Capturing their 11th straight win on Saturday afternoon, the Calgary Stampeders defeated the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 36-17 at Tim Hortons Field.

Calgary’s league-leading record now stands at 12-1-1 as Bo Levi Mitchell earned his 40th victory in just 48 career starts.

“It was a very tough week and we’re all drained – physically and emotionally,” says head coach Dave Dickenson. “But to make your effort and all the work you put in count with a win, I think it says a lot about our team. Hamilton to me is a very good team and our guys came out and started fast. We’ve not been playing well in the third quarter but we accomplished playing well (in the third quarter today). We didn’t finish perfect but our guys believed in it and came out with the win.”

Mitchell connected with DaVaris Daniels on each of the first two plays from scrimmage for a combined 39 yards. Four snaps later, Daniels kept his toes in bounds before turning upfield for an opening-possession touchdown. The ensuing two-point convert pass was completed to Kamar Jorden for an 8-0 advantage out of the gate.

When the Stamps defence took to the field, Ja’Gared Davis intercepted a ball batted down by fellow defensive lineman Micah Johnson. But the drive came to a crashing halt when Drew Tate was unable to gain the necessary yards along the ground on an attempted fake field goal.

Taking over deep inside their own territory and unable to move the chains, Hamilton conceded a safety with Brett Maher standing deep in his own end zone.

Then, with just over five minutes to go in the opening quarter, Rene Paredes nailed a 41-yard field goal for a 13-point lead.

Johnson brought down Zach Collaros behind the line of scrimmage shortly thereafter for his fifth sack of the season, which preceded a lengthy Tiger-Cats field goal. From 48 yards out, Maher managed to split the uprights.

In the midst of the second stanza, a screen pass to Jerome Messam was enough for a first down, however Emmanuel Davis intercepted Mitchell immediately afterwards. Prior to the turnover, Mitchell had thrown 122 consecutive times without being picked off.

From 43 yards out, Maher would draw Hamilton to within seven, but the Ticats deficit was soon extended courtesy of Daniels. The receiver ran past the secondary and hauled in a perfectly-placed 59-yard heave to glide across the goal line.

A 58-yard boot by Maher followed by a Paredes kick of 44 yards concluded the scoring through the opening 30 minutes.

Taking over for an injured Collaros, Jeremiah Masoli lined up under centre for the Tiger-Cats in the second half.

Another set of back-to-back plays designed for Daniels in the third frame set up a Marquay McDaniel reception to the one-yard line. Messam plowed his way in from there to go up by 20.

The Ticats would turn the ball over on downs early on in the fourth after a 12-play drive, but Calgary could not capitalize, responding with a swift two-and-out.

Just as the Stamps appeared primed for to put the game out of reach, Mike Daly intercepted Mitchell and returned it 60 yards to the Stampeders 17-yard line. Masoli then juked linebacker Alex Singleton to find pay dirt from four yards out, and Andy Fantuz snagged the subsequent two-point conversion to pull within 12 points.

Fantuz next tried an onside kick, but Simon Charbonneau-Campeau grabbed the ball out of the air and headed down the sideline for a most unique major.

Calgary will now prepare for another eastern road trip with the Toronto Argonauts next on their schedule. Kickoff is slated for 2 p.m. MDT on Thanksgiving Monday, Oct. 10.