Nobody was really sure how the Stamps would perform against the so-called league best Saskatchewan Roughriders. The offence has largely underperformed through the first three games of the early CFL season. The defence has generally stood tall and kept games close. Add the intense rivalry that exists between these two teams and you have set the stage for the first of 3 games to be played this year.
Calgary got off to an early start marching the ball down the field, however, red-zone production continues to be an issue. Although Calgary seemed to dominate the play in the first half, the score was 7-7 and the possession was almost 50-50.
Most Stamps fans are always on edge wondering whether Henry Burris will give Rider fans fuel to ridicule the Stamps, or whether he'll put on the a dominant performance. THe first half had flashes of both Frank and Hank. Despite ending the day with 4 TD passes, he still threw 2 interceptions in scoring positions (Which would have made the score even more lopsided).
The biggest play of the day went to Romby Bryant who after a game of dropped balls against Toronto last week, caught a 67-yard touchdown pass from Henry Burris early in the third quarter and then added a 10-yard TD reception in the fourth quarter in front of a sell-out crowd of 35,650 fans at McMahon Stadium.
P.K Sam and Nik Lewis also caught TD passes, while Joffrey Reynolds added a rushing touchdown. Jon Cornish, Drew Tate (on a nice 40 yard run), and Burris combined for over 250 rushing yards.
The offence managed to finally score some points, but it was the defence who continued to assert themselves as possible the best in the league. Rider QB Darian Durant completed 22 of 37 passes for 354 yards and one touchdown, but was also forced to throw three interceptions. Despite one sack the Calgary D pressured and hit Durant all game long.
The game was quite a bit closer score wise until the 4th quarter when Bryant caught a 10-yard TD pass from Burris to give the Stampeders a 26-10 lead.
Notes: Calgary has an all-time record of 112-86-9 against Saskatchewan including a 66-34-5 mark in Calgary. … With five catches, Lewis now has 474 career receptions to move him past Travis Moore (470) into third spot on the Stamps all-time list.
