The Calgary Stampeders (4-4) hosted the Toronto Argonauts (4-4) on Sunday night from McMahon Stadium to close out Week 9. This game was a tale of two halves. What looked like a blowout game in the first half turned into a slugfest in the second half.
First Quarter:
On the opening kickoff of the first quarter, Toronto kicker Lirim Hajrullahu kicked the ball 100 yards into the endzone as the ball bounced out of bounds for a single point. It was 1-0 Toronto with 14:59 left.
Calgary’s offense moved the ball down to Toronto’s 33-yard line. On the next play, quarterback Jake Maier completed a pass to Reggie Begelton for 23 yards. Toronto defensive back Royce Metchie punched the ball out of Begelton’s arm just before his right knee went down and it was recovered by Benjie Franklin.
The refs originally ruled that Begelton was down by contact but Toronto head coach Ryan Dinwiddie challenged the play for a fumble and won. For the majority of the first quarter, both defenses did give up a chunk of yards but managed to stop the offenses forcing them to punt the ball.
As the first quarter was nearing an end, Toronto quarterback Cameron Dukes led the team to an eight-play drive for 78 yards. On first down from the Stampeders’ four-yard line, Dukes avoided getting sacked by Calgary linebacker Cameron Judge and scored a four-yard touchdown. The Argos led the Stampeders 8-0 with 33 seconds left.
On the final play of the first quarter, Calgary quarterback Jake Maier completed a 10-yard pass to Reggie Begelton on their 32-yard line. The Stampeders trailed the Argonauts 8-0.
Toronto had 94 yards on offense (66 yards passing, 31 yards rushing, 3 yards lost). Quarterback Cameron Dukes completed 4 of 5 passes for 64 yards, three carries for 19 yards, and one touchdown. Calgary had 72 yards on offense (64 yards passing, 8 yards rushing). Quarterback Jake Maier completed 5 of 8 passes for 64 yards.
Second Quarter:
In the second quarter, Calgary’s offense went on a three-play drive for 22 yards resulting in kicker Rene Paredes making a 51-yard field goal. The Stampeders trailed the Argonauts 8-3 with 10:30 left. Calgary’s defensive lineman Mike Rose sacked Toronto quarterback Cameron Dukes for a five-yard loss forcing the Argonauts to punt the ball.
On the second play for Calgary, quarterback Jake Maier attempted to complete a pass to Clark Barnes but Royce Metchie read the play and made the interception. He returned the interception for 32 yards stepping out of bounds on the Stampeders’ 7-yard line.
Calgary’s defense was setup in zone coverage and Toronto quarterback Cameron Dukes recognized it. Dukes threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Richie Sindani extending the Argo’s lead 15-3 with 6:17 left of the second quarter.
Calgary’s offense managed to put together a seven-play drive for 32 yards and kicker Rene Paredes made a 43-yard field goal. The Stampeders trailed the Argonauts 15-6 with 2:16 left before halftime.
Toronto quarterback Cameron Dukes and running back Ka’Deem Carey led the Argo’s offense down to the Stampeders’ two-yard line. Ka’Deem Carey finished a nine-play 70-yard drive by scoring a two-yard touchdown for a 22-6 lead at halftime. The crowd at McMahon Stadium did not hold back booing the Stampeders for their performance.
First Half Stats:
Toronto had 179 yards on offense (111 yards passing, 77 yards rushing, 9 yards lost). Quarterback Cameron Dukes 10 of 11 passes (91%) for 111 yards, one touchdown, eight carries for 60 yards, and one touchdown. Running back Ka’Deem Carey had five carries for 17 yards and one touchdown.
Wide receiver Damonte Coxie made two catches for 53 yards, and David Ungerer III made three catches for 29 yards. Toronto were penalized five times for 30 yards.
Calgary had 142 yards on offense (94 yards passing, 48 yards rushing). Quarterback Jake Maier completed 9 of 16 passes (56.2%) for 94 yards, and one interception. Wide receiver Jalen Philpot led the rushers with one carry for 26 yards, and Peyton Logan had three carries for 10 yards and two catches for 12 yards.
Wide receiver Reggie Begelton made three catches for 56 yards, while Cam Echols made one catch for 10 yards. Calgary’s defense made three sacks in the first half. The Stampeders were penalized five times for 44 yards.
Third Quarter:
In the third quarter, it was all defense. Each defense made one sack but the difference was yards allowed. Toronto allowed 81 yards, while Calgary allowed 30 yards.
Late in the third quarter, Toronto quarterback Cameron Dukes completed a four-yard pass to Damonte Coxie but was short of the first down. Toronto punter John Haggerty punted the ball 88 yards into the endzone as Calgary returner Cam Echols watched the ball bounce out of bounds for a single point. Toronto led 23-6 with 2:27 left of the third quarter.
Calgary’s offense had the football for the final 2:27 left of the third quarter. On the final play, backup quarterback Tommy Stevens rushed for a gain of two yards on the Argo’s 15-yard line to start the fourth quarter. The Stampeders trailed the Argonauts 23-6.
Fourth Quarter:
In the fourth quarter, Calgary quarterback Jake Maier threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Marken Michel. The Stampeders trailed the Argonauts 23-13 with 14:05 left on a six-play drive for 70 yards. On the kickoff, Calgary kicker Rene Paredes kicked the ball 100 yards into the endzone as Toronto returner Janarion Grant watched the ball bounce out of bounds for a single point. Calgary now trailed the Argonauts 23-14 with 14:04 left in the game.
Calgary’s defense continued to put pressure on Toronto’s offense. On the second play, Calgary defensive lineman Clarence Hicks sacked Dukes for an 11-yard loss but an objectional conduct penalty on Calgary for 10 yards made it third and ten. Toronto punted the ball to Calgary.
Calgary quarterback Jake Maier threw two passes for 31 yards and wide receiver Jalen Philpot’s nine-yard run put the Stampeders on the Argo’s 40-yard line. On the next play, Jake Maier threw a 40-yard pass to Cam Echols, who had Tarvarus McFadden on him. Echols was aware that McFadden did not touch him and he got up before diving into the endzone for a touchdown.
The Stampeders trailed the Argonauts 23-21 with 10:23 left of the game on a four-play drive for 80 yards. The Argonauts had no answers at all in the second half. Toronto’s offense was able to move the ball down to their 54-yard line before punting the ball back to Calgary.
Calgary quarterback Jake Maier and the Stampeders’ offense put together a seven-play drive for 51 yards before kicker Rene Paredes made a 44-yard field goal putting them ahead 24-23 with 2:05 left in the game.
Toronto’s offense moved the ball to their 43-yard line. They faced third down but Dukes’s pass was batted down by Julian Howsare. Calgary running back Peyton Logan had two carries for five yards setting up kicker Rene Paredes to make a 49-yard field goal for a 27-23 lead with 39 seconds left.
Calgary’s defense put the game away when Toronto quarterback Cameron Dukes threw a pass to Damonte Coxie but the ball went off his hands and was intercepted by Demario Houston. A couple of kneel downs ended the game and the Stampeders completed the comeback beating the Toronto Argonauts 27-23. The Stampeders are now 4-0 at home this season.
Final Stats:
Calgary had 367 yards on offense (287 yards passing, 83 yards rushing, 3 yards lost). Quarterback Jake Maier completed 26 of 37 passes (70.2%) for 287 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. Running back Peyton Logan had 9 carries for 36 yards and four catches for 11 yards.
Wide receiver Reggie Begelton made 8 catches for 97 yards, while Cam Echols made two catches for 50 yards and one touchdown, and Marken Michel made four catches for 59 yards and one touchdown.
Kicker Rene Paredes made 4 of 4 field goals with a long of 51 yards. Calgary’s defense had a nice game making 42 tackles, six sacks, one interception, and seven tackles on special teams. Calgary was penalized 9 times for 89 yards.
Toronto had 269 yards on offense (177 yards passing, 126 yards rushing, 34 yards lost). Quarterback Cameron Dukes completed 18 of 26 passes (69.2%) for 177 yards, one touchdown, one interception, 12 carries for 95 yards, and one touchdown. Running back Ka’Deem Carey had 8 carries for 31 yards, one touchdown, and three catches for 20 yards.
Wide receiver Damonte Coxie made four catches for 61 yards, and Richie Sindani made two catches for 34 yards and one touchdown. Toronto’s defense made 44 tackles, two tackles for loss, one interception, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, and 10 tackles on special teams. They were penalized 9 times for 87 yards.
Final Thoughts:
Calgary did a good job establishing a comeback when it looked like they were headed for a blowout loss. Down 22-6, the Stampeders outscored the Argonauts 21-1 shutting them out in the fourth quarter. Quarterback Jake Maier had a bad start to this game but managed to battle back throwing two touchdown passes.
The credit should go to Calgary’s defense for stepping up to make big plays and keeping Toronto away from their zone. They put pressure on Cameron Dukes throughout the game and the secondary did a good job shutting out the receivers not allowing Dukes to do too much after completing 10 of 11 passes in the first half.
On the other side, you can look at this as a choke job by the Toronto Argonauts. Cameron Dukes was not bad in the first half reading the defense but in the second half showed a lack of discipline. I get that Calgary’s defense pressured him and he needed to make quick decisions. However, he was forcing throws that did not need to be made and was getting himself into situations that were hurting the team’s performance.
While he is a good runner, he needs to learn to stay calm inside the pocket and let the plays develop. He needs to make smart decisions with the football and he will be alright. His receivers also have to learn to come back for the football when he is in trouble and not leave Dukes all by himself to make the plays. At this time, I think the Argonauts should let Bryan Scott play quarterback. It can’t hurt at this point in the season and the team needs a spark right now.
The play calling by the Argonauts was not great in the second half. They were making mistakes on both sides of the ball allowing Calgary to get back into the game. One noticeable difference in the second half was abandoning the running game.
They had 29 yards rushing in the second half versus 126 yards in the first half. If they had stayed with the running game to keep, Toronto would’ve won. Instead, they are now 4-4 sitting in third place in the Eastern Division behind Montreal and Ottawa.
Next Friday, the two teams will meet again in a rematch from BMO Field at 7:30 pm on TSN and CFL+. Subscribe to Fubo to watch all of the 2024 CFL Season. Purchase CFL tickets today on StubHub and Viagogo.
