Defence powers Stampeders to 44-20 win over Tiger-Cats

HAMILTON, Ont. — The Calgary Stampeders were outgained, outrushed and held to 14 first downs Saturday. They still left Hamilton with a 24-point win.



Calgary scored twice on defence and won the turnover battle 4-1 before pulling away with 20 fourth-quarter points in a 44-20 victory over the Tiger-Cats at Hamilton Stadium.



The Stampeders improved to 4-4, returning to .500 for the first time since Week 5 and opening their two-game Ontario swing with a win.



Calgary also caught Winnipeg in the West standings. The teams split their two meetings, but the Stampeders currently hold the tiebreaker with an 80-60 advantage in aggregate head-to-head scoring.



“I think our defence won us the game, which is great,” Stampeders head coach Dave Dickenson said. “I don’t think we played that well, but I think we played with a lot of heart, intensity and passion. Sometimes that’s enough.”



Calgary led 10-6 after the first quarter behind a 14-yard touchdown pass from Vernon Adams Jr. to Dejon Brissett and a 53-yard field goal from Jude McAtamney.



Brissett said he and Adams recognized a Hamilton blitz on the touchdown. Brissett looked back toward the quarterback, drawing the safety forward before Adams found him over the top.



Tyreik McAllister extended the lead with a 15-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter. Calgary’s defence then produced its first major when Marquel Lee sacked Harrison Frost and forced a fumble that Kyle Wilson returned 28 yards for a touchdown.



Hamilton added a field goal on the final play of the half, sending Calgary into the break with a 24-9 advantage.



The Tiger-Cats clawed back after halftime.



Frost connected with Kenny Lawler for a 24-yard touchdown before Marc Liegghio’s 28-yard field goal cut Calgary’s lead to 24-19. The Stampeders were held scoreless in the third quarter and struggled through a series of two-and-outs while Hamilton gained momentum.



Dickenson said the response offered evidence of a team beginning to mature.



“I really felt there was no panic,” he said. “We know we can stop them. We know we can make plays on offence. We know we have a good kicker. Our punter had a great game. We just have to believe in that and play the next play.”



Brissett heard the same message from Calgary’s offence.



“We just kept saying on the sideline, ‘The next drive, we’ve got to put up seven,’” Brissett said. “Eventually we did, and that’s kind of our identity.”



Before the offence found the end zone, McAtamney gave Calgary some breathing room with field goals from 48 and 29 yards. A Hamilton punt single between the two kicks left the Stampeders ahead 30-20.



Quincy Vaughn finally delivered the touchdown Calgary had been searching for on a four-yard run with 2:57 remaining. Twenty-six seconds later, Derrick Moncrief intercepted Frost and returned it 25 yards for another defensive touchdown.



“One touchdown is nice, but two is huge,” Dickenson said.



The final score did not reflect how closely Hamilton controlled several statistical categories. The Tiger-Cats finished with advantages in total yards (395-338), rushing yards (172-86), first downs (22-14) and time of possession (33:18-26:42).



Those advantages were erased by four turnovers and Calgary’s ability to turn two of them directly into points.



“We did our job, and we capitalized on inexperienced quarterback play,” defensive lineman Folarin Orimolade said. “When we do our job, I think we’re still one of the best groups in the league.”



Calgary prepared separate plans for Tre Ford and Frost, whose different styles demanded adjustments from the Stampeders’ pass rush.



“With Tre, we had to be really smart about how we rushed, get a lot of spy help and things like that,” Orimolade said.



The Stampeders initially had trouble containing Hamilton’s running game, but Orimolade said they eventually forced the Tiger-Cats into second-and-long situations. Once Hamilton turned to Frost, a more traditional pocket passer, Calgary’s defensive front was able to attack more freely.



“There’s something we did, but I don’t want to give them the secret,” Orimolade said.



Hamilton’s 20 points were the fewest Calgary has allowed in a game this season. It was another step forward for a defence that intercepted four passes in last week’s 52-30 win over Winnipeg.



“It would be terrible for us to peak early in the season and suck at the end,” Orimolade said. “I think we’re building momentum each week, and that’s the recipe.”



Despite the result, Dickenson made it clear Calgary’s performance at the line of scrimmage remains a concern.



“A couple games in a row, we didn’t win the line of scrimmage, and that needs to be addressed,” he said.



Dedrick Mills led Calgary with 44 rushing yards as the Stampeders finished with fewer than half of Hamilton’s total on the ground. Dickenson said Calgary wants to involve McAllister in the offence while continuing to run through Mills.



“We’re just trying to get [McAllister] involved somewhat in the offence,” Dickenson said. “The key for us, though, is we’ve got to make sure that we still run through Mills, and we can’t necessarily take the ball out of his hands too often, or else we just lose our flow.”



Adams finished with 252 passing yards, while Brissett led all Calgary receivers with 109 yards and a touchdown.



The Stampeders will remain in Southern Ontario before facing the Toronto Argonauts on Thursday. After handling the first half of the trip, Brissett said Calgary’s objective has not changed.



“From the beginning, it was to come out of Ontario 2-0,” he said. “We just took the first step. Now we’ve got to go take the second one.”