Incredible week saw great finishes, plays and a blowout
There was the Miracle in Manitoba, the Immaculate Reception at Mosaic and the Mauling at McMahon.
Up north, Jason Maas and his Edmonton Eskimos tamed the Lions and remained undefeated at 5-0.
What a wild wacky windup in Winnipeg, typical of the 2017 CFL season. The visiting Alouettes collapsed with 1:40 left, blowing a 12 point lead and losing to the Bombers 41-40. Key penalties assisted the Bomber drives. Days earlier the league fined three Alouette defenders.
In Saskatchewan, Chris Jones’ faith in bad boy Duron Carter was rewarded when he caught nine passes for 131 yards, including two touchdown receptions, the first regarded as one of the greatest in team history. Cut last year by the Alouettes for selfishness and discipline issues, Carter seems to have found a home in Regina where spitting on the sidewalk is headline news if you’re a Roughrider.
Two nights later in Calgary, Hamilton’s epic collapse started shortly after the opening kickoff. How bad was it? It was the biggest margin of victory in Stampeder history and the third largest margin of defeat in league and Hamilton history.
Did the Cowboys run up the score? They tried not to. Bo Levi Mitchell retired to the bunkhouse at the end of the first half. Coach Dave Dickenson played everybody, including young Canadians who were getting their first taste of regular season action other than on special teams. They were determined to impress family, friends and coaching staff. And impress they did, especially former University of Calgary quarterback Andrew Buckley and running back Ante Milanovic-Litre, selected out of Simon Fraser in the fourth round of this year’s draft. Seeing his first action, he rushed for 26 yards and his first CFL touchdown.
Buckley went 10-for-10, 106 yards and a touchdown in one quarter of play. He engineered three straight TD drives before being replaced by thirdstringer Ricky Stanzi. Ti-Cat star Zach Collaros completed 14 of 21 for 102 yards, no scores.
Dickinson is the only head coach I have encountered who really means it when he says the nationality of his quarterback doesn’t matter. Even Frank Clair in Ottawa tried everybody else before he gave Russ Jackson a chance and then damned him with faint praise. Said the coach after the game, “I let him run the entire offence. I wanted to see what he could do and he did a nice job. He’s got to take a lot from that.”
Marken Michel was another example of Stampeder depth. When the team’s leading receiver Kamar Jorden got hurt in the first quarter, Michel came in, catching six passes for 190 yards and a major. Defensively, Calgary started Tunde Adeleke who made his first start at safety.
The Ti-Cats are remaining at the scene of the crime until they head up north on Thursday. How do they get over a 60-1 loss? Coach Kent Austin tells them to forget about it, put it behind you and remember you had the Eskimos on the ropes just over a week ago before losing in the last minute. If his players don’t respond, Austin is toast. Every team has had injuries, including Hamilton. It is gut check time in Steeltown.
Hamilton’s greatest regular season triumph came Oct. 15, 1962 when they ripped apart visiting Saskatchewan 6721. After the game, Roughrider running back Ray Purdin said, “Let’s get on the bus before they score another one.” The Green and White recovered to make the playoffs for the first time in four years.
By the time I got to the visitors’ dressing room, locals Connor McGough and Aaron Crawford were on the team bus, a place no reporter can go. What would I have said to them? I would have told them that they will likely never again experience a game like that in their pro careers. I would point out that in 1989 Kent Austin’s Roughriders were clobbered in Edmonton 49-17 but won the Grey Cup three weeks later. Or how B.C. lost their first five games in 2011 and won it all.
Saturday’s game honoured the 1992 Grey Cup champion Stampeders, Doug Flutie and friends. That year they lost 310 to the Argos during the regular season.
Will the Tiger-Cats overcome adversity Friday?