The Calgary Stampeders overcame a 24-point first quarter deficit to beat the Alouettes 38-27 and set a new CFL record for the biggest comeback ever after one quarter to win. 

The old record was from 20 points down by the BC Lions in October 2004 over Montreal.

“I think the biggest thing was just the guys on the sidelines,” says quarterback Kevin Glenn. “When they went up 24-0, as football players we know it’s the first quarter, it’s a long game, we can’t start going crazy. We had to focus and play our game because it’s a long game and when you do that kind of stuff, you see what happens.”

The Stamps came back to score 35 unanswered points to move to 3-1 on the season and sweep the home-and-home series against the Alouettes.

The two teams met last weekend with the Stamps coming out victorious by a score of 22-14 after being down in the first quarter in Montreal. And the Stampeders players said all week leading up to tonight’s game that they wouldn’t be taking the Alouettes — who have just one win this season —lightly.

“I figured they were going to come out with some different things,” says defensive back Keon Raymond. “They said in the newspaper they had some plays they hadn’t run and they came out and made some plays early. You expect that — they’re a good team.

“But I think once we got in a groove, we made adjustments — that’s what the defence is about; we make adjustments . . . we came out and were flying around and we ended up making some great plays.”

After coming out flat in all three phases of the game, the offence, defence and special teams picked it up through the final three quarters.

Highlights of the comeback featured six-year veteran Tim St. Pierre’s first-ever CFL touchdown, a wild touchdown-saving punch-out by Fred Bennett on return man Noel Devine, and outstanding play by quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell who came into the season as the team’s third-stringer but was called into action in the third quarter when Glenn went down with an injury.

But the historical comeback made the loudest statement of the night.

“We have a team motto: Whatever it Takes,” says running back Jon Cornish. “And today we really showed that we’ve internalized that at this point.

“As a team, I think this is the best victory I’ve been a part of personally, outside the playoffs. And I think all the guys are just in here celebrating the fact that we’ve turned it around.  We knew we were down 24-0 but it didn’t really faze us.”