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August 25, 2016

Stamps, Ticats have plenty of history

Stamps celebrate a last-play field goal win over Hamilton on Oct. 2, 2015 (Photo by Canadian Press/Peter Power)

How, Dave Dickenson was asked earlier this week, can he avoid a letdown by his team against Hamilton on Sunday?

After all, the radio interviewer pointed out, the Stamps are coming off a big win over the BC Lions in a first-place showdown and now they’re facing an East Division opponent with, in theory at least, fewer stakes in play.

The Calgary head coach, however, was having none of it. Dickenson accurately pointed out there’s actually a fair bit of history — both recent and longer term — between the Stamps and Ticats. Just think back to the 2014 Grey Cup, won 20-16 by the Stamps.

Rocco Romano celebrates the Stamps' 1998 Grey Cup victory with Quick Six.

Rocco Romano celebrates the Stamps’ 1998 Grey Cup victory with Quick Six.

If you want to go back a bit — and Dickenson will remember this well because he was a player at the time — Calgary and Hamilton met in the championship game two years in a row in the late 1990s.

In 1998, Mark McLoughlin’s last-second field goal gave the Stamps a 26-24 win and prompted Rocco Romano to jump on Quick Six’s back during the post-game celebration. A year later, the Ticats earned revenge with a 32-21 victory.

But back to the present day.

The Stamps have owned the recent regular-season series with eight wins in a row but that record doesn’t begin to tell the full story.

Since the Ticats’ most recent victory over the Red and White — a wild 55-36 result in the 2011 Touchdown Atlantic game — the Stamps have made a habit of breaking Hamilton’s heart, even if you don’t factor in the 2014 Grey Cup result.

Of the eight Stamps wins against Hamilton from 2012 to 2015, five have been by four points or fewer.

On Oct. 20, 2012, in Henry Burris’ first game back at McMahon Stadium after an off-season trade to Hamilton, the Stamps escaped with a 34-32 victory after the ball slipped off the tee and ruined the Ticats’ attempt at a game-winning 30-yard field goal on the last play of the game.

The following season, again at McMahon, the Stamps got a late touchdown from Marquay McDaniel to take a 26-22 lead and an interception that snuffed out the Ticats’ attempted drive to answer back.

In 2014, the Ticats lost another heartbreaker in Calgary as another attempt at a late field goal went off the rails — Brandon Smith wound up tackling would-be holder Luke Tasker to put an end to the play — and the Stamps hung on to win a titanic defensive battle 10-7.

In the 2015 season-opener — yep, again at McMahon — the field goal again did the Ticats in but this time it was a successful 50-yard connection by Calgary’s Rene Paredes on the final play of the night that sealed a 24-23 Stamps victory.

Rene Paredes and Joe Burnett celebrate a last-play field goal in the 2015 home-opener against Hamilton on June 26 (Photo by David Moll)

Rene Paredes and Joe Burnett celebrate a last-play field goal in the 2015 home-opener against Hamilton on June 26 (Photo by David Moll)

Paredes put the boots to the Ticats again in the return contest at Hamilton’s Tim Hortons Field as he kicked two field goals in the final minute to give Calgary a 23-20 victory.

The bottom line is that the Stamps have found a way to squeeze out wins against the Tabbies in recent years but they’re also all too aware of the fact that with a few breaks going the other way, it could be a very different story. The Stamps also fully realize the Ticats will be ornery about all the close games against them and will be hungry to turn the tables on Calgary.

While the Stamps’ overall winning streak against the Steeltown gang covers four seasons, the Ticats’ frustration at McMahon Stadium goes back much further.

In fact, it was all the way back on July 4, 2004, that the Cats last won a game in Calgary.

How long ago was that? Well, Matt Dunigan was the head coach of the Stamps at the time while Greg Marshall was on the Hamilton sidelines.

The quarterbacks were Marcus Crandell for the Stamps and Danny McManus for the Ticats.

Nik Lewis was a fresh-faced rookie with a grand total of five CFL catches to his credit — he’s since made 921 more — and Bo Levi Mitchell was a couple of months away from attending his first class at Katy High School in Texas.

While Stamps wins at home against Hamilton have been a constant over the past decade or so, one thing that has been variable in recent years has been the location of Calgary’s road game against the Ticats.

In 2011, the Ticats were the designated home team for Touchdown Atlantic in Moncton.

In 2012, the Stamps played their last game at old Ivor Wynne Stadium in Hamilton.

In 2013, Hamilton hosted the Stamps in Guelph while the Ticat’s new stadium was being built.

In 2014, the venue was Hamilton’s Ron Joyce Stadium because the new stadium’s construction was behind schedule and the opening delayed.

Finally, in 2015, the Stamps got a chance to play in Tim Hortons Field, the Ticats’ not-so-new-by-then home.

Here are some more historical tidbits about the Stamps and Ticats.

Men who have been head coaches for both teams: Jerry Williams, Bud Riley

Canadian Football Hall of Famers who played for both teams: Terry Evanshen, Jerry Keeling, Danny McManus, Ray Nettles, Terry Vaughn

Quarterbacks who had 4,000-yard seasons both teams: Kevin Glenn, Henry Burris

Receiver Marquay McDaniel celebrates the Stamps' 2014 Grey Cup victory (Photo by Canadian Press/Geoff Howe)

Receiver Marquay McDaniel celebrates the Stamps’ 2014 Grey Cup victory (Photo by Canadian Press/Geoff Howe)