Love Finds a Way, Mills Delivers as Stampeders Rally Past Tiger-Cats 28-23

CALGARY, Alberta — For most of the season, the Calgary Stampeders have been left searching for the play that would turn a close game in their favour.



On Saturday, Dedrick Mills found it.



Mills broke loose for a 49-yard touchdown with 38 seconds remaining, Josh Love came away a winner in his first CFL start and the Stampeders rallied for a 28-23 victory over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in front of 19,855 at McMahon Stadium.



Calgary improved to 5-6 and completed the season sweep of Hamilton after beating the Tiger-Cats 44-20 earlier this month. More importantly for a team whose six losses have all come by one score, the Stamps finally finished on the right side of a tight one.



“I think we had to have one,” Calgary coach Dave Dickenson said. “Happy and proud of our guys for continuing competing.”



The Stampeders needed almost the full 60 minutes to get it.



Trailing 23-19 late in the fourth quarter, René Paredes drilled a 47-yard field goal with 2:23 remaining to pull Calgary within one. The defence then delivered the stop it needed, with Marquel Lee dropping Larry Rountree III for a loss before Anthony Johnson broke up Tre Ford’s second-down pass.



That gave Love and the offence one more opportunity.



Starting at the Calgary 37, Love squeezed a pass into double coverage to Erik Brooks, converted a third down through Jalen Philpot and later found Damien Alford to move the Stamps into Hamilton territory.



Then came the play that decided it.



“It was actually a draw,” Love said. “I had options to throw on either side. Had the look we wanted ... spun around and handed it to him.”



Mills did the rest, bursting through the middle and taking it 49 yards for the go-ahead touchdown.



“I’m telling you, I feel it, bro. I feel it,” Mills recalled telling a teammate on the sideline. “Something coming. I don’t care when it come, but it’s coming.”



When it finally came, Mills credited the men in front of him.



“The O-line opened up the hole, and I just found a way to get through it,” Mills said. “Just getting in the end zone, man. That’s what they pay me for.”



Dickenson had a slightly different thought once Mills reached daylight.



“We blocked up front well,” Dickenson said. “Mills, when he got through, I was kind of thinking, ‘Go down.’ I was.”



Dickenson laughed while explaining that Hamilton had no timeouts.



“It’s a good call because it worked,” Dickenson said.



Hamilton still had one last chance, but Calgary’s defence closed the door.



After Ford moved the Tiger-Cats to midfield, R.J. Moten supplied pressure before Kyle Wilson intercepted Ford on third-and-10 to seal the 28-23 win.



Love responds in first CFL start



Love finished 25-of-36 for 274 yards with one touchdown and one interception while starting in place of the injured Vernon Adams Jr. Calgary produced seven scoring drives and converted 56.5% of its second-down opportunities.



It wasn't always a smooth afternoon.



Hamilton's pass rush repeatedly got to Love, and the strangest moment came in the third quarter when his pass deflected off two Calgary players and landed in the hands of defensive lineman Charbel Dabire at the Stamps' 14-yard line.



Ford capitalized immediately, finding Kenny Lawler for a 14-yard touchdown to put Hamilton back in front 20-16.



Calgary didn't fold.



“It’s a play. It’s a play that went against us,” Dickenson said. “We can recover.”



Love eventually rewarded that patience with the decisive drive.



“He’s a leader. He showed toughness, got hit a lot,” Dickenson said.



Love credited the entire room after securing his first CFL victory as a starter.



“It’s a great feeling for the guys in the room,” Love said. “We just worked so hard, and to go out like that and finish the job like that feels really good.”



Mills was equally impressed.



“He stepped in and did a hell of a job today, man,” Mills said. “I’m so proud of him, the man that he is, the leader that he is for the offense and for this team.”



Mills breaks through, Paredes returns



Mills finished with 118 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries while adding four receptions for 23 yards. His 141 yards from scrimmage helped stabilize an offence playing without its starting quarterback.



It was also a strong response after Mills took a hard hit and couldn't finish Calgary's previous game against BC.



“Watching the way he ran and produced today, excellent effort by Mills,” Dickenson said.



Paredes provided another boost in his first appearance of the season after an injury suffered on the opening day of training camp kept him out of Calgary's first 10 games.



The veteran went 5-for-6 on field goals, including makes from 51 and 47 yards in the fourth quarter.



Calgary's lone first-half touchdown came with 21 seconds remaining before the break. Love went over the middle to Ajou Ajou for a five-yard score, the first CFL touchdown pass of Love's career, sending Calgary into halftime ahead 16-13.



That scoring drive was sparked by one of Calgary's biggest plays of the afternoon, a 55-yard Love completion to Dejon Brissett.



The Stamps' defence continued giving the offence opportunities in the second half. Clarence Hicks was particularly disruptive, including a tackle for loss followed by a 16-yard sack of Ford.



Afterward, Hicks made clear what Calgary is chasing down the stretch. He said he had written one word in his notebook: “playoffs.”



McMahon makes its presence felt



The 19,855 fans at McMahon made their presence felt as Calgary fought its way back, and the appreciation from the Stampeders afterward was clear.



“Just the atmosphere here and all the fans, the way they stayed in it and stuck in it for us,” Love said. “I know it’s been tough the last couple weeks.”



Dickenson also made a point of acknowledging the crowd.



“I thought the crowd was a good crowd,” Dickenson said. “I thought it helped us.”



On an afternoon when Calgary finally found a way to finish a close game, both quarterback and coach acknowledged the people in the stands who stayed with them until the end.



Labour Day up next



At 5-6, Calgary remains very much alive in a tightly contested West Division playoff race, with seven regular-season games remaining.



The focus now shifts to one of the biggest dates on Calgary's football calendar.



The Edmonton Elks come to McMahon for the Labour Day Classic on Monday, Sept. 7 at 4 p.m. MT, beginning a home-and-home set between the provincial rivals. Calgary then travels north for the rematch five days later.



The rivalry has been a Labour Day fixture for decades, with Calgary hosting Edmonton in all but two seasons since 1969.



After the noise and support that helped push the Stampeders through Saturday's finish, the next one should be a battle in the stands as much as on the field, with the red and white looking to show out at McMahon when their provincial rivals come to town.



For one afternoon, though, Calgary can enjoy finally being on the right side of one of these.



“I try to get the guys focused on the next play and win that play,” Dickenson said. “So we did. That’s how we won the game.”