Once upon a time, Bo Levi Mitchell was doing what he did Friday for the Calgary Stampeders.
But on this night, the Red and White legend did it against them.
And it was ugly.
Indeed, Mitchell sliced and diced the Stampeders’ defence for his first victory against his old team. It was a no-doubter CFL win for Bo Levi and the host Hamilton Tiger-Cats — in 42-20 fashion — at Tim Hortons Field, pushing his former squad’s winless skid to nine games.
“Honestly, the details weren’t there,” Stampeders GM/head coach Dave Dickenson told Stamps TV post-game. “It just seemed like one team was faster and knew what they were doing.
“One team did play a lot better than the other.”
A lot better, especially early.
Most of Mitchell’s damage Friday came in the first half before taking the third quarter off. The 34-year-old quarterback then finished strong with more fireworks from him in the fourth frame to distance his Ticats from the fight-back visitors.
“We got behind early, and obviously they ran away with it,” Dickenson said. “We did fight back …
“We never really threatened them, though. They had under their control the whole time.”
Yes … the Stamps proved better in the second half, crawling to within 13 points into the fourth quarter.
But the result remained in the capable hands of Mitchell, as he put on a show for the home fans and those still beholden to him in Calgary.
“It’s a big part of it,” Mitchell told TSN post-game, when asked if beating his former team meant something to him. “You leave there, and you have your feelings about it. And I wanted to put that to bed, and we got to do that (Friday).”
The decision means the Stamps remain winless on the road in 2024, with an 0-8 record and next week’s season-finale in Regina being the only chance remaining to wreck the imperfection.
Here are three takeaways from Friday’s Week 20 loss in Steeltown:
BO LEVI BRILLIANT
It was vintage Bo Levi combined with an embarrassing defensive effort by the Stampeders.
The two-time Grey Cup champ with the Stamps finished the evening 24-of-37 for 450 yards and five touchdowns, breaking 5,000 yards on the season — the first time for a CFL QB since 2018.
He simply carved up the Stampeders.
“It’s momentum going into the off-season,” said Mitchell, of his performance and the team’s big effort. “Obviously, we didn’t finish the season the way we wanted to, but it’s showing we can continue doing what we have to do to put up points.”
Ticats receivers Steven Dunbar Jr. and Tim White caught two TDs apiece from Mitchell and finished respectively with 146 and 128 yards. Bo Levi also got some help from the running game, as Greg Bell rumbled to 139 yards on 15 hauls.
Mitchell’s only blemish was a pick-six tossed to Stamps veteran defensive back Tre Roberson late in the first half to take a little bit of shine off the QB’s brilliant first half.
NOT JUST THE DEFENCE
Neither the Stamps offence or special teams helped the team’s cause in what was a first-half bludgeoning.
QB Matt Shiltz threw a terrible interception — into a crowd on a short pass — to halt a promising opening march.
Cody Grace then uncharacteristically shanked a punt that gave the Ticats brilliant field position after the Stamps’ stalled second drive.
And Stamps running back Kylin Hill fumbled the ball away in the second quarter, with the visitors trying to stop the bleeding.
It all helped in the Ticats opening up a dominant 30-9 first-half advantage that actually looked better on the scoreboard for the Stamps than in live action.
Shiltz did get the Stamps closer in the third quarter before being spelled for a few minutes by Jake Maier after taking the worst of a collision with a couple of Ticats while fighting for a first down on a scramble. But the claw back was short-lived.
Shiltz, making his second start for the Red and White, finished 12-of-24 for 124 yards, throwing an interception and running for a TD.
WORSE THAN EVER
If it wasn’t clear weeks before, it is official now …
The Stamps are the worst team in the CFL.
It says so in their play, and it’s backed up by the standings.
The loss drops them to 4-12-1 and ensures they finish dead-last in the nine-team league.
Worse yet is the 7-10 Tiger-Cats had a tough time this season, as well, but wholly overmatched the Stamps pretty much all night long Friday, and they’re not happy about their place in the CFL, either.
However, Mitchell & Co. showed more pride in their play in the battle of non-playoff sides and in facing a lost season by winning five of their last six games — quite the reversal of what went on with the freefalling Stampeders.
“You’re definitely never satisfied not being in the playoffs, but it’s just what I judge myself on,” added Mitchell. “That’s what we all do as athletes. It’s all about the wins, and we didn’t have enough of them this year. But we got to finish with a bunch.”
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