Stampeders remain unbeaten
REGINA The Calgary Stampeders had enough things go right early to help bail them out late for their sixth straight win to begin the season.
Quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell and the Stampeders raced out to a 24point lead in the first quarter on Saturday against the Roughriders and held on over three quarters for a 34-22 victory.
“Getting out to a 24-0 lead and then letting them do what they did in the second and third quarter is on us,” Mitchell said after he threw for 187 yards and three touchdowns on 18-of-24 pass attempts.
“We can’t let those things happen if we want to be a championship team. Hats off to them, they’re a great team.”
Calgary’s stingy defence forced two Saskatchewan turnovers in the pivotal first quarter, and Mitchell took advantage of the prime field position.
Mitchell connected with Marken Michel on a 40-yard touchdown pass and catch to break the ice and put Calgary up 7-0.
A Rene Paredes field goal and a 78-yard punt return for a touchdown from Terry Williams pushed the Calgary lead to 17-0 before the game was 10 minutes old. After a second Saskatchewan (3-3) turnover, Mitchell hooked up with Eric Rogers on a 15-yard touchdown, and the route appeared to be on.
“We had a good start, no doubt,” Calgary head coach Dave Dickenson said. “They had a couple of turnovers and we had a big punt return, but then we started making a lot of mistakes with our communication.”
The Riders scratched their way back into it thanks to a pair of field goals from Brett Lauther and a 52-yard interception return for a touchdown from Tobi Antigha.
The Riders cut the deficit to 24-13 at halftime.
“We just had to find a way to battle through it,” said Saskatchewan’s Charleston Hughes, who had two sacks against his former team.