Tommy Stevens Leads Calgary to Landslide Victory against the Roughriders
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By Doug Hirdle
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Stampeder Tommy Stevens led Calgary to a 36-10 win over the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Saturday in the regular-season final of the 2022 CFL season. As a commemorative token at the end of the game, teammate Bo Levi Mitchell handed Stevens the game ball.
The move was a touching tribute from Mitchell as he left the turf at McMahon Stadium for what most expect will be the last time. It was also a touching moment for Tommy Stevens, considering Mitchell has twice been the CFL’s Most Outstanding and the Stampeder’s all-time leading passer.
Mitchell, who is in the final year of his contract, the next time Mitchell appears at McMahon Stadium, he likely will be wearing a different jersey after starter Jake Maier signed a two-year extension. At 32, the Texas native joined the field on Saturday with 2:28 remaining and didn’t throw a short drive pass that ended in a field goal.
The crowd at McMahon rose to give the future Hall of Famer a standing ovation as he headed to the sidelines, and again, his teammates surrounded him in a victory formation.
“It was awesome to have that moment with the fans and my teammates,” Mitchell said. “I’ve loved every second I’ve been here and hopefully we can bring a Grey Cup back to the city before I leave.”
The Stampeders, who finished the season 12-6 and in third place, will next head to B.C to play the B.C. Lions on the 6th of November. With the winning team advancing to the West Division final to face the Blue Bombers, bettors are primed with CFL sports betting promotions.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders, who finished 6-12 and in fourth place, failed to advance to the playoffs for 2016, an especially tough ending to the season considering this year’s Grey Cup is scheduled for the 20th of November at Regina’s Mosaic Stadium.
Stevens, who is ending his contract with the Stampeders, rushed 163 years and was 17 yards short of matching Nealon Greene’s rushing record set in 1999. He also scored the longest rushing touchdowns in the CFL this season, rushing for 85 yards and topped that with a Jalen Philpot touchdown pass in the fourth quarter
“Bo’s been great to me since the day I got in Calgary,” Stevens said. “He’s special. You can tell what he means to this community, what he means to this league. I’m glad I’ve been able to spend some time with him, learn from him.”
During Saturday’s game., the Stampeders racked up 310 rushing yards compared to the Roughriders’s 80. Dedrick Mills was responsible for a touchdown and 125 of the 310, Reggie Begelton scored a touchdown, and QB Jake Maier added 105 wards in his 13 of 16 attempts.
With 25,179 in attendance at McMahon Stadium, Tommy Stevens was 4-for 5 in passing in the second quarter, Rene Paredes kicked three field goals, while Saskatchewan’s Brett Lauther nailed a 33-yard field goal, Jamal Morrow scored a rushing touchdown, and QB Mason Fine, who stepped for Cody Fajardo, played his second career CFL start and was 21-of-32.
“We feel like we should be playing still,” said Saskatchewan head coach Craig Dickenson. “We’re six and 12. We weren’t good enough near the end. We needed to play a lot better, we needed to coach a lot better and we needed to do a lot of things better.”
Stevens also lined up a first quarter short yardage gain before taking off to the end zone and scoring his ninth rushing touchdown.
“He’s kind of big,” noted Saskatchewan linebacker Jameer Thurman. “When he gets rolling, he’s hard to stop.”
Another pivotal first quarter moment saw Calgary’s Cody Grace regaining control over his own punt after dislocating his pinky finger at the Roughrider’s 15-yard line. However, the Stampeders made the best of it after Maier’s touchdown pass to Begelton.
“I thought it was really a good job of our guys not touching the ball,” said Stampeder head coach Dave Dickenson, who is Craig’s younger brother. We went over that scenario and for them to execute that in a live game and for Cody to get there was impressive. We needed that. We were kind of treading water there.”
While Calgary running back Ka’Deem Carey didn’t play on Saturday, he ended the regular season with 1,088 yards this season and the CFL’s rushing title, while for the second year in a row, teammate Rene Paredes led the league with 211 points. The accomplishment made him the sixth player in the history of the CFL to record 200+ point seasons.
