Stamps Stumble in Second half

Calgary held their own in the first half, against the Eastern Division champion Montreal Alouettes on Sunday afternoon. But when the third quarter started so did the Montreal offence. An ill timed interception of a Tommy Jones pass in the third quarter by Anwar Stewart set the tone for the Als for the rest of the game, as Montreal went on to a 32-14 victory over the Stamps in their home opener. Stewart took the pick back 44 yards for a TD and put Montreal in the drivers seat for good, as a game Stampeder club began to make a number of mistakes that cost them a chance of a comeback.

The appearance of Jones was unexpected and perhaps will be controversial, Coach Matt Dunnigan feeling that starter Marcus Crandell didn’t provide enough production for Dunnigan on Sunday and so was pulled after the first half giving the ball to the relatively untested Jones. Crandell had thrown one interception in the first half and couldn’t generate much in the way of offence leading to his removal. Calgary kept close in the first half mainly on the strength of a John Grace interception return for a TD.

Jones threw three interceptions during his thirty minutes of action and as Dunnigan put it made a few rookie mistakes while on the field. That being said, Dunnigan was more or less pleased with the team’s effort against the perennial Grey Cup finalists.

For Montreal the win provided a chance for Anthony Calvillo to get untracked and for the offence to start to put together a more successful game plan. Calvillo competed 29 of 43 passes for 385 yards, he credited the defence for keeping the team close in the early going. Once the Als got things going they provided 23 points in the final two quarters to solidify their win. 30,207 fans took in the Stamps season opener, a very good crowd considering all the turmoil surrounding the team in the off season. And while the Stamps did not win, they kept the pressure on until the mid part of the third quarter, but mistakes were a costly part of the game and will have to be addressed for the team to keep the pace for four quarters against the top teams in the league.

Montreal moves on to Toronto on July 3rd while the Stamps are home again in one week when Hamilton brings the Mac Attack to town. Interestingly enough when the schedule was announced many felt that this game would represent the two worst teams in the league meeting head on, early on in the season the two are far from the worst performers on the field. And while it certainly won’t be a Grey Cup type of match up, it should provide for a good measuring stick for both clubs early in the season.