THE CANADIAN PRESS
THE CANADIAN PRESS
Stampeders kicker Sandro DeAngelis kicked five field goals as the Calgary Stampeders held on to edge the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 15-14 in CFL action Saturday night.
The narrow victory helped the Stampeders (8-5) avenge a 24-17 loss to the Ticats at Ivor Wynne Stadium in Hamilton two weeks earlier.
Quarterback Quinton Porter ran for a seven-yard touchdown for the Ticats (6-7), while Nick Setta kicked a field goal and four singles.
DeAngelis started things off for the Stamps in the first quarter by kicking a 37-yard field goal before Setta responded with a 34-yarder to tie the score.
While the Calgary offence failed to get in a rhythm in the first quarter, the defence did its job by forcing a pair of fumbles to give the Stamps good field position.
After Malik Jackson forced Porter to fumble at midfield, Keon Raymond picked up the loose ball and ran it back into Hamilton territory. Five plays later, DeAngelis attempted a 37-yard field goal but the ball deflected back into the play of field off the right upright to keep the score tied.
On the second play of Hamilton’s ensuing drive, Tom Johnson stripped the ball from Hamilton receiver Airese Currie and this time John Eubanks picked up the fumble and returned it 19 yards to the Ticat 29-yard line. After the Calgary offence went two-and-out, DeAngelis kicked a 30-yard field goal to give the Stamps a 6-3 lead.
Near the end of the first quarter, Calgary cornerback Brandon Browner picked off an errant pass by Porter in the end zone to thwart another Hamilton drive.
Early in the second quarter, Hamilton jumped out to 10-6 lead when Porter ran for a seven-yard TD to cap off an eight-play, 55-yard drive.
On the ensuing kickoff, Demetris Summers broke off a 56-yard return to give Calgary great field position before Hamilton got the ball right back when Geoff Tisdale picked off a long pass by Calgary quarterback Henry Burris intended for Jeremaine Copeland.
Four plays later, the Ticats had to settle for a single when Setta missed a 35-yard field goal.
Before the end of the half, DeAngelis kicked a 27-yard field goal to pull the Stamps within two points. The Calgary kicker then accounted for all six points in the third quarter by booting field goals from 35 and 29 yards out to put the Stamps up 15-11.
In the fourth quarter, the sloppy play on both sides continued as neither team could sustain any sort of offensive pressure.
With three straight singles, Setta managed to pull the Ticats within one point. The Hamilton kicker had to settle for one point after missing a 46-yard field goal before booting punt singles of 70 and 57 yards.
Late in the game, Calgary defensive back Keon Raymond sacked Porter for a loss of 13 yards and then tackled receiver Dave Stala a few yards shy of a first down to preserve the victory for the Stamps.
Notes: Calgary has won five straight at home against Hamilton and outscored them 155-78 during that span. a The Stamps have an all-time record of 48-19 against the Ticats, including a 29-9 mark at McMahon Stadium. a Stampeder receiver Nik Lewis now has at least one reception in all 100 CFL games he has played.
