Stamps book spot in West Division final
ARGOS SUNK: 48-20 loss to Calgary a devastating blow to Toronto’s playoff hopes
TORONTO — The Calgary Stampeders can officially circle Nov. 20 on their calendar.
With three games to go in the regular season, the Stampeders booked their place in the CFL’s West Division final by obliterating the Toronto Argonauts 48-20 Monday at BMO Field, ensuring they’ll be hosting a home game at McMahon Stadium.
They also made it ever-more-likely that the West Division’s fourth-place team will be headed to the playoffs, as the loss put the hapless Argos — third place in the East — at 5-10 on the season while the Edmonton Eskimos’ earlier win over the Montreal Alouettes improved them to 8-7 and put them in the driver’s seat to qualify for the post-season via the crossover.
For a game with such massive implications, there was remarkably little drama.
As usual, the Stampeders scored on their first drive of the game when Bo Levi Mitchell found DaVaris Daniels in the end zone.
That set the tempo and set the stage for a total rout.
A Rene Paredes field goal and a 41-yard touchdown from Kamar Jorden made it 19-0 by the end of the first quarter, and it only got worse for the Argos from there.
The result wasn’t exactly a surprise, but the methodical nature with which the Stampeders dispatched of the Argos was.
So many Stampeders had big games, it’s probably easier to just list them off rather than trying to contextualize it all.
Mitchell was his usual self, picking out receivers at will and throwing for 281 yards and three touchdowns before being pulled early in the fourth quarter when the game was out of reach for the Argos.
Daniels had another massive game, going off for 126 receiving yards and one touchdown, while furthering his case to be CFL Rookie of the Year in a season where he’s proving to be one of the league’s elite receivers.
Kamar Jorden was dangerous, picking up 117 receiving yards and one touchdown, while Jerome Messam had maybe his best game in a Stampeders uniform, running for 133 yards on 17 carries and picking up a touchdown.
Paredes, meanwhile, went a perfect 4-for-4 on field goal attempts.
On the defensive side of the football, the Stamps were just as dominant.
Ja’ Gared Davis terrorized Drew Willy, sacking the Argos quarterback three times. Charleston Hughes picked up two sacks of his own, and Joe Burnett got in on the action with one.
The game wasn’t without controversy, though, as a late-second quarter brawl saw the Stampeders’ Marquay McDaniel get ejected along with Argonauts defensive back Devin Smith.
Somehow, the Argos’ Josh Mitchell remained in the game despite being caught on camera instigating the scrap by punching both Jorden and McDaniel. daustin@postmedia.com twitter.com/ @Danny Austin_9