Jorden sets Stampeders record in victory
Wide receiver has an ‘insane’ game, racking up 249 yards
CALGARY — Kamar Jorden helped break the game open in the fourth quarter and set a club record for the Calgary Stampeders in the process.
Jorden caught a pass from quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell and ran for a 68-yard touchdown with 1:41 to play in the game to give the Stampeders a 32-18 lead over the visiting Winnipeg Blue Bombers in Canadian Football League action Saturday.
The Stampeders (8-1) held on for a 39-26 win over the Blue Bombers (5-5) in front of 27,800 fans at McMahon Stadium, while Jorden finished with 249 yards on 10 receptions to set a club record for most receiving yards in a single game. The previous record was held by Herm Harrison, who had 237 receiving yards on Sept. 29, 1968.
“That’s insane,” Jorden said. “I did not even know that was possible, honestly. It was a crazy game. It all just comes from making plays. I want to be reliable for the team. I want to be able for the team to lean on me to know that I’m going to go out there make the plays.”
Mitchell went 25-for-42 for a career-high 452 yards and also three touchdown passes to Da Varis Daniels and Marken Michel. “I don’t really ever care too much about yards, I care more about the production we had out there,” Mitchell said. “Honestly, we felt locked in the whole game, but KJ’s a hard guy to cover in man. He’s got those long legs, long strides. I think some guys, he’s kind of deceptive to them sometimes. He’s seeing things, he’s breaking fast and his hands are amazing. He’s making great plays.”
Calgary coach Dave Dickenson also praised Jorden for his record-setting accomplishment.
“Him and Bo were definitely clicking,” Dickenson said.
“Ultimately a lot of guys played well, but you saw Kamar make the game-changing plays,” he added. “We stayed aggressive and decided to keep calling plays to try to put another nail in the coffin and Kamar made a great play at the end to give us that big lead.”
Rene Paredes kicked four field goals for the Stamps, who bounced back from a 40-27 loss to the Saskatchewan Roughriders six days earlier in Regina.
Defensive lineman Ja’Gared Davis had two interceptions for the Stamps, including one that he ran 35 yards back into the end zone with 1:10 to play in the game.
“To be able to come out with a big game like this and come out with two (interceptions) and one to the house, it’s a testament to how great our defence is,” Davis said.
Mitchell also commended Davis for his clutch performance.
“Two picks as a D-end is just insane, but to take one back for a touchdown as well, it just speaks to who the guy is,” Mitchell said. “That’s one of the guys that I think is never talked about enough as one of the premier D-ends.”
Jameer Thurman led Calgary’s defence with 11 tackles and he also sacked starting Winnipeg quarterback Matt Nichols, who completed 29-of-44 passes for 258 yards, two interceptions and one TD pass to Darvin Adams.
Ryan Lankford caught a touchdown pass from Blue Bombers backup quarterback Chris Streveler. Justin Medlock booted three field goals for Winnipeg, which has lost two straight.
The Blue Bombers opened the scoring at 3:08 of the first quarter when Lankford hauled in a pass from Streveler and ran for a 65-yard touchdown.
“It’s good and bad,” said Lankford of jumping out to the quick lead. “At the end of the day, we want to win. It doesn’t matter to us how you start. We wanted to finish strong. Today we didn’t do that. Calgary’s a great team and you’ve got to keep your foot on the gas at all times.”
Calgary answered with a 17yard field goal by Paredes at 10:42. Two plays earlier, Lemar Durant caught a 61-yard pass to get the Stamps to Winnipeg’s 11-yard line, but they weren’t able to get into the end zone.