By Stampeders.com Staff
Here’s a closer look at Friday’s 23-20 road win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats:
Third step: Home playoff game
For a third consecutive week, the Stamps have made progress towards their finishing position in the West Division.
With their Week 15 victory in Hamilton, the Red and White assured themselves of no worse than second place in the West which means post-season football will be played at McMahon Stadium for the seventh time in eight seasons under head coach and general manager John Hufnagel.
The Montreal Alouettes are the only other team who had six home playoff dates since 2008 heading into the current season while Hamilton and Saskatchewan were tied for third place with four home playoff games apiece during that period.
The only year the Stamps didn’t have a home playoff game under Huff’s watch was in 2011, when Calgary was one of three West Division teams with a CFL-best 11-7 record but was relegated to third place because of the tie-breaker rules.
Catching Cal
In an 11-season CFL head-coaching career that was spread out over three teams and a quarter-century, Cal Murphy won 99 regular-season contests.
For 34 of those victories with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers from 1984-86, one of his players was a quarterback named John Hufnagel.
On Friday, Huff matched his former boss’ career win total. Remarkably, Hufnagel reached the milestone — which ties him with Murphy for 10th place on the CFL’s all-time coaching list — in 42 fewer games.
In listing the men who have influenced his coaching career, Hufnagel quickly comes to Murphy’s name.
“He was a tremendous football coach,” Hufnagel told the media at last year’s Greyp Cup coaches’ press conference. “I really respected how he handled the day-to-day functions of the team and also how he handled the players.”
Those are the two attributes most often credited to Hufnagel by those who have worked for him over years.
Finding a way
Friday’s game marked the sixth time this season the Stamps have won a game by three points of fewer.
The Stamps have also made a habit of winning the close calls against the Ticats as six of their eight most recent wins over Hamilton — including the 2014 Grey Cup — have come by less than a touchdown and both of this year’s victories over the Tabbies came on last-second field goals by Rene Paredes.
Calgary has swept the season series against Hamilton four years in a row with the last Tiger-Cats victory coming on Sept. 25, 2011, during the Touchdown Atlantic contest in Moncton, N.B.
In case you missed it . . .
Here is more coverage from Friday’s game:
>> Game story
>> Home playoff date secured
>> Stamps TV: Recap
>> Paredes comes through in the clutch
>> Stats
>> Photo gallery
