks in the first half and added another early in the fourth quarter, while fellow Stamps lineman Charleston Hughes got in on the action with his first sack of the season midway through the third quarter.
But while those were the only sacks that went on the stat sheet, Josh Bell also had a sack that led to a Singleton touchdown that was called back after a controversial video replay in which it was determined that Harris’ arm was moving forward when he was tackled.
The call had Twitter pundits howling, but the sack-that-wasn’t will definitely have Harris icing a few bruises this weekend.
SUFARFOOT EVERYWHERE
The Stampeders went out of their way to honour Ezzrett ‘Sugarfoot’ Anderson on Friday.
Not only did the team hold a ‘minute of applause’ instead of a minute of silence prior to the game in honour of Anderson, who died earlier this year, they also wore T-shirts with the Stampeders legend’s double-zero on their backs and played a lengthy video tribute at halftime.
The man’s presence was felt all over McMahon Stadium.
NOTES
It’s becoming increasingly difficult to understand how Tunde Adeleke dropped to the Stampeders in the third-round of the 2017 CFL Draft. Early in the quarter, Adeleke took off on a punt return and ran the ball back 71 yards for a touchdown. The 21-year-old is from Ottawa, too, so scoring against his hometown team must have felt sweet … Stepping in for the suspended Roy Finch, Stamps PR Terry Williams showed he can compete at the CFL level. The rookie looked good on kick returns and added a 10-yard reception in the first quarter … Stamps QB Andrew Buckley has got wheels. The second-year backup quarterback out of the University of Calgary took off for a 60-yard touchdown on a designed run outside and looked perfectly comfortable turning on the jets … The Stampeders couldn’t quite get RB Jerome Messam going Thursday — at least through three quarters — as he rushed for only 23 yards on seven carries. The team also still hadn’t run a play — at least through three quarters — with another running back rushing the ball so far this season.