Hamilton Tiger-Cats' quarterback Zach Collaros, left, takes a hard hit from Calgary Stampeders defensive lineman Micah Johnson but would still get the ball away during second half CFL football action in Calgary, Alberta on Sunday, Aug. 28, 2016.Larry MacDougal/The Canadian Press
DaVaris Daniels has a couple souvenirs to send his mom after helping lead the Calgary Stampeders to a 30-24 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Sunday night.
Playing in just his second CFL game, Daniels blocked a punt that led to a field goal before he caught a 76-yard touchdown pass from Bo Levi Mitchell as time expired in the first quarter.
"I got a game ball and I kept the touchdown ball, so I'm happy guy right now," said the 23-year-old receiver, who had five catches for 108 yards. "I'll probably send them to my mom (Leslie Daniels in Philadelphia). I know she's been waiting for this moment for a long time."
It wasn't all good news for Daniels, though. He had to go to the locker room for treatment after sustaining a leg injury late in the first half.
"He's just banged up on his leg," said Calgary coach Dave Dickenson. "It might just be a thigh bruise, but unfortunately he couldn't really run after that. It's not ligaments or anything like that. He took a shot on the outside of the thigh and he just wasn't the same guy after that."
Mitchell was 27 of 37 passing for 323 yards and the one touchdown. Jerome Messam also ran for a TD as the Stampeders (7-1-1) won their sixth in a row while extending their unbeaten streak to eight games.
"I thought our discipline was there and we didn't turn the ball over," said Dickenson. "It's hard to beat us when we're playing good discipline, smart football, fundamentally sound and guys making plays."
The last time the Stamps went eight games without a loss was when they had a 10-game unbeaten streak over two seasons that ended in August of 1995. The last time they accomplished the feat in the same season was when they won eight in a row from July 16 to Sept. 5, 1994.
Hamilton quarterback Zach Collaros threw a pair of touchdown passes to Terrence Toliver and another one to Luke Tasker, while Brett Maher kicked a field goal for the Tiger-Cats (4-5).
"When you play Calgary, you have to play mistake-free football because they typically play mistake-free football and we didn't do that in all three facets," said Collaros, who was 34 of 53 for 439 yards and the three TDs. "That gets you into field position issues, second-and-long issues and it makes it tough."
Daniels' punt block early in the fourth quarter meant the Stamps started their subsequent drive on the Hamilton 43-yard line. That led to a 13-yard field goal by Paredes.
"I believe it gave our whole team a spark," said Daniels. "We needed something early going against a good team like Hamilton. I think that was the play that got us rolling in the right direction."
Despite being penalized five times on their next drive, the Ticats still managed to score as Toliver caught a 21-yard touchdown pass from Collaros. The 15-play, 90-yard drive took nearly seven minutes.
The Stampeders wasted little time on their next drive. Daniels hauled in a long pass from Mitchell and ran for a touchdown as time expired in the first half to put Calgary up 10-7.
Paredes accounted for all the scoring in the second quarter, booting field goals from 17 and 41 yards.
Maher pulled the Ticats within six points when he kicked a 47-yard field goal at 4:06 of the third quarter.
Mitchell led the Stamps on a 10-play, 76-yard drive that ended eight seconds into the fourth when Messam ran for a two-yard touchdown.
Grant caught a short pass from Mitchell for a two-point convert before Paredes kicked a 14-yard field goal to extend Calgary's lead to 27-10.
Toliver then hauled in a 26-yard TD pass from Collaros to cap off a five-play, 77-yard drive before the Ticats missed the two-point convert.
Hamilton pulled within three points at 14:13 of the fourth as Collaros engineered a seven-play, 71-yard drive that culminated in a five-yard TD pass to Tasker. The Ticats got the two-point convert when Collaros completed a pass to Tasker in the end zone.
Paredes rounded out the scoring with a 45-yard field goal with 32 seconds left in the game.