Perfect.
Unblemished.
Impressive.
The Stamps improved to 5-0 with a 25-8 victory Saturday night over the visiting Montreal Alouettes, who fell to 1-4, giving the 26,440 in attendance the ultimate gift on fan appreciation night.
It’s the best start to a season for the Red & White since 1995, when they opened that campaign with seven straight wins.
But despite the win and the record, don’t expect any complacency.
The team’s offence struggled in the second half and coach Dave Dickenson said he felt his club could have executed better in many facets of their game.
“It’s interesting because you win by 17 and you just don’t feel great about it,” said Dickenson. “In pro sports, every win is hard and you really should cherish it and really respect your opponent and believe every win should be special. But I look at what we did offensively – (and) I didn’t think our special teams was very good … it just makes me want to be better.”
Stamps pivot Bo Levi Mitchell passed Doug Flutie, the man who led that 1995 squad, for second all-time in franchise passing yards in the victory Saturday, throwing for 276 yards and two touchdowns.
Mitchell, who missed the second half of the team’s win in Ottawa last week as a precautionary measure after a low hit and was only confirmed to start against Montreal Friday, passed Flutie’s mark of 20,551 yards on his second TD pass of the game which was hauled in by Kamar Jorden in the second quarter.
Henry Burris is first all-time with an impressive mark of 32,191.
Mitchell echoed his coach, saying while adding to their undefeated record was key, they know they are capable of much more.
“We’ve got to look at ourselves and accept what it is – it is a win and I’m never going to complain about a win, I’m never going to say sorry for a win but I know how good we are, I know how good (this team is) and the plays we can make and I want us to make those plays.”
Boris Bede opened the scoring on the first play of the game when Marken Michel caught his kick-off and took a knee in the endzone for a rouge.
However, Mitchell led the Red & White on six-play, 75-year drive on their first possession, culminating with a seven-yard TD strike to Eric Rogers.
Two plays earlier, Mitchell rifled a 40-yard pass to Rogers who was sandwiched tight by two Als defenders in double coverage but was able to haul in the pass.
The Stamps went for two after the major, with Jorden hauling in a three-yard pass from Mitchell to put the homeside up 8-1.
After a promising late quarter drive by Calgary was snuffed out after a second-down sack of Mitchell by Als d-lineman Jamaal Westerman, a Rob Maver punt was conceded by Montreal to make the score 9-1 for Calgary after the opening 15 minutes.
The Stamps added another six to their lead after a quick four-play, 70-yard drive when Jorden caught a pass on a crossing route and ran 30-yards to the endzone. Rene Parades added the point after.
Rogers continued to have an impact, hauling in a 16-yard pass and scampering for another 11 yards before Jorden punched it in.
Parades rounded out the scoring with a 40-yard field-goal with less than a minute left in the half.
The Als pulled closer when Matt Schiltz – who replaced Drew Willy at quarterback in the second quarter – tossed a 20-year strike to B.J. Cunningham to cap off an eight-play, 79-yard drive to start off the third quarter.
It was another late quarter field-goal that added three more points for the Stamps, with Parades putting a 15-year chip shot through the uprights with 44 seconds left in the third quarter.
Keeping with the theme, Parades nailed a 19-yard kick with 1:47 left in the game to round out the scoring on the night.
The Stamps recognized longtime former receiver and fan favourite Nik Lewis who was down on the sidelines for the game. Lewis – who played 11 season with the Red & White before finishing up his career with three seasons in Montreal – signed a one-day contract Friday to retire a Stampeder.