Stamps lay the lumber on Argos
Maybe it wasn’t Grey Cup revenge, but Mitchell and Co. were relentless in 41-7 blowout
TORONTO — All week, the Calgary Stampeders promised they didn’t feel the need to get revenge against the Toronto Argonauts.
On Saturday night, though, it sure looked as if the Stamps were taking out the frustrations of last year’s Grey Cup loss on the team that beat them.
It would be hard to overstate just how badly the Stampeders dominated the Argonauts en route to a 41-7 victory.
Defensively, the Stampeders never allowed Ricky Ray and the Argos offence to gain any momentum, although it should be noted before carrying on with the rest of the game that Ray was stretchered off the field in the third quarter after hitting his head while being sacked by Ja’Gared Davis. Ray was transferred to a Toronto hospital for precautionary reasons.
The Argos QB had completed 12-of-17 passes for 74 yards at the time.
On the offensive side of the ball, the Stampeders bounced back from an up-and-down game in Week 1 and offered a scintillating taste of what could be a high-octane offence this season.
Stampeders quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell was the best he’s been in ages.
In fact, with the exception of an early fumble, Mitchell was nearly perfect.
He completed 20-of-22 passes for 324 yards and threw for three touchdowns. It just doesn’t get much better than that.
Naturally, that meant his receivers had big games, too.
After the Stampeders opened the scoring with a Rene Paredes field goal, Mitchell connected with DaVaris Daniels for a 39-yard TD pass to make it 10-0 early in the first quarter.
In the second, Mitchell made it 17-0 when he connected for an 18-yard touchdown with Eric Rogers, who had a game that suggested he may get back to being one of the CFL’s very best receivers very, very soon.
Rogers also caught a 59-yard pass early in the third quarter, then followed it up with his second touchdown of the game two plays later.
By game’s end, Rogers had caught five passes for 131 yards.
The scoring didn’t end there, though.
Rookie running back Don Jackson had his second big game in a row, and the 123 yards he picked up have him leading the CFL in rushing. The Stampeders look like they’ve uncovered another gem, and Jackson picked up a 70-yard carry on the drive after Rogers scored in the third quarter.
Shortly thereafter, backup QB Nick Arbuckle ran the ball in for his first CFL touchdown to give the Stampeders a 34-1 lead.
Jackson’s running back partner, Terry Williams, was also spectacular, and put a stamp on the game when he ran back an Argos punt for a 102-yard touchdown to end the fourth quarter. By that point, it was 41-1.
With the Stamps resting most of their starters in the fourth quarter, the Argos did manage to put a touchdown on the board when backup QB James Franklin ran for a 10-yard TD.
It did little to hide the fact that Saturday was a one-sided exhibit in domination from the Stampeders.
They were better in all three facets of the game and made the Argos look like they were boys playing against men.