Calgary wins battle in trenches

All week, the Calgary Stampeders and Winnipeg Blue Bombers said Sunday’s West Division Final was going to be won in the trenches.

Whoever had the ball, it was going to be the fight between the offensive and defensive lines that determined who emerged victorious at McMahon Stadium.

When the final whistle sounded, it was the Stamps who were celebrating a 22-14 win.

The Calgary defensive line’s dominance over the Winnipeg O-line, though, was much more emphatic.

The Stamps finished with three sacks, and while Bombers running back Andrew Harris ran for 71 yards, the Stampeders locked him down in big moments.

In the end, the Bombers didn’t score a single touchdown and left McMahon with only 245 yards of net offence.

“We told y’all, we’re ready,” said Calgary defensive tackle Micah Johnson. “We felt like there was too much talk and we said all week we were ready for the challenge. We felt it was going to start with the defensive line, and you saw the results.”

Johnson picked up one of the Stampeders’ sacks, while defensive end Ja’Gared Davis punctuated an immensely impressive performance with the others.

In one stretch early in the third quarter, Davis brought down Harris with a perfectly-timed tackle and then sacked Bombers QB Matt Nichols on the very next play.

At the time, the Stampeders offence had fumbled the ball on its first possession and their next drive netted them only a 10-yard loss.

The Stampeders were up 14-8, and while they didn’t know it at the time, they would need a brilliant performance from their defence to hold off the Bombers until the offence could find its feet for a backbreaking touchdown drive late in the second half.

“We knew coming into the game it was going to be a big game and it was going to be won in the trenches,” Davis said. “We knew all week the battle was set. They had three all-stars, we knew the game was going to be won and lost in the trenches and we just took it on ourselves to have a hell of a game. We had a great game plan and came out and matched their intensity early and let them know it was going to be a dogfight, and it was.”

It was a star-making performance for Davis, who finished the regular season with seven sacks but was left off the West Division All- Star team.

He seems to like playing against the Bombers, as he also picked up two interceptions when the teams met in Calgary back in August.

But he’s not necessarily mentioned among the best defensive ends in the CFL by many observers in the national media, and there were some eyebrows raised when the Stampeders committed to Davis long-term in the off-season and traded franchise stalwart Charleston Hughes.

On Sunday, he showed why Stamps management thought he was worthy of the investment.

“Ja’Gared was outstanding again,” said Stamps head coach Dave Dickenson. “They have a great offensive line, they really do, but we seemed to be cutting the run game up a little bit. (Harris) ran hard, but when we had to stop him, we did. Overall just a credit to the D -line and the linebacking crew.”