STAMPS SUFFER FIRST DEFEAT
Offensive lapses extend team’s Montreal misery
MONTREAL There’s no ghost haunting the Calgary Stampeders whenever they play at Percival Molson Memorial Stadium.
There’s no curse that plagues the Stamps when they visit Montreal.
The Alouettes (2-2-0) just happen to be an aggressive, in-yourface team that causes Bo Levi Mitchell & Co. more headaches than any other CFL opponent, and that held true yet again Friday night as the Als outlasted the Stamps (2-1-1) to claim a 30-23 win.
“It was a great effort, but effort really doesn’t translate into wins when you don’t play well,” said Stamps head coach Dave Dickenson.
“(The Alouettes) did some good things, and they make you earn every point you get.
“They took over the ground game late. We just ran out of gas there, and it was a good football game. We came out on the wrong end of it.”
While there were absolutely some positives for the Stampeders, they were ultimately undone by a fourth quarter in which they were outscored 14-3. The Als found they could move the ball by pounding it on the ground using Tyrel Sutton, who finished with 85 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries.
For their part, the Stamps didn’t have the option of using their No. 1 running back, as Jerome Messam was thrown out of the game after he grabbed Chip Cox by the face mask and dragged him to the ground in the second quarter.
That left Roy Finch to take over running back duties, and while the backup performed well, the Stamps were unusually inefficient deep in Alouettes territory.
That allowed Rene Paredes to have a bounce-back game and kick five field-goals, but it also left the Stamps wondering about missed opportunities and vowing to return to the film room and get better.
“We preached in training camp that we need to score touchdowns,” Dickenson said. “We were inside the 10 twice early, and to be honest, we had opportunities, but we missed them.
“Maybe we need to practise more in those situations. We feel like we’ve made it an emphasis in training camp, as well as in-season here, so it’s something for us coaches to look at, but we need to be better inside the tight green zone.”
Converting on a couple of those missed green-zone opportunities likely would have seen the Stampeders cruise to a relatively comfortable victory.
They found success moving the ball up and down the field, and Mitchell completed 34-of-50 passes for 375 yards and one touchdown — while Alouettes quarterback Darian Durant completed 17-of-22 passes for 296 yards and also had a touchdown.
Kamar Jorden had another big game, too, catching nine balls for 140 yards, while fellow Stamps receiver DaVaris Daniels put up 79 yards and scored his first touchdown of the season.
When the Stamps moved deep into Als territory, though, they just couldn’t find a way to get those precious final yards with any real consistency.
“It’s early in the season — we’ll see those things, we’ll fix them,” Mitchell said. “When it comes down to it and the game is on the line, the ball is in my hands.
“I’ve got to be the guy who goes out there and finishes it. That’s why they pay me like they do. It’s to go out there and finish my job.”