Mauling of the Ticats was one for the record books
Calgary firing on all cylinders during record-setting mauling of Ticats
The stats crew was kept busy Saturday night at McMahon Stadium. A 60-1 score line will do that. The Calgary Stampeders (4-1-1) set a team record for the greatest margin of victory and tied another with eight touchdowns as they annihilated a weak-kneed Hamilton Tiger-Cats squad that has yet to win in the 2017 CFL season.
There was nothing but good things to take away from this drubbing.
1 MESSAM AT HIS FINEST
Stampeders running back Jerome Messam proved once again that if you’re anywhere near the goal-line, he’s the man to plunge the ball in. He did so on three occasions, his first three-touchdown game as a professional. In all, he carried the ball 11 times for 91 yards for a remarkable 8.3-yardsper-carry average.
“You don’t see too many of these butt-whuppings, so we’re going to enjoy it and come back to work and ready to go for Toronto,” said Messam, whose club heads east to play the host Toronto Argonauts Thursday (5:30 p.m., TSN/News Talk 770). “We had the ’92 Grey Cup team here — those guys gave us great energy. Doug Flutie gave us a great post-practice speech (Friday) and I think that carried over and gave guys a little extra incentive to go all out.”
2
DEFENSIVE EFFORT OVERSHADOWED
Anytime a team scores 60 points, it’s easy to overlook the other side of the ball.
But the Stamps allowed just a 53yard Sergio Castillo single, keeping Hamilton at bay for 60 minutes. There were a pair of interceptions, including Shaquille Richardson’s for a touchdown, and an overall dynamite performance from the secondary.
“I thought our back end was the strength,” said Stamps head coach Dave Dickenson. “They’ve been a group that maybe at times hasn’t looked as good this year. We challenged them and they stepped up big time. Not only were they ball hawks, but they tackled real well and were aggressive.”
3
ONE COMES OUT, ANOTHER GOES IN
When high-flying receiver Kamar Jorden left the game in the first quarter with a lower-body injury, it opened the door for secondyear man Marken Michel to show his quality.
Did he ever take advantage of the opportunity.
The 24-year-old former star of the NCAA’s Massachusetts Minutemen snared six passes for a whopping 190 yards — one of those a 35-yard touchdown.
With Jorden doubtful, Michel should see a lot of work Thursday against the Argos.
Interest side note: Stamps goto receiver Marquay McDaniel wasn’t targeted the entire game.
4 BACKUP BUCKLEY IMPRESSES
It was a Stampeders 39-1 lead when starter Bo Levi Mitchell took off his helmet and handed the QB reins to Andrew Buckley, but that didn’t keep the former University of Calgary Dinos star from going at it full throttle.
“I gave him a little extra in practice as well,” Dickenson explained. “At this stage, he hadn’t had a lot of work; he responded. He had a live arm — he moved around well. I let him run the entire offence. I wanted to see what he could do and he did a nice job. For us, that’s comforting. And for him, he’s got to take a lot from that.”
Buckley finished the game 10for-10 for 106 yards and one TD, scampered for 10 more yards and caught his own pass (a tipped ball came right back at him).
“I honestly wish he would have batted it down,” said a smiling Dickenson. “He wanted to stay perfect, 10-for-10. It’s just reaction to grab it.”
Incidentally, Buckley’s touchdown toss to Anthony Parker in the fourth quarter was the first former Dino to Dino for a major in Stampeders history.
5
RETURN GAME BANKS ON FINCH
The Ticats’ Brandon Banks may have the reputation, but Roy Finch is quickly fashioning one of his own.
The cagey returner was a going concern each time he fielded a punt and took one back 97 yards for the major score early in the game — his first of the season — effectively kick-starting the Stampeders offence.
“I think it kind of lit the fuse for the whole team,” said Dickenson. “I didn’t feel that we had great energy coming out of the gate. After that play, everyone fed off that and we started rolling as a team.”