By Max Campbell
Stampeders.com

The Calgary Stampeders suffered defeat at the hands of the Montreal Alouettes from Percival Molson Stadium by a final score of 31-15 in a Sunday matinee affair. QB Drew Tate, at the helm in place of Bo Levi Mitchell, suffered his first loss at a starter in his CFL career. The defeat dropped the Horsemen to a record of 10-2 and halted a six-game winning streak, having not come up short since August 1 versus the Lions.

“We didn’t play good enough football to beat a team like Montreal today,” said Stamps head coach and general manager John Hufnagel. “They played better than us for the four quarters. We had a chance at the beginning of the game where we had excellent field position, a short-yardage situation that we couldn’t convert.

“I thought we had a chance when we scored at the end of the first half and then came back out and scored on the first drive but all-in-all not enough good football to win the football game.”

After the Stampeder offence managed only one first down following WR Sederrik Cunningham’s 21-yard return of the game’s opening kickoff, the defence forced a two-and-out in an instant as QB Jonathan Crompton was sacked by LB Deron Mayo. The takedown was the first of the year for the Hampton, VA native.

When QB Drew Tate returned to the field – making his first start of the season  – the former Iowa pivot was unable to convert on second-and-inches. An offside penalty negated a one-yard plunge from Hawaii native QB Bryant Moniz that otherwise would have moved the chains for the Red and White, and instead P Rob Maver came on to punt the ball back to Montreal as the score remain deadlocked at zero.

An acrobatic pass breakup by journeyman CB Geoff Tisdale intended for WR Anthony Parker forced Maver into action yet again, which was already his fourth punt of the contest and the seventh overall between the two teams after only one quarter of play.

Crompton then hooked up with top target WR Duron Carter for a gain of 22 yards who was wrestled out of bounds by DB Quincy Butler, and a subsequent quarterback sneak two plays later by second string QB Tanner Marsh put the Als on the board. 

On the Alouettes’ next possession, a screen pass to WR James Rodgers went for 14 yards as the Oregon State alum evaded a trio of would-be tacklers before stepping out of bounds. P/K Sean Whyte then punted into the end zone, forcing the Stamps to concede a rouge and thus increase their deficit to eight points. However, Maver responded in similar fashion, as Calgary quickly trimmed the lead back to a converted touchdown with the offence’s struggles continuing midway through the second frame.

Looking to build on their seven-point advantage, Crompton would scramble to his right and lob a pass over the heads of two defenders in the Stampeder secondary and into the waiting arms of Rodgers, despite Crompton receiving a thunderous blow from DL Freddie Bishop III upon releasing the ball.  

The Als scored their second major, this time through the air, courtesy of RB Tyrell Sutton to polish off a seven-play, 75-yard drive and go ahead 15-1. 

After Tate connected with wideout Maurice Price on a crossing route in the red zone, Calgary was finally able to find pay dirt. RB Matt Walter could not quite push the pile over goal line, but on the next play a Drew Tate pump fake enabled the veteran QB to head for the pilon scamper in untouched with only seconds remaining before the break.  

To open the third quarter, a costly roughing the passer call on DE Jon Bowman set up a deep corner route to Price that went for 39 yards, and a quarterback draw on the following play tied the game at 15 apiece. As LB Bear Woods vacated his spot in the middle to prevent the threat of a swing pass out to Walter, Tate went up the middle for not only a six-yard touchdown, but his sixth rushing score of 2014.

On the next offensive series Walter bursted across the line of scrimmage for a pickup of 18 yards, his longest run of the season through 11 weeks, however no points were earned on the drive.

Montreal reclaimed their lead with a successful field goal of 18 yards with 52 seconds left before the start of the final quarter. The attempt marked the first of the game for either squad.

The home team capitalized on the next possession as well, with a 10-yard strike to Carter on a quick slant pattern. The Alouettes first found themselves within striking distance thanks to a run of 20 yards by RB Brandon Whitaker before a LB Juwan Simpson pursuit from behind brought the ball carrier.

With Tate looking to immediately respond, an inaccurate pass intended for WR Simon Charbonneau-Campeau was picked off by Tisdale, marking the first turnover on Sunday. Tate’s first interception in nearly 15 months led directly to three more points for the Als, this time from 34 yards out as Whyte split the uprights.

Despite gaining first down yardage, Walter coughed up the football with Calgary down 28-15 just prior to the three minute warning. Promptly pounced on by Alan-Michael Cash, the Als took over with Whyte soon knocking through a 27-yard field goal to go up by 16 points.

Tate was first sacked and then committed a fumble on back-to-back plays, all but guaranteeing the Stamps’ first first road loss of the year and denying their bid to sweep all East Division competition this season.

Walter, starting in place of star RB Jon Cornish, finished with 13 carries for 88 yards.

Next up for Stampeders is a home date with the 7-5 BC Lions on Saturday, September 27. Catch the kickoff live at 7:30MT on TSN.