In the 104th Grey Cup from Toronto’s BMO Field, the Calgary Stampeders lost a heartbreaker against the Ottawa RedBlacks by a score of 39-33.

Despite a valiant second-half rally, the Stamps were unable overcome the 13-point spread they faced going into the locker room halfway through the championship tilt.

DaVaris Daniels’ 11-yard catch on the Stampeders’ opening drive was the lone first down achieved for the Red and White before Rob Maver punted the ball to the RedBlacks.

Four catches for Greg Ellingson and a pass interference call assessed to Jamar Wall on Ottawa’s initial possession led to a two-yard touchdown off a quarterback sneak by Henry Burris. After the convert, the RedBlacks took an early 7-0 advantage.

When the Calgary offence returned to the field, Marquay McDaniel got in behind coverage for a 51-yard gain on second down. In successive order, Jerome Messam made a pair of receptions out of the backfield, with the second catch leading in a seven-yard TD. Rene Paredes would then tie the game with 9:28 gone in the first quarter.

The RedBlacks soon moved in front by three points when Ray Early spilt the uprights from the 37-yard line.

In response, a clutch grab by Kamar Jorden of 26 yards saw the receiver break two tackles. However, Bo Levi Mitchell was sacked by Connor Williams in the beginning of the second stanza, therefore putting a stop to the once-promising sequence.

A key defensive play was made when Ja’Gared Davis sacked Burris for a six-yard loss, but Ottawa recovered a Roy Finch fumble on the subsequent punt.

As a result of the turnover, the Stamps conceded major when Patrick Lavoie scored from six yards out.

Immediately after the ensuing punt, Mitchell was intercepted by Forrest Hightower while eyeing Jorden as his intended target. But running back Travon Van was quickly stripped of the ball by Frank Beltre, allowing Alex Singleton to swoop in.

But the Stamps would eventually turn it right back to the RedBlacks when Jeff Richards picked off an errant Mitchell toss. From there, Brad Sinopoli got loose for 31 yards before Early made a 29-yard kick as time expired in the second.

As the third quarter commenced, significant chunks of yardage were picked up by Sinopoli, Ernest Jackson and Kienan Lafrance during a six-play, 69-yard drive that was capped off with a Sinopoli red-zone touchdown.

The Stampeder defence stepped up in response to their newfound 20-point deficit when Josh Bell dislodged the ball from the grasp of Khalil Paden. Joe Burnett scooped up possession which enabled a Daniels run of 15 yards and a 32-yard Paredes field goal.

Shortly thereafter, Bakari Grant made an impressive snag and Lemar Durant got up off the ground to race to the end zone for a much-needed 34-yard trip to pay dirt.

Calgary kept it coming when Jorden made a grab for 17 yards and Messam got on his horse for 17 more. Andrew Buckley then became the first Canadian player to score a rushing major in the Grey Cup since 2011 when the rookie snuck behind the right side of his offensive line from one yard out. Despite the swing in momentum, Paredes was wide right on the PAT.

Ciante Evans’ fourth-quarter interception led to a two-and-out by the Stamps offence. The RedBlacks’ Juron Criner preceded an acrobatic grab by Criner once again, this time for 38 yards. A Burris plunge from the edge of the goal line would increase the point differential, although only to 10, due to another errant one-point try.

In the latter stages of the final quarter, a clutch third-down conversion by Kamar Jorden appeared promising for Calgary, yet Hightower came up with his second pick of the night to regain control of the contest with just over three minutes remaining.

With the clock not in their favour, Mitchell found Daniels down the sideline for 35 yards. Daniels then scored a 19-yard TD on an untouched end-around to pull within three.

Glenn Love recovered a Maver onside kick with 1:36 to go and Paredes made a 10-yard field goal with 10 seconds left tie the showdown and force overtime.

Jackson scored a touchdown when Ottawa took the ball first in OT but failed the mandatory two-point conversion. The Stampeders were unable to score as the game came to an end.