The Calgary Stampeders’ late rally fell short Sunday in Regina as a 30-25 loss to the Saskatchewan Roughriders snapped the Red and White’s four-game winning streak.
The Stamps fall to 7-5 while the Roughriders even their record at 6-6.
The game turned in the third quarter as the Roughriders outscored the Stamps 17-3 to turn a 10-10 tie into a 27-13 Saskatchewan lead. Calgary mounted a comeback attempt, narrowing the deficit to three points thanks to Marquay McDaniel’s second touchdown of the game and a catch by Romby Bryant for the two-point convert. Calgary had the ball with one last chance to score a go-ahead touchdown but a desperation heave downfield by Bo Levi Mitchell was intercepted.
“We knew they would come out and give us their best shot, which they did,” says Stampeders head coach, John Hufnagel, “We hung in there, we still had a chance, we just came up short.”
Calgary had the early jump as Charleston Hughes forced a fumble on the very first offensive play of the game. The Stamps capitalized with a 33-yard field goal by Rene Paredes to take an 3-0 lead.
The Stamps thought they also recovered a fumble on the Riders’ second possession but they were denied by a video challenge. Saskatchewan wound up scoring a touchdown on one-yard Drew Willy run.
“I think anytime you throw a challenge flag, you’re surpised if it doesn’t go your way,” said Hufnagel.
Calgary regained the lead thanks to 10-yard touchdown catch by McDaniel before Sandro DeAngelis equalized with 38-yard field goal.
The Riders surged ahead in the third quarter with Darian Durant touchdown passes to Weston Dressler and Taj Smith. The other scoring in the period consisted of an exchange of field goals between Paredes and DeAngelis.
It was yet another milestone game for Stampeders slotback Nik Lewis, who had five catches on the day and moved past Rocky DiPietro into the top 10 all-time in CFL history for receptions.
Calgary host the Edmonton Eskimos in a key division game on Friday, Sept. 28. Kickoff is at 8 p.m.
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>> McDaniel back in the end-zone