The B.C. Lions’ Bo Lokombo, centre, and Khreem Smith, right, chase down Calgary Stampeders quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell during first half CFL western semifinal football action in Calgary, Sunday, Nov. 15, 2015.Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press
It was one of those days when nothing much was going right for the Calgary Stampeders in the first quarter. They had minus passing yards, only a handful of rushing yards and exactly one point on the board, thanks to a 77-yard punt single.
But then Keon Raymond – the eight-year veteran, the unofficial leader of the defensive pack – stepped in front of a Jonathan Jennings pass, took it 38 yards for a touchdown and just like that, everything changed.
The Stamps built on the momentum of Raymond's pick six by getting the offence in gear. Two second-quarter touchdown drives were all they needed to open up an 18-point halftime lead, en route to an easy 35-9 victory over the B.C. Lions in Sunday's West Division semi-final.
A broken collarbone suffered by Jennings late in the second quarter forced coach Jeff Tedford to switch to Travis Lulay with 1 minute 25 seconds to go in the first half, but neither could do much against a Stampeders defence that limited the Lions to three Richie Leone field goals.
"They won the field-position battle," Lulay said afterward. "We took too many penalties. We put ourselves behind the eight-ball a lot of ways and Calgary's too good a football team to do that against. They took advantage of their opportunities and they were the better team today."
The Lions were ahead 3-1 when Raymond turned the momentum in Calgary's favour.
"I said it after we won the Grey Cup last year; offence wins games, but defence wins championships," Raymond said. "We said, in the locker room, we just need a spark to get us going. I was just so happy to be the spark. Next week, it may be somebody else."
Over the years, Raymond has often been the spark for the Stampeders.
"You can call me Sparky then," he said, with a laugh. "I just do my job. I come out and play football. I was due for a play. It felt good to get things kick-started."
From there, quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell quickly engineered 64– and 75-yard second-quarter touchdown drives – one on a 13-yard completion to Eric Rogers, the other on a 15-yard Jerome Messam scamper.
For Messam, the touchdown run was atonement for a fumble minutes earlier inside the Lions 15 that could have blown the game open then and there.
Later, in the fourth quarter, Messam made a highlight-reel play. Accepting a swing pass from Mitchell, Messam did a tightrope walk as he raced down the sidelines, a 61-yard play from the line of scrimmage that set up Rogers's second touchdown of the afternoon and put the game away.
In all, Messam contributed 147 combined running and receiving yard toward the Stampeders total of 271, compared with 288 cumulative yards for B.C. But while Calgary's offence was able to make plays at pivotal moments in the game, the Lions couldn't get anything rolling.
What was most remarkable was how the Stampeders once again had to overcome injuries to their battered offensive line. First, centre Pierre Lavertu was lost to an undisclosed injury in the first quarter, which forced Spencer Wilson to handle snaps. When Shane Bergman went down in the second quarter, defensive lineman Junior Turner switched from his usual number, 7, to 59, and filled in at guard.
Turner plays some downs on offence in the short-yardage package, but Sunday was the first time he had to play every down, for all of the second half and part of the first.
"I just didn't want to get my quarterback killed – that was my first thought," Turner said. "The guys up front worked with me, especially Derek Dennis, just on the things we needed to look for and the communications stuff. I'm short yardage, but actually playing base offence is a whole different ball game."
"I've never played O line [but] we're coached, 'no one man is bigger than the team.' Everyone is always prepared in some way shape or form. We pride ourselves in preparation. Coach Huf (John Hufnagel) always preaches it. We're able to keep the chains moving. We did what we had to, to get the victory."
With the win, the defending Grey Cup champions from Calgary will play their provincial rivals, the Edmonton Eskimos, in next Sunday's CFL West Division final. The Stampeders and Eskimos finished the regular season with identical 14-4 records, but Edmonton earned the tiebreaker, on the strength of two wins in their three head-to-head meetings.
In all, Mitchell completed 15 of 24 passes for 199 yards and two touchdowns.
"Obviously, I'd like to see the offence play better – and I'll start with myself,' said Mitchell. "We went out there and put up above 30 points and held them to under 10. Now, we can go out and get the next one."
Just what that offensive line may look like next weekend in Edmonton is anybody's guess, but Mitchell praised the work of the men playing in front of him.
"Junior's never once practised at O line," said Mitchell. "To see that happen, I just blocked it out of my mind, as if it wasn't happening. If you do, you start thinking about protection too much and start getting your eyes down. I just made sure I kept my eyes downfield. He did a hell of a job."
Raymond is in his eighth season with the Stampeders, a veteran presence in the defensive secondary. He will celebrate his 33rd birthday two days before the Grey Cup – and wouldn't that be a good way to mark the occasion?
"It's going to be good, man, the two best teams with the best records in the West playing in the West final," said Messam. "It's the Battle of Alberta, baby."