It was a wild Canadian Football league contest Sunday afternoon in Calgary as the two teams played two totally different halves before settling things in the final quarter. For Hamilton it looked like another Danny McManus clinic was in place as the Ti Cats rode the arm of Danny Mac to a 25 point lead at the end of the first quarter. For whatever reason the Stampeders were flatter than the road to Regina, as they spent fifteen agonizing minutes surrendering field position and points to the Mighty Ti-Cat machine.
Stamps QB Marcus Crandell completed only three passes for 17 yards in the first quarter a performance that earned him choruses of boos from the 26,000 fans gathered at McMahon stadium. McManus who has been back in control this season so far had another spectacular first half three touchdowns, 11 passes for 262 yards it seemed that all was lost for the Stamps but slowly they battled back.
Scott Coe began the Stampeder comeback with an interception return for a touchdown in the second quarter, as the teams took the field in the second half Crandell had regained his attack plan and began the long climb back towards a win. In fact the game was in doubt right up until the last 90 seconds when Calgary was on the march for another touchdown, heading towards the Tiger Cat endzone from the Hamilton 11 another mistimed pass was picked off and the win was sealed for the Cats, going on to win the battle 41-34
Defensive miscues and special team’s breakdowns were the determining factor for the Stamps in this game. They made serious errors at the wrong time snuffing out a promising play or giving up a big play at an inopportune moment.
McManus never lost his cool, even when the Stamps began their climb out of the dog house they had built for themselves in the first half. It was the Hamilton QB’s veteran play that allowed the Ti-Cats to return east still undefeated. For Calgary the loss while a setback was not a disaster, the entire west continues to stumble early in this season so even with the two losses thus far, Calgary is still hot in the race for first in the West.
Eventually one or two of these Western teams are going to catch fire, with Edmonton looking beyond brutal so far and BC suffering QB injury problems the Stamps situation isn’t as dire as it could be. Some re-working of the playbook, some scrimmages to get special teams on the same page and sit down with the defense may go a long way to keep Matt Dunnigan’s crew in the hunt through the season.
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