The CFL season opened at home for the Stampeders with a commanding win over a Hamilton team picking where they left off from last season (which wasn't very good). A number of questions were answered tonight with some encouraging results from both sides of the ball.
Henry Burris answered the bell by putting in a solid performance that saw him run more than he has in the past. Without any target in the 1st quarter he took off and used his feet making decisions quickly. 99 yards on 11 carries was the final rushing tally for the QB
39 points on the board but 14 from the defense. Burris went 17/26 for 236 yards and 2 TDs; one has to wonder if he can keep the all-star cast of receivers happy. Thelwell and Copeland only had 1 catch each all game (but everyone did get a touch).
Joffrey Reynolds didn't factor into the game until the forth quarter when he started to chew up yards running for 93 yards on 13 carries. But certainly, for the first game of the season, the Stamps offence looked good.
A number of questions were also tossed around the youth of the Calgary defense. Yes, probably the worst offence came into town, but nonetheless, the Calgary D managed to score two touchdowns off of turnovers and didn't allow a single major.
With 10 minutes left in the 4th quarter Timmy Chang factored into the game replacing starter Jason Mass. He went 3 for 3 early but ran into some penalty trouble that negated a touchdown and then threw for a interception.
Special terms were silent. In the first three games in the CFL the return games have been huge. Tonight, Calgary couldn't amass too many extra yards with their special teams. Sandro Deangelis on the other hand showed what a real kicker is made of stroking a couple of 45 yard+ field goals (eat your heart out Winnipeg and Edmonton).
By the numbers, Calgary had 441 total offensive yards with two turnovers (one fumble and one failed 3rd yard gamble). Hamilton had 306 net yards but had three turnovers that Calgary amassed 14 points over.
Notes: A number of rookies made their CFL debut today. Rob Cote scored his first CFL touchdown early in the third quarter.
