Canadian Football League

Saturday, August 20, 2005

Lions still undefeated in Canadian Football League

Quarterback Dave Dickenson threw for two touchdowns and ran for another, but Casey Printers had to finish the B.C. Lions' 39-15 victory over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats Friday as both CFL clubs' fortunes continued in opposite directions.
Printers came in late in the second half to engineer a long touchdown drive after Dickenson left with a separated shoulder.
Before he left, Dickenson threw scoring strikes to Jerel Myers and Paris Jackson as the league's leading passer clicked on 11 of 14 attempts for 138 yards.
The victory improved the Lions' best start in their 52-year history to 8-0 while the Ticats are slinking off to an 0-8 beginning to their season for the second time in three years.
The Lions won their 11th consecutive regular season game and the Tiger-Cats, who have lost their last three games by a combined 70 points, now find themselves playing for pride instead of a playoff berth.
It can get worse for Hamilton before they set a club record for consecutive losses to start a season. They began 0-12 in 2003 when they finished 1-17.
Antonio Warren ran for a fourth B.C. touchdown, Duncan O'Mahony kicked a 34-yard field goal and four converts and Hamilton kicker Jamie Boreham conceded a safety.
Third-string quarterback Buck Pierce entered the game late in the fourth quarter and hit Warren with a league-leading 10th touchdown on a 19-yard pass.
Hamilton starting pivot Khari Jones converted a third down gamble to run for a one-yard TD in the second quarter.
Jones, who was good on eight of 15 passes for 74 yards while being sacked four times, also didn't complete the game.
Danny McManus entered the contest early in the fourth quarter after DeVonte Peterson's recovery of a Printers fumble gave the Ticats a first down on the B.C. 38.
The drive stalled when McManus, who missed two games with a sprained thumb, was sacked on a third-down gamble. Another McManus drive was snuffed out by a Jason Crumb interception.
However, the veteran connected with Craig Yeast for a five-yard touchdown receception with no time remaining and found D.J. Flick for a two-point conversion to complete the scoring.
The Lions took a 13-0 first-quarter lead when Jones, making his first start as a Ticat, was sacked on his first two possessions.
Dickenson scored the game's first TD on a nine-yard scamper up the middle after Tony Tiller recovered an errant snap on a punting down to give the Lions possession on the Hamilton 33.
O'Mahony missed the convert when Crumb, taking over for Printers as the holder, bobbled the snap.
The Lions scored again on their next possession as Dickenson engineered a seven-play, 86-yard drive that culminated in Myers' diving catch of an 18-yard pass for his first CFL touchdown.
Jones made it 13-7 on a third-one plunge. The drive saw Craig Yeast haul in three catches for 35 yards.
An Aaron Lockett return gave Dickenson a short field to work with and he found Jackson with a nine-yard throw in the corner of the end zone.
Dickenson had to leave the game when Donnavan Carter crashed him to the B.C. Place turf as he threw, separating his left (non-throwing) shoulder.
Printers, who threw for more than 100 yards, took over late in the half and drove B.C. 100 yards to paydirt with 17 seconds remaining.
He began the drive with a 27 yard run and almost scored on a run from the Hamilton six yard line. Warren scored from a yard out to give B.C. a 27-7 halftime cushion.
Geroy Simon was the favourite receiver of all three Lions quarterbacks, finishing with nine receptions for 112 yards.
Running back Troy Davis led the Hamilton offence with 18 carries for 91 yards.
NOTES: The Lions' third jersey made its debut ... it's black with orange trim and mountain lion paw patches on the shoulders ... the Lions continued the new design with a black paw on their white helmets, reminiscent of the orange paw on black helmets worn in the 1960s ... kick returner Aaron Lockett was back in the B.C. lineup after missing a week with a hip flexor injury ... he had kickoff returns of 52 and 42 yards ... the Ticats arrived here Thursday after spending the previous six nights in Winnipeg where they lost 44-14 to the Blue Bombers last weekend.

Bombers moving out of last in Canadian Football League West

Slotback Milt Stegall wasn't thinking of himself when he caught his 118th career touchdown during the Blue Bombers' 38-17 win over the East Division-leading Ottawa Renegades on Friday night.
Instead of keeping the ball that moved him past Allen Pitts into third place on the CFL all-time TD list behind Mike Pringle and George Reed (137 each), Stegall tossed the pigskin into the crowd.
"It's really not a big deal to me," said Stegall, 35, whose career total includes 115 TD receptions.
"Somebody was like, 'You didn't want to keep that ball?' It's like, man, my son (nine-month-old Chase) has plenty of balls he can play with. The only ball I plan on saving is that Grey Cup victory ball. That's the only ball I need."
But then Stegall, who has never won a Grey Cup in his 11-year CFL career, added the TD mark was "a great accomplishment," especially in such a dominating win.
The Bombers' second straight victory lifted their record to 3-6, giving them six points and tying them for fourth in the West with Saskatchewan (3-5).
Ottawa, which had a three-game winning streak halted, still tops the East at 5-4.
"Hopefully, it propels us into the second half of the season on a good note," Stegall said.
Winnipeg receiver Chris Brazzell had four catches for 135 yards and two touchdowns and cornerback Omar Evans notched an interception return for a TD. Kicker Troy Westwood booted three field goals (28, 21, 30 yards) and Jon Ryan added a punt single in front of 26,595 fans at Canad Inns Stadium.
Yo Murphy had seven catches for 116 yards and one fourth-quarter touchdown for Ottawa. Placekicker Mark Irvin, replacing injured Matt Kellett (groin), added two field goals from 15 yards out and a 17-yarder. Pat Fleming had a punt single for Ottawa's scoring.
Bomber quarterback Kevin Glenn was 20-of-27 passing for 357 yards, one interception and three TDs. Renegade quarterback Kerry Joseph completed 30 of 42 pass attempts for 311 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions.
"Full marks to (Winnipeg head coach Jim Daley)," Ottawa head coach Joe Paopao said. "They did the things when they had to.
"We got the ball in field position with turnovers and drove the ball down there, but they had the critical stops."
Even though Ottawa racked up 418 yards of net offence compared to Winnipeg's 395, the Bomber defence put up road blocks when it was needed.
It was a display that had Glenn gushing.
"That Ottawa offence was putting up some points against some good defences and our defence came out tonight and they showed that they're among the top when you consider defences," Glenn said.
The Bombers mounted a 20-7 lead at halftime despite a bad beginning.
On Winnipeg's opening drive, Ottawa defensive back Sean Weston forced Bomber receiver Jamie Stoddard to fumble after a catch. It gave the Renegades their league-leading 30th takeway, but the advantage didn't last long.
A Joseph pass bounced off a teammate's hands and Bomber safety Wes Lysack plucked the ball out of the air and returned it 61 yards to Ottawa's 26-yard line.
Winnipeg settled for a Westwood field goal for a 3-0 lead at 4:42 of the first quarter.
With 4:02 left in the first quarter, Stegall grabbed his 25-yard touchdown pass.
Ottawa then did a lot of work to get seven points in the second quarter.
Joseph got his team to Winnipeg's 15-yard line, but only came out with a field goal. Bo Rogers then intercepted a Glenn pass, but the stingy Bomber defence held on and Fleming had a 56-yard punt single.
Irvin and Westwood traded field goals, but with two seconds left in the half, Brazzell reached over a defender and turned in a 75-yard catch-run TD.
Ottawa opened the second half moving to Winnipeg's five-yard line, but the 12-play, 67-yard drive only resulted in another field goal.
Brazzell notched his second TD at 3:48 of the fourth quarter following an interception by cornerback Justin Coleman.
Notes: Charles Roberts moved past Gerry James into fourth place on the Bombers' all-time rushing list with 5,559 yards. . . Ottawa lost four players to injury, including defensive back Greg Moss with a torn elbow and running back Cory Hathaway to a concussion. . .Winnipeg defensive lineman Doug Brown was also sidelined by injury.

Friday, August 19, 2005

Als struggle in Canadian Football League East continues

Sandro DeAngelis kicked a 38-yard field goal with no time remaining as the Calgary Stampeders defeated the Montreal Alouettes 40-37 in a see-saw CFL battle last night.
Calgary took a 30-25 lead into the fourth quarter, but conceded a safety at 2:55 and Montreal marched back off the ensuing kickoff to see O'Neill Wilson make a two-yard touchdown pass and put the Alouettes in the lead.
But QB Henry Burris was at his scrambling best as he led a drive that ended in his own one-yard scoring run with 1:58 left to play.
Damon Duval tied it with 51 seconds left with his fourth field goal of the game, but Calgary had time to march back for the winning field goal. Former Alouette star Jeremaine Copeland was booed by Montreal's 59th straight sellout crowd of 20,202 when he caught a four-yard TD pass at 9:15 and, as promised this week, did one of his trademark dances in the end zone. Copeland signed as a free agent with Calgary last winter, claiming Montreal made no real attempt to sign him.

Wednesday, August 17, 2005

Former Canadian Football League QB named assistant coach of the year

Amarillo Dusters Offensive Coordinator RICKEY FOGGIE has been selected as the SFC af2 Assistant Coach of the Year, as voted on by af2 head coaches and beat writers. This is the first season the league has named an Assistant Coach of the Year.
Foggie, in his first Arena Football coaching position, guided the expansion Dusters to league high 131 touchdowns and 55.8 points per game during the 2005 regular season. Under his tutelage, quarterback Julian Reese rushed for 28 touchdowns to tie an af2 record. As a team the Dusters rushed for an af2 record 48 touchdowns

Sunday, August 14, 2005

Ti-Cats remain last in Canadian Football League

Charles Roberts and Keith Stokes may have been two of the smallest guys on the field, but they had the biggest impact as the Winnipeg Blue Bombers kept the Hamilton Tiger-Cats winless with a 44-14 victory Saturday night.
Winnipeg Blue Bombers' Milt Stegall is hit by Hamilton Tiger Cats' Airabin Justin and loses the ball during second half CFL action in Winnipeg, on Saturday. Roberts rushed 18 times for 99 yards and three touchdowns, while kick returner Stokes, making his first start this season at receiver, had five catches for 139 yards and one TD and racked up 265 all-purpose yards.
Winnipeg improved to 2-6 and Hamilton remains the only winless CFL team at 0-7.
"Everybody knows what we're both capable of, we just need to get opportunities in the game - good opportunities," Roberts said.
"Things were schemed better for us tonight and we were able to get out and make people miss like we do."
The Bombers also got TDs from second-year receiver Gilles Colon, a Bishop's University grad making his first CFL start, and veteran slotback Milt Stegall in front of 24,326 fans at Canad Inns Stadium.
Hamilton kicker Jamie Boreham conceded a safety to round out Winnipeg's scoring.
Former Winnipeg quarterback Khari Jones, replacing Marcus Brady late in the first half after he hurt his ankle, scored Hamilton's first TD on a one-yard keeper in the third quarter. Receiver Kamau Peterson, traded from the Bombers last week, had a 12-yard TD catch in the fourth.
Bomber kicker Troy Westwood, playing in his 250th consecutive regular-season game, went wide on both his field goals from 48 and 54 yards.
Boreham, who had been on a streak of 10 straight field goals, missed his one try from 45 yards.
After Boreham missed his kick in the second quarter - the first quarter was scoreless - Stokes put on a show for the fans.
He grabbed the ball in the end zone and dashed 66 yards, stopping only when he ran into a teammate. A couple plays later, he pulled off a 22-yard catch-run display that included a quick two-step at the sideline that avoided a Ticat and got him down to Hamilton's two-yard line.
Roberts finished the six-play, 59-yard drive with a two-yard dart into the end zone for a 14-0 Bomber lead at 10:35. Colon had notched the game's first TD 11 seconds into the second quarter.
Stokes also hauled in a 66-yard catch-run TD after dragging players with him over the goal-line at 14:41 of the third quarter for a 35-7 lead.
"I just got an opportunity to play (receiver) today and I seized the moment," Stokes said. "I don't get 'em often so whenever I'm gonna get the chance to go out there and do it, I'm going to try and make the best of my opportunity."
The victory put smiles on the faces of the Bombers, but there was no jumping up and down with joy.
"It was fun, but we were playing a team that had a worse record than we did so we can be positive about the win and motivated and hope to build on it, but by far there's better teams out there that we must get ready to be prepared for," Roberts said.
The Ticats are staying in Winnipeg until they travel to B.C. for a game next Friday against the 7-0 Lions.
"The worst thing that can happen in this situation is for guys to start pointing fingers," Hamilton head coach Greg Marshall said.
"It's all of us. All of us need to take a good hard look at what we're doing, coaches included."
Marshall said quarterback Danny McManus, who was out with a finger injury, may start against B.C., but it's doubtful.
Winnipeg quarterback Kevin Glenn, replaced by Russ Michna late in the fourth, was 18-of-28 passing for 374 yards, three TDs and one interception. Jones was 17-of-24 for one TD and no interceptions.
Notes: Hamilton has only led at halftime in one of its seven games a Ticats defensive lineman James Cotton (knee) and defensive back Antwoine Sanders (arm) left the game with injuries.


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