HAMILTON – Good Levi Mitchell wanted to praise his Calgary Stampeders teammates after his team overcame a 24-point lead to defeat the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in overtime on Saturday.
The Stampeders (2-0) were behind 24-0 at the end of the first half before heading into a 33-30 win over the Ticats (0-2) in their first game in home to 22,711 Tim Hortons Field fans.
“I know a lot of people will talk about our offense and I will change things,” said Mitchell, who completed 28 of 42 for 313 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.
“But the defense increased. We had an interception to win the game, a quarterback’s shot for a touchdown and Rene, that guy doesn’t have enough credit. He’s the best kicker in the game.”
Paredes made a perfect 4-of-4, including a 39-yard field goal that tied the game when regulation time expired and a 35-yard game in Calgary’s offensive possession to start overtime.
Calgary linebacker Jameer Thurman picked Hamilton quarterback Dane Evans on the Calgary 17-yard line to end the game. Stampeders safety Titus Wall also had an interception in the third quarter and stripped Evans in a quarterback wash in the fourth quarter.
Wall scored a 45-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 30-30 with 4:12 to go.
“We kept preaching resilience and doing a play at the right time,” Wall said.
“Everyone showed up at the right time,” Mitchell added. “Being in that position was crap, and a good team shouldn’t be in that position. But all the guys took a step back and made the plays. “
Evans didn’t want to make a fuss at the third and inch disasters, but he thought he should have whistled before Wall made his big play.
“I’ve done it a million times, and that play was over,” Evans said. “Each of them, always. As soon as the quarterback gets the first one, it’s over. They never let it go. That’s what it is. It was definitely a big turning point. That was probably the change. of greater momentum “.
Evans vowed to be better after the Ticats’ fourth-quarter collapse in their first game of the season in Regina against the Saskatchewan Roughriders last week. That seemed to be the case in the first half, playing behind a renewed offensive line.
He threw three touchdowns in the first two quarters and finished with 425 throw yards, completing 36 of 51.
But the Ticats were far behind in the fourth quarter for the second game in a row. The Roughriders put up an 18-7 rally last week and the Stampeders outscored Hamilton by a margin of 23-6 in the fourth quarter and overtime on Saturday.
“It’s disappointing,” said Ticats head coach Orlondo Steinauer. “It’s going to sting, and it should. We didn’t finish. We had chances and we didn’t.”
Wall eliminated Evans in the end zone early in the third quarter. In Hamilton’s next possession, they stopped the third in the nine-yard line from Calgary when Thurman stopped a Matt Shiltz quarterback.
The Stampeders lost runners Charlie Power and Peyton Logan to injuries on that outing.
After Evans’ first-half touchdown passes to Sean Thomas Erlington, Steven Dunbar and Tim White, Mitchell pushed his receiving body into the locker room to talk about a comeback.
The offer stalled early in the third quarter when Ticats defender Javon Santos-Knox intercepted Mitchell.
“I set myself on fire after the selection,” said Mitchell, who threw touchdowns to Reggie Begelton and Luther Hakunavanhu in the third quarter.
Hamilton kicker Michael Domagala scored 21, 18 and 39-yard field goals in his three attempts.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on June 18, 2022