They dominated the regular season, disposed of the B.C. Lions in the West Final and claimed the lion’s share of the 2016 CFL Awards. Now, the Calgary Stampeders find themselves a single win away from capping one of the greatest seasons in the history of the CFL.
The only remaining obstacle for the Stampeders (15-2-1) is a matchup with the CFL East Division champs, the Ottawa Redblacks (8-9-1), in the 104th Grey Cup Championship Game.
The teams met twice in the regular season with the Stampeders claiming a 48-23 Week 13 win at McMahon Stadium and the two sides battling to a 26-26 draw in Week 3.
The Stampeders are facing a familiar foe as longtime Stamps’ quarterback turned Redblacks pivot Henry Burris will be handling the snaps for Ottawa. On the other side of the ball, Calgary will counter with Bo Levi Mitchell, the CFL’s 2016 Most Outstanding Player.
Mitchell was one of five Stamps to be honoured at Thursday night’s CFL Awards ceremony. Jerome Messam (Most Outstanding Canadian), Derek Dennis (Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman), DaVaris Daniels (Most Outstanding Rookie) and head coach Dave Dickenson (AGF CFL Coach of the Year) took home hardware.
The Redblacks drew first blood as Burris plunged into the endzone from 1 yard out in the first quarter to give his team an early 7-0 lead.
The teams exchanged scoreless drives in the second quarter but a botched punt return by Stampeder Roy Finch gave the Redblacks the ball on the Stamps side of midfield. Ottawa would capitalize, finishing a 46 yard drive with a 6 yard touchdown pass to Patrick Lavoie. Ottawa leads 17-7 with 6:23 remaining in the half
The Stamps responded on the following drive culminating with a 13 yard pass from Bo Levi Mitchell to Jerome Messam for the major. The Paredes convert evened the score at 7-7 with just over six minutes remaining in the opening quarter.
A 37 yard field goal off the foot of Ray Early gave the Redblacks their second lead of the first quarter. Ottawa up 10-7.
The Stampeders have announced they will be without receiver Marquay McDaniel for the remainder of the game after the veteran suffered a shoulder injury.
A botched punt return by Stampeder Roy Finch gave Ottawa the ball on the Stampeders side of midfield. The 46 yard drive culminated in a 6 yard touchdown pass to Patrick Lavoie. Ottawa found themselves up by a score of 17-7.
Bo Levi Mitchell threw two uncharacteristic interceptions that sandwiched a Redblacks fumble recovered by linebacker Alex Singleton. The teams' three combined turnovers in quick succession slowed the games' scoring.
A late 29 yard field goal by Early with no time remaining on the clock gave Ottawa a 20-7 lead at the half.
Ottawa opened the second half with a solid drive that finished with a touchdown pass involving two former Stampeders. The Burris to Sinopoli connection for the major had the Redblacks up 27-7 with just over 11:00 minutes remaining in the third quarter.
A Paredes field goal cut into the lead and the Redblacks enjoyed a 27-10 margin.
