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By Stampeders.com staff
Calgary’s defence had another strong performance on Friday as the Stampeders held off the Hamilton Tiger-Cats for a 10-7 victory at McMahon Stadium.
The Stamps have allowed a total of just 30 points — and just one touchdown — in three games so far in 2014 and are 3-0 to start a season for the first time since 2000.
Friday’s game marked the lowest point total in a Calgary victory since the Stamps edged the Saskatchewan Roughriders 6-5 on Aug. 22, 1979.
“It was a hard-fought game,” said Stamps head coach and general manager John Hufnagel. “Both teams, I thought, played very physical. It was a close game and we managed to win it. I’m never disappointed when we win.”
“It wasn’t pretty, man, but a win is a win,” said Stamps quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell. “Tonight we had to lean on our defence — that’s what championship teams do.
That’s what we’re trying to accomplish.”
The Stamps held the winless Ticats (0-3) to 223 yards of net offence and forced three turnovers. Calgary got a key stop late in the contest when holder Luke Tasker couldn’t pin the ball properly on a potential game-tying field goal attempt.
The only touchdown of the game came in the second quarter when Bo Levi Mitchell handed the ball off to receiver Brad Sinopoli. On the play, Sinopoli — a converted quarterback — had the option of throwing but penetration by the Hamilton defence forced him to tuck the ball in and start running. He scampered 26 yards into the end-zone to give the Stamps a 7-4 lead.
The major was the first of Sinopoli’s CFL career.
“Yeah, that was something special,” said Hufnagel. “It was a play designed that he had a pass/run option but he never had a chance to look at throwing the ball before the other team got pressure. (He) made a fantastic move to get away from the first tackler and then juked the second tackler and got himself in the end zone. Fantastic.”
A 91-yard kickoff single and a 42-yard field goal by Justin Medlock had staked the visitors to a 4-0 lead after one quarter.
Medlock kicked a 29-yard field goal late in the third quarter to tie the game 7-7 and Rene Paredes kicked a game-winning 39-yard field goal with 6:44 left in the game.
Charleston Hughes, Micah Johnson and Shawn Lemon recorded sacks for the Stamps while Joshua Bell picked off a Jeremiah Masoli pass in the end-zone to extinguish a Ticats drive in the second quarter.
The 30 points is the lowest allowed by the Stamps through the first three games of a season since they yielded just nine points in Weeks 1-3 of the 1971 campaign
“Very stout right now,” said Hufnagel of his defensive unit. “They’re doing a lot of good things. They did an excellent job against the run. Again, they made the opposing quarterback nervous a lot. They’re playing well. They haven’t given up a big play over the top so I hope it continues.”
Friday’s result sets up a battle of undefeated Alberta teams Thursday in Edmonton as the 3-0 Stamps will face the 4-0 Eskimos.