Inside the CFL: Deep down, Stamps burned

By None on November 27, 2018.

EDMONTON

The first thing the 2018 Grey Cup champions did when they returned home yesterday was donate the super-sized simian that had been living on their back to the Calgary Zoo.

With Quick Six the touchdown horse leading from wire to wire, the Stampeders won their eighth Grey Cup by defeating the Ottawa Redblacks 27-16. They conceded a safety touch with 25 seconds left to seal the deal.

The late coach Don Matthews liked to add to the cliche, by saying, “Offence sells tickets, defence wins games but special teams win championships.” That sums up the 106th Grey Cup. The Calgary defence was superb, limiting Ottawa to one touchdown and keeping receivers Brad Sinopoli and Geg Ellingson under control. The offence was good enough. But the game was won by special teams.

Halfway through the second quarter, Calgary was leading 14-3 on the basis of touchdown passes to Don Jackson and Lemar Durant. Then Redblack quarterback Trevor Harris teamed up with Julian Feoli-Gudina for a 55 yard pass and run TD. The two-point convert was good making the score Stamps 14, Ottawa 11. Mr. Momentum was on the side of the Easterners. Then disaster struck.

With 20 seconds left in the first half, Terry Williams returned a Richie Leone punt 97 yards for a touchdown, putting the horsemen up by 10 after 30 minutes of play. The defence took over, holding Ottawa’s offence to a field goal the rest of the way. But the Redblacks didn’t fold. The Stamps could only manage two field goals of their own, one set up when special teams tackler Riley Jones forced return man Diontae Spencer to cough up the ball.

All season long Calgary has had the best coverage teams in the league and from the first pre-season game they’ve been sure-handed tacklers. Football games are won in the trenches but the line play was pretty even. Calgary’s linebackers and secondary dominated Ottawa’s receiving corps. Ottawa’s major weapon was running back William Powell who had 94 yards. Trevor Harris was good on 20 of 38 passes for 288 yards, one TD, three interceptions, two of which came late on desperation throws. Harris provided competent quarterbacking.

Grey Cup MVP Bo Levi Mitchell — who completed 24 of 36 for 253 yards, two TDs, two interceptions — was better. His favourite target was Eric Rogers who caught six for 64 yards. Chris Matthews picked up 59 yards on four receptions. Although Ottawa had more yards offensively, Bo spread the pigskin around to six receivers and thus controlled the game. He also had the ball 11 minutes longer. He didn’t look that great but as usual he found a way to win.

While it wasn’t that cold, the field was like a skating rink. Players went through cleat changes to get traction with little success. On the return touchdown, the Ottawa cover guys couldn’t stop and slid right by Terry Williams who was told by special teams coach Mark Kilam to run straight ahead. How bad was it? Quick Six had to take it slow down the sideline.

I mentioned earlier that the Stampeders seemed unconcerned about their losses, that they would clinch first and win the Grey Cup. Coach Dave Dickenson would say they needed to get better and they did. The players remained quietly confident all season in what was considered a rebuilding year. Below the surface of their calm exterior, they were seething with anger over their two previous Grey Cup losses and were determined to prove their bandanas weren’t too tight when the chips were down. They had to win to silence the critics. They overcame adversity all season to do do it.

Only one coach in the modern era lost three Grey Cups in a row, Peahead Walker in Montreal, 1954-’56. Dickenson credited his players for avoiding a similar fate and praised his coaches for a solid game plan.

“This is great for the city,” he said. “We needed it. Calgary’s been going through a lot of tough times.”

General manager John Hufnage, whol deserves considerable credit for patching so many holes during the year, added: “I’m awfully happy for the players. They’re the ones who have to face the music mostly. If they didn’t win this one, there would have been some really bad stuff said about them.”

“All hail you men of Calgary!”