CALGARY — The Calgary Stampeders saved their best for the fourth quarter as they pulled off a 13-12 come-from-behind win over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Saturday.
Rene Paredes kicked a 27-yard field goal, his second of the game, as time expired to give the Stampeders (8-6) their third straight win to end the regular season.
“I’ll take the win,” said Calgary coach Dave Dickenson, who wasn’t “super happy” with how his team played for the first three-and-a-half quarters of the game. “To me it’s about the fourth quarter.
“Listen, did we play well? Probably not — not well enough to win — but in the CFL if you keep believing, you keep working, you keep giving yourselves a chance and make plays in the fourth quarter, sometimes you can pull those games out.”
Quarterback Jack Maier threw a 57-yard touchdown pass to Luther Hakunavanhu at 13:17 of the fourth quarter to set up the heroics by Paredes, who also kicked a 32-yard field goal with 4:53 to play to start the rally.
“For whatever reason, towards the end of the game we started executing the plan,” said Maier, who completed 10-of-20 passes for 177 yards to go with his one TD pass and one interception. “That’s just football. It comes down to a few plays a game that can determine the outcome.
“That’s why you never give up in football. You just keep playing. We feel pretty good about walking out of our last regular season game here with a W.”
Bo Levi Mitchell started at quarterback for the Stamps and went 7 for 11 for just 39 yards before being relieved by Maier in the second half.
Sergio Castillo kicked four field goals to give the Blue Bombers (11-3) a 12-0 lead at 8:24 of the fourth quarter before the Stamps rallied for the win.
“Our record doesn’t matter now,” said Winnipeg coach Mike O’Shea, whose team had clinched top spot in the West Division before losing their final two games of the regular season. “Nothing matters right now. We’ll watch the film, make corrections we need to make.
“There are reasons why we win or lose, like I always say. And after we get done those corrections, it doesn’t matter what our record is. We’ve got one game to play and we’ve got two weeks to prepare for it. None of that stuff matters now.”
Zach Collaros started the game at quarterback for the Bombers and completed 7-of-10 passes for 73 yards in the first half before rookie Dru Brown came into the game to replace him. Brown went 7 for 14 for 49 yards, while also carrying the ball seven times for 44 yards.
“Every time you play a game you want to win the game,” said Collaros following the loss. “It’s not a good feeling, but you’ve got to move on from it, learn from it and get ready for our next opponent here.
“We have to learn from this, become better as teammates – all those things throughout this bye week.”
The Stamps will now head to Regina for the West semifinal on Nov. 28 against the Saskatchewan Roughriders (9-5). The victor will then travel to Winnipeg to play the Bombers a week later for the right to play in the Grey Cup on Dec. 12 in Hamilton.
After a slow start for both teams, Winnipeg had a great chance to open the scoring mid-way through the first quarter when Collaros drove the Bombers down to Calgary’s three-yard line.
Making his CFL debut for the Bombers, Brown came into the game and executed a one-yard quarterback sneak to perfection to give Winnipeg a first down with just two yards to go to get into the end zone.
On the next play, Brown dropped back and fumbled the ball after being pressured by Calgary’s Jameer Thurman. Fellow Stamps linebacker Javien Elliott picked up the ball and ran it back 23 yards, but Raheem Wilson was penalized on the play for an illegal block and Calgary had to settle for starting their drive on their own 36-yard line.
Calgary’s woes continued throughout the first half as the Stamps weren’t able to put any points on the board.
Meanwhile, the Bombers settled for a 15-yard field goal by Castillo at 10:32 of the second quarter.
The visitors had a chance to increase their lead to 6-0 as time ran out in the first half, but Castillo missed his 52-yard field goal attempt wide to the right.
The start of the second half was much of the same as both teams weren’t able to get much of anything going offensively.
In at quarterback to replace Mitchell, Maier completed a 17-yard pass to Markeith Ambles for the first first down of the second half for either team at the mid-way point of the third quarter.
HIs next pass was picked off by Winnipeg’s Mike Jones to give the Bombers the ball at the Calgary 40-yard line. Three plays later, Castillo kicked a 45-yard field goal to put Winnipeg up 6-0 at 9:25 of the third quarter.
Castillo then booted a 46-yard field goal at 4:26 of the fourth quarter and added another one from 50 yards out at 8:24.
Paredes started Calgary’s comeback with a 32-yard field goal at 10:07 before Hakunavanhu hauled in a long pass from Maier and ran 26 more yards into the end zone to pull the Stamps within two points.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 20, 2021.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Canada’s Gabriela Dabrowski and New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe remain undefeated in women’s doubles at the WTA Finals.
The 2023 U.S. Open champions, seeded second at the event, secured a 1-6, 7-6 (1), (11-9) super-tiebreak win over fourth-seeded Italians Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini in round-robin play on Tuesday.
The season-ending tournament features the WTA Tour’s top eight women’s doubles teams.
Dabrowski and Routliffe lost the first set in 22 minutes but levelled the match by breaking Errani’s serve three times in the second, including at 6-5. They clinched victory with Routliffe saving a match point on her serve and Dabrowski ending Errani’s final serve-and-volley attempt.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will next face fifth-seeded Americans Caroline Dolehide and Desirae Krawczyk on Thursday, where a win would secure a spot in the semifinals.
The final is scheduled for Saturday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Nov. 5, 2024.
EDMONTON – Jake Allen made 31 saves for his second shutout of the season and 26th of his career as the New Jersey Devils closed out their Western Canadian road trip with a 3-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Monday.
Jesper Bratt had a goal and an assist and Stefan Noesen and Timo Meier also scored for the Devils (8-5-2) who have won three of their last four on the heels on a four-game losing skid.
The Oilers (6-6-1) had their modest two-game winning streak snapped.
Calvin Pickard made 13 stops between the pipes for Edmonton.
TAKEAWAYS
Devils: In addition to his goal, Bratt picked up his 12th assist of the young season to give him nine points in his last eight games and now 15 points overall. Nico Hischier remains in the team lead, picking up an assist of his own to give him 16 points for the campaign. He has a point in all but four games this season.
Oilers: Forward Leon Draisaitl was held pointless after recording six points in his previous two games and nine points in his previous four. Draisaitl usually has strong showings against the Devils, coming into the contest with an eight-game point streak against New Jersey and 11 goals in 17 games.
KEY MOMENT
New Jersey took a 2-0 lead on the power play with 3:26 remaining in the second period as Hischier made a nice feed into the slot to Bratt, who wired his third of the season past Pickard.
KEY RETURN?
Oilers star forward and captain Connor McDavid took part in the optional morning skate for the Oilers, leading to hopes that he may be back sooner rather than later. McDavid has been expected to be out for two to three weeks with an ankle injury suffered during the first shift of last Monday’s loss in Columbus.
OILERS DEAL FOR D-MAN
The Oilers have acquired defenceman Ronnie Attard from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for defenceman Ben Gleason.
The 6-foot-3 Attard has spent the past three season in the Flyers organization seeing action in 29 career games. The 25-year-old right-shot defender and Western Michigan University grad was originally selected by Philadelphia in the third round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. Attard will report to the Oilers’ AHL affiliate in Bakersfield.
UP NEXT
Devils: Host the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.
Oilers: Host the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes threw for 291 yards and three touchdowns, and Kareem Hunt pounded into the end zone from two yards out in overtime to give the unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs a 30-24 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night.
DeAndre Hopkins had two touchdown receptions for the Chiefs (8-0), who drove through the rain for two fourth-quarter scores to take a 24-17 lead with 4:17 left. But then Kansas City watched as Baker Mayfield led the Bucs the other way in the final minute, hitting Ryan Miller in the end zone with 27 seconds to go in regulation time.
Tampa Bay (4-5) elected to kick the extra point and force overtime, rather than go for a two-point conversion and the win. And it cost the Buccaneers when Mayfield called tails and the coin flip was heads. Mahomes and the Chiefs took the ball, he was 5-for-5 passing on their drive in overtime, and Hunt finished his 106-yard rushing day with the deciding TD plunge.
Travis Kelce had 14 catches for 100 yards with girlfriend Taylor Swift watching from a suite, and Hopkins finished with eight catches for 86 yards as the Chiefs ran their winning streak to 14 dating to last season. They became the sixth Super Bowl champion to start 8-0 the following season.
Mayfield finished with 200 yards and two TDs passing for the Bucs, who have lost four of their last five.
It was a memorable first half for two players who had been waiting to play in Arrowhead Stadium.
The Bucs’ Rachaad White grew up about 10 minutes away in a tough part of Kansas City, but his family could never afford a ticket for him to see a game. He wound up on a circuitous path through Division II Nebraska-Kearney and a California junior college to Arizona State, where he eventually became of a third-round pick of Tampa Bay in the 2022 draft.
Two year later, White finally got into Arrowhead — and the end zone. He punctuated his seven-yard scoring run in the second quarter, which gave the Bucs a 7-3 lead, by nearly tossing the football into the second deck.
Then it was Hopkins’ turn in his first home game since arriving in Kansas City from a trade with the Titans.
The three-time All-Pro, who already had caught four passes, reeled in a third-down heave from Mahomes amid triple coverage for a 35-yard gain inside the Tampa Bay five-yard line. Three plays later, Mahomes found him in the back of the end zone, and Hopkins celebrated his first TD with the Chiefs with a dance from “Remember the Titans.”
Tampa Bay tried to seize control with consecutive scoring drives to start the second half. The first ended with a TD pass to Cade Otton, the latest tight end to shred the Chiefs, and Chase McLaughlin’s 47-yard field goal gave the Bucs a 17-10 lead.
The Chiefs answered in the fourth quarter. Mahomes marched them through the rain 70 yards for a tying touchdown pass, which he delivered to Samaje Perine while landing awkwardly and tweaking his left ankle, and then threw a laser to Hopkins on third-and-goal from the Buccaneers’ five-yard line to give Kansas City the lead.
Tampa Bay promptly went three-and-out, but its defence got the ball right back, and this time Mayfield calmly led his team down field. His capped the drive with a touchdown throw to Miller — his first career TD catch — with 27 seconds to go, and Tampa Bay elected to play for overtime.
UP NEXT
Buccaneers: Host the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.
