David Moll
The final chapters of two of the most epic stories in Calgary Stampeders history were written in 2015.
John Hufnagel will remain an integral part of the Stamps organization as the club’s general manager, but the 2015 campaign marked his eighth and final season as head coach.
The Stamps won 102 regular-season games and two Grey Cup titles with Coach Huff on the sidelines. Calgary had eight consecutive winning seasons during Hufnagel’s reign and never once had a three-game losing streak.
During the 2015 season, Hufnagel won 14 regular-season contests and passed his former Winnipeg Blue Bombers coach Cal Murphy while moving into the CFL’s top 10 all-time in victories.
The past season also marked the last time Jon Cornish set foot on the field as an active player. The three-time CFL rushing champion announced his retirement after an injury-shortened season.
No. 9 winds up fourth on the Stamps’ all-time rushing list despite making just 60 career regular-season starts.
There were also some notable moments during the Stamps’ season that didn’t involve the end of an era.
In the very first game of the season, Jeff Fuller made a couple of dandy grabs in the Stamps’ meeting with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
Near the midway point of the fourth quarter, the Stampeders receiver’s eyes locked in on a deep throw by Bo Levi Mitchell and, despite close coverage by a pair of Ticats, hauled in the pass.
Ed Gainey, the Hamilton defender assigned with primary coverage, was with Fuller step for step. Courtney Stephen, coming from the middle of the field to provide assistance to Gainey, closed ground in a hurry but Fuller had eyes only for the football. He lunged, stretched out his arms, caught the end of the football and somehow managed to hang on despite Gainey’s swipe at his arms and a hard landing on the McMahon Stadium turf.
That was a career-long 48-yarder in the books for the third-year Stamp out of Texas A&M, but it wasn’t his most notable reception of the night. That honour went to a play in the final minute of the contest. With just 24 seconds left on the clock, the Stamps down by two points and facing a do-or-die third-and-18, Mitchell looked for Fuller again. This time, Fuller is on the left sidelines and Gainey is once again close enough to touch the rangy Stamps receiver as he tracked the pass. The Stamp, the Ticat and the football all converge and an intent Fuller somehow manages to snag the pass and get his feet inbounds.
A couple of plays later, Rene Paredes kicked the game-winning field goal.
Before Fuller and Paredes played their key roles in the season-opening win, Keon Raymond set the stage with a tide-turning pick-six. Raymond intercepted a Zach Collaros pass, picked himself off the ground and ran 97 yards for the major. It was the veteran’s fifth career pick-six.
Raymond added another in the playoffs as he tipped a Jonathon Jennings pass to himself in the Stamps’ Western Semi-Final win over the BC Lions.
Back to the offensive side of things, another memorable catch came during the Stamps’ visit to Regina. On the final play of the first half, the Stamps debated between kneeling down and killing the clock or making a desperation heave into the end zone. The Calgary coaches decided to go for it and the result was a spectacular touchdown catch by Eric Rogers who, with four Roughriders hovering near him, rose up to haul in the pass.
>> See Rogers’ Hail Mary catch
If Paredes’ game-winning field goal in the season-opener wasn’t enough, the veteran kicker did it to the Ticats again in the rematch at Hamilton’s Tim Hortons Field. In fact, Paredes kicked two field goals in the final minute — including a 37-yarder on the final play of the game — to give Calgary a 23-20 comeback victory.
Speaking of comebacks, the Stamps did some effective rallying in 2015.
On July 18 at McMahon Stadium, the Stamps spotted the visiting Blue Bombers a 16-0 lead before roaring back for a 26-25 victory.
That man, Paredes, was the hero again as he booted the game-winning field goal with 2:14 left in the game.
First-quarter woes dogged the Stamps again two weeks later as Montreal ripped off to a 17-0 lead after 15 minutes but Calgary outscored the Alouettes 25-5 the rest of the way for another dramatic victory.
In the non-human division, the highlight moment of the Stamps season may have been the performance of the McMahon Jackrabbit at the Labour Day Classic. The big-eared invader wowed the live crowd and TV audience with a pair of spectacular dashes on the field.
While the Stamps kickoff cover team brought down Eskimos returner Kendial Lawrence, the rabbit continued his race to the end zone, punctuating the run with a spectacular celebration.