By Max Campbell
Stampeders.com

The Calgary Stampeders claimed win No. 12 of the year on Saturday afternoon as they beat the Toronto Argonauts at Hamilton’s Tim Hortons Field.

The 27-13 triumph earned Stamps head coach and general manager John Hufnagel his 100th victory in just his 142nd game since first patrolling the Stamps sideline back in 2008.

“It was very nice for the players to think about it and award me the (game) ball,” said Hufnagel. “A lot of people are responsible for this besides myself, but it was a good win tonight, a win that we desperately needed. Now the players can go on a week’s break and hopefully keep in the gym a little bit, but heal up a little bit also.”

A Rob Maver punt single opened the scoring early in the first quarter before Brandon Smith prevented the Argos from converting on their opening drive. The Oakland, Calif., native intercepted a pass intended for Brandon Whitaker and returned the ball down the sideline to deep inside Argos territory.

The first play after the turnover saw Marquay McDaniel score his fourth touchdown of the season from five yards out. Electing to attempt a two-point conversion after the major, Bo Levi Mitchell handed off to Matt Walter, but the running back – starting in place of the injured Jon Cornish – was stopped just short of the goal line.

Picking up 22 yards on a reception out of the backfield three minutes later was Tory Harrison, which was followed by a 28-yard sliding snag from McDaniel. Third-string quarterback Bryant Moniz would then follow the right side of his offensive line on third-and-goal from the one-yard line as the Stamps marched out to a 14-0 lead.

With just over 10 minutes remaining before halftime, Rene Paredes made a 38-yard field goal into the wind for a three-score advantage.

Toronto’s Trevor Harris managed a mere 66 passing yards in the opening 30 minutes while only 10 yards were gained along the ground by Brandon Whitaker.

With return specialist Tim Brown suffering an injury in the opening half, Anthony Parker awaited Justin Palardy’s punt in the opening stages of the third, but the fifth-year receiver was unable to possess the ball.

The Argonauts capitalized off the turnover when a stumbling Tori Gurley came down with an acrobatic seven-yard catch in the back corner of the end zone.

A trio of Stamps defenders teamed up for their own change of possession soon thereafter, as Micah Johnson deflected a Harris toss that was picked off by Glenn Love. The former UCLA linebacker then lateralled the ball back to Joshua Bell who stepped out of bounds at the Stampeders 38-yard line.

Eric Rogers, currently the CFL’s leading receiver, located a bust in coverage two plays later and galloped for 49 yards. Paredes would trot on to conclude the series with an attempt of 23 yards, which spilt the uprights to lead by 13 points.

To begin the fourth, Palardy booted a 27-yard field goal after eight offensive plays took 2:11 off the clock.

Performing a superb juke move and dive to the pilon, Harrison found pay dirt with under nine minutes left in the contest on a touchdown pass from Mitchell of 14 yards. As a result, Calgary went up 27-10.

Palardy would knock through one last three-point kick from 32 yards out, and Smith recorded his second interception of the day in the final minute of action. The 27-15 final score was settled once Joe West conceded a safety.

“We wanted to make sure that we scored points fast because (the Argos) usually do,” Hufnagel said. “I thought our defence had another strong game. I wanted more in the third quarter, but that didn’t happen. But we put them away in the fourth quarter.”

The Stampeders will now enjoy their final bye week of the season before hosting the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Oct. 31. Kickoff at McMahon Stadium is at 1 p.m.