SportsDirect Inc. staff
Jun 28, 2014
Stampeders 29, Alouettes 8: Bo Levi Mitchell threw for 313 yards and a pair of touchdowns as host Calgary trounced Montreal, spoiling Chad Johnson's regular-season CFL debut.
Mitchell completed 16-of-25 passes - none bigger than a 102-yard scoring strike to Maurice Price - and Jon Cornish added 67 rushing yards and a touchdown in the rout. Cornish left shortly after his fourth-quarter touchdown after taking a hard hit to the head and will undergo concussion tests before being able to resume football activities.
Johnson - a Pro Bowl wide receiver who spent 11 seasons in the NFL - was largely invisible in his first game with Montreal, catching two first-half passes for 20 yards. Montreal quarterback Troy Smith went 17-for-40 for 127 yards and an interception while Steven Lumbala provided the bulk of the scoring with a one-yard TD run on the final play.
Already ahead 4-0, Calgary extended its advantage on the final play of the first quarter as Mitchell hit Price wide open near midfield and watched him scamper untouched to the end zone. The Stampeders' defence took over from there, forcing three Montreal punts and snagging an interception in the second quarter en route to an 11-0 halftime edge.
Rene Paredes connected on a 26-yard field goal on Calgary's opening drive of the second half, and Cornish padded the lead on an 18-yard TD run just 1:24 into the final quarter. Mitchell capped the rout on the Stampeders' next drive, hitting Anthony Parker in the end zone from 16 yards out.
GAME NOTES: Johnson recorded his first career reception late in the second quarter, hauling in an 8-yard pass - but not before registering his first CFL tackle after Fred Bennett intercepted Smith earlier in the frame. ... Smith, a former Heisman Trophy winner, was limited to 48 first-half passing yards. ... Cornish left the game in an ambulance after taking a forearm to the head from Montreal's Kyries Hebert, but ultimately did not go to the hospital.