Tiger-Cats lambasted, 60-1, to open season 0-5
CALGARY — After their secondworst loss in team history — a “humiliating” 60-1 drubbing — Ticat head coach Kent Austin told his players to put the loss behind them as they prepare to return to Alberta for the next tough road test against the Edmonton Eskimos (5-0) Friday night.
All the Tiger-Cats (0-5) could muster in a Canadian Football League contest against the Stampeders Saturday night in Calgary was a single by Sergio Castillo in the first half.
“It snowballed on us. It just got out of control, said Austin. “They had five big plays on us in the first half. We talked all week long about not giving up the big play. It’s a humiliating loss. They played great. They’re a good football team and we’ve got to find answers.”
It was Hamilton’s second largest margin of defeat in club history. The worst (68 points) was in 1956 when Hamilton dropped an 82-14 decision to Montreal.
“It was about how to handle situations like this and the type of men that we’re going to be and what we’re going to demonstrate,” said Austin. “And what life does to you does not matter. It’s how you respond to diversity. It’s going to be an indication of the quality of men that we have.”
Calgary came close to setting a new mark for most points in a game (62), a record that was set in 1994 and matched two years later.
After the first three-touchdown game of his career, Jerome Messam had a lot of people to thank.
Top of that list was receiver Marken Michel, who hauled in a pair of long passes from quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell to set up a pair of short TD runs by Messam.
Roy Finch returned a punt 97 yards into the end zone for the Stamps, who extended their winning streak at McMahon Stadium to 13 straight games.
Rookie running back Ante Milanovic-Litre ran for his firstcareer CFL touchdown, while Shaquille Richardson had an interception return for a TD.
Anthony Parker caught a touchdown pass from backup quarterback Andrew Buckley in the fourth quarter, while Rene Paredes kicked a field goal and Rob Maver booted a single. Buckley is the first Canadian QB to throw a touchdown pass since Brandon Bridge on Nov. 8, 2015.
Paredes booted a 43-yard field goal to cap off Calgary’s second drive of the game at 12:05 of the first quarter. After the Ticats went two-and-out, Finch picked up Castillo’s punt at his own 13-yard line and ran it back into the Ticat end zone.
Early in the second quarter, Michel hauled in a 40-yard pass from Mitchell to get the Stamps to Hamilton’s one-yard line. On the next play, Messam scored his first TD of the game before Mitchell tossed a short pass to offensive lineman Spencer Wilson for a two-point convert. Richardson then picked off an errant pass by Hamilton quarterback Zach Collaros and ran it back for a 47-yard score before Maver kicked a 54yard single to put the Stamps up 25-0.
After Castillo kicked a 53-yard single to get the Ticats on the board, Michel finally hauled in a touchdown pass of his own when he outbattled Hamilton defensive back Justin Rogers to come down with the ball in the end zone.
The Stamps started off the second half with an eight-play, 69-yard drive that was capped off by another one-yard touchdown run by Messam. Milanovic-Litre then got in on the action as he ran for an eight-yard score at 9:17 of the third quarter before Parker caught a 10-yard TD pass from Buckley early in the final quarter.