By Geoff Crane
Stampeders.com

Down 32-10 in the third quarter of the Stampeders’ slugfest against the Toronto Argonauts, it seemed nothing short of divine intervention would allow the Red and White to come back and win the game.

But as luck would have it, Saturday night’s game was Faith and Family Night, and there must have been more than a few prayers answered from the crowd of 28,607 red-clad fans.

In thrilling fashion, Calgary staged a comeback of biblical proportions, outscoring Toronto 30-1 in the final two frames securing the win. The rally tied the largest comeback win in Stampeders history, matching a comeback by the 1987 troop against Ottawa.

“That’s why I say ‘God is good,’ ” an emotional Keon Raymond told reporters. “I know there was a lot of church family that came out tonight and for us to sit in the midst of adversity and to continue to have that faith and belief and trust in each and every one of these brothers that we were going to come out, play hard and let the chips fall where they may.”

Barely able to finish the sentence, Raymond basked in the relief that came from never giving up when the going got tough. One of Raymond’s defensive companions echoed his faith in being able to orchestrate the thrilling comeback win.

The win came at a high cost as the hometown heroes saw five players go down to injury including quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell. But others stepped up and kept the team rolling on both sides of the ball.

“We’re going to keep those guys in our prayers,” says Keon. “But we have guys who can step up. I want to commend Drew (Tate) for coming in and taking the reins of this thing.”

Tate came in when Mitchell was hurt and helped orchestrate two winning touchdowns in the waning minutes of the fourth quarter to secure the win.

Down 19 points at halftime and having been surgically picked a part in the first half by old nemesis Ricky Ray, the Stamps knew it was going to take a lot of hard work and perhaps a little faith to turn things around.

Raymond spoke of the leadership displayed by defensive coordinator Rich Stubler and defensive captain Juwan Simpson in those few minutes between halves.

“Juwan came in and, let me tell you, there is a reason why he is our defensive captain,” says Raymond of the energetic middle linebacker. “He came up and he smiled at us and said, ‘When you get hit in the mouth, you don’t lay down — you fight back, you come up swinging hard and you give it everything you’ve got.’

“We left this locker room as family, as brothers, and when we came out of that locker room, we were not accepting defeat.”

As Raymond prepared to meet with a post-game group as part of Faith and Family Night event, he remarked: “I’ve got a message for them, I tell you what.”