Stampeders roll over Lions 35-9 thanks to dominant defence, but suffer injuries

The Calgary Stampeders' 35-9 win over the B.C. Lions in Sunday's West semifinal wasn't really in question for most of the day, but it came at a significant price. The Stampeders dominated for most of the day, leading 24-6 at the half and 28-6 after three quarters, and their defence was particularly strong, holding B.C. to 175 passing yards and 113 rushing yards. However, Calgary lost centre Pierre Lavertu and left guard Shane Bergman for the day early on in this one, further adding to the offensive line attrition they've suffered this year. Those could be significant losses that impact them next week in the West Final against Edmonton.

This day went reasonably well for the Stampeders overall, especially after defensive back Keon Raymond picked off a Jonathon Jennings pass late in the first quarter and took it back 38 yards for a touchdown. Before that, the game had been pretty even, with B.C. taking a 3-1 lead at 11:16 of the first quarter after settling for a 16-yard field goal from Richie Leone. Raymond's pick of Jennings really helped to turn the tide, and Jennings left the game soon afterwards with a shoulder injury, finishing with four completions on seven attempts for 56 yards with a pick. Travis Lulay came in in relief and completed 10 of 19 passes for 119 yards, but he was never quite able to produce touchdown drives (mistakes from others also played a role, of course, including a Austin Collie fumble on a fourth-quarter attempted reverse with a receiver pass), and the Calgary defence was able to keep holding the Lions to field goals. The Stampeders recorded four sacks and a pick on the day, and Raymond and linebacker Deron Mayo (eight tackles and a sack, plus some good plays in coverage) were particularly crucial to their success.

The Calgary offence also did enough to get by. Quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell only threw for 199 yards and completed 15 of 24 passes on the day, below his usual numbers, but he didn't make many mistakes and threw two crucial touchdowns to Eric Rogers (71 yards and two touchdowns on four catches). Running back Jerome Messam was very impressive, collecting 66 rushing yards and a touchdown on 15 carries and 81 receiving yards on four catches. It wasn't a dominant offensive showing overall, but it was a decent one, especially considering the offensive line losses the Stampeders suffered, forcing them to move guard Spencer Wilson to centre and press once-defensive linemen Quinn Smith and Junior Turner into regular roles at right and left guard. Smith at least has been taking some offensive line reps over the last couple of years thanks to the mounting numbers of injuries, and he did play on both sides of the ball in college at Concordia, but he's still far from polished, and Turner has even less OL experience. Thus, they did very well given the circumstances.

Still, those OL injuries could be brutal for Calgary going forward, as the Stampeders had already lost the likes of Edwin Harrison and Dan Federkeil. They'd used nine different starters and 13 different linemen in total heading into this week, and that number may rise if Lavertu and Bergman aren't able to return for next week's West Final. Calgary's clearly a good team regardless of what happens on their line, as the Stamps went 14-4 this season despite a raft of injuries, but these injuries could really test their depth, especially against the Eskimos' ferocious defence. We'll see how that goes next week, but the key takeaway here is that this may prove to be a costly victory for Calgary. The Stampeders didn't have much trouble with the Lions overall, but the further injuries they suffered may not bode well for them heading into their clash with Edmonton.