Calgary Stampeders quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell is sacked by BC Lions' Craig Roh during first half CFL football action in Calgary, Friday, July 29, 2016. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
Wally Buono has pretty much seen it all and done it all as a CFL head coach. Along with being the league’s all-time wins leader, the 66-year old has sipped from the Grey Cup five times, been on both ends of several other classic playoff games in November and will more than likely retire as the league’s best ever at his profession. Yet the CFL’s Godfather still has one item to cross off his bucket list: beating his old squad in a playoff game. To be fair, he has only had one chance to tame the Calgary Stampeders in November and that was the 2008 Western Final, a 22-18 defeat at McMahon Stadium. And as you might expect, Buono, who as of 3:00PM Monday was still getting congratulatory phone calls for the epic semi-final victory over Winnipeg, doesn’t give a lick about the past and is more grateful for the next opportunity to punch a ticket to the Grey Cup. His Lions invade Calgary this Sunday (1:30PM, TSN, TSN 1040) to determine who is indeed ‘Best in the West.’
“Not much time to dwell on the past,” Buono chuckled while breaking down film of the 15-2-1 Stampeders in his office. “Calgary was by far the class of the league in terms of their level of consistency and how efficient and well they played. They deserve everything they’ve gotten because they’ve been a good football team week in and week out.”
That being said, Buono’s squad was one of the two, along with Montreal, to beat them in the regular season. An interesting quirk in this match up is the fact these two teams have not played since August 19th. How does that effect preparation?
“I know they’ve changed some personnel, we have as well,”Buono said. “The one thing I do know about Calgary is that they’re going to be very well coached, very well prepared and we’re going to have to play I don’t want to say the perfect game because there is no such thing, but we are going to have to play a whole lot better than we did last week.”
The Lions’ overall playoff history against Calgary isn’t exactly a pretty picture with just four wins in 14 overall meetings. But the victories were among the most significant in franchise history. Who can forget the 1994 Western Final? It was perhaps the biggest upset in CFL history with the Lions exacting some revenge on former teammate Doug Flutie, three years after Buono lured him to the other side of the Rockies. It was younger brother Darren spoiling the party with his four- yard touchdown catch to pull off a stunning 37-36 win and set up the epic Grey Cup victory at home over Baltimore one week later.
Jamie Taras remembers the entire 1994 run fondly and he agrees taking down the Stamps was a monumental accomplishment for the franchise. “There was a lot of times Calgary thought they had the game wrapped up, ” recalled Taras who was in his eight year playing for the club. “I remember a quarterback draw where Doug went about 50 yards and hook slid as someone was coming to hit him. That set them up for a field goal that would have put them up by eight.
We brought in Ray Alexander and he jumped through the sky and somehow blocked it and it set us up for the game winning drive. Snow was falling and it was getting nasty out, but we had Danny McManus, Darren and our crew that were just intent on winning that game.”
The Alexander block probably represented what the 1994 Lions were all about: A scrappy, lunch pail bunch that simply refused to quit. And most important, one that was not afraid to tackle the first place Stampeders head on.
“You can go back and forth. For me, 1999 was great, 1991 was great, 1994 was a loss and 2000 was garbage,” Buono said of his experience with the rivalry when he was in Calgary. “I guess we’ve played each other enough and I have been on both sides of it. It’s the Western Final and they are all pretty special because the intensity of it.”
The script in 2000 was similar to that of 1994. The Lions were third in the West after a disappointing 8-10 regular season, which included a mid-season coaching change as Steve Burrato replaced Greg Mohns on the sidelines but managed to upset the Eskimos in Edmonton in the Western Semi-Final. They followed that up with a convincing 37-23 win against the 15-3 Stampeders, a team that defeated them all three times in the regular season, before remaining in Calgary for their 28-26 win over Montreal in the 88th Grey Cup. 2000 also allowed the Lions to avenge a Western Final loss to Calgary the year before, one which denied them a chance to play in the Grey Cup at home. Talk about sweet poetic justice.
“We really snuck into the playoffs,” Taras said of the 2000 squad. “We were 8-10 and just squeaked in. It’s all about momentum.”
One could argue the 2016 Lions are all about momentum as well. Following back-to-back losses against Winnipeg October 8th and 14th, they were 9-6 and in danger of missing out on second place and a home playoff date, perhaps even crossing over to the East Division. Now those losses are in the rear view mirror and Buono’s troops are embracing the challenge of invading first place Calgary.
2016 Season Series Breakdown
Week 1, June 25th- Lions 20 Stampeders 18
Buono’s return to the sidelines began with an emotional victory over his old squad. Trailing 4-0, the defence delivered a big goal line stand in the second quarter when Mic’hael Brooks sacked Drew Tate on 3rd and goal from the one-yard line. Calgary tacked on a touchdown before half and led 11-0 so the big defensive stand was perhaps a game changer.
Key Play: Chris Rainey‘s 72-yard punt return touchdown put the Lions up 18-17 early in the 4th quarter and they never trailed again. Jonathon Jennings and the offence killed the clock in the final 3:23 and didn’t give Calgary a chance at a game winning field goal.
The Takeaway: The resilient Lions no doubt sent a message that they were going to be no pushover in 2016. Calgary would rattle off a 16-game unbeaten streak before finally losing again in their last regular season game in Montreal October 30th.
Week 6, July 29th Stampeders 44 Lions 41 (OT)
Rainey silenced the Stamps again with a 95-yard punt return to open the scoring and the Lions built a 34-19 lead through three quarters before things got really crazy. Bo Levi Mitchell and the Stampeders refused to die and erased a 15-point deficit in the final 2:28 before prevailing in overtime.
Key Play: Jennings made perhaps his post crucial mistake of the season by forcing it and throwing an interception to Ciante Evans with the Lions up 41-33. It set Calgary up on the Leos’ 32-yard line with 1:52 left and Mitchell would soon hit Bakari Grant for a major. Calgary would convert the two-point attempt to force overtime. The game ended when Jennings threw an end zone interception to Tommie Campbell and the Lions fell to 3-2.
The Takeaway: Although it was a bad loss, the Lions sent a message that they would be perhaps the most entertaining team to watch in 2016. Jennings also lived up to his reputation of being nearly impossible to beat coming off a loss as they would go into Montreal the next week and win 38-18.
Week 9, August 19th Stampeders 37 Lions 9
It was hyped up as the Lions’ biggest home game since the 2012 Western Final, but it would ultimately be a similar result for the Lions and their fans. Mitchell passed for 340 yards and two touchdowns, while the Stamps added rushing majors from Jerome Messam and Andrew Buckley to improve to 6-1-1 and grab a three- point lead atop the West. Perhaps the lone bright spot for the home side was Jason Arakgi becoming the CFL’s all -time leader in special teams tackles on the game’s opening kickoff.
Key Play: The game was very much still winnable to start the second half when Rainey fumbled the opening kickoff and it led to Messam’s five-yard touchdown run to put the visitors ahead 24-9. They never looked back.
The Takeaway: Calgary clearly established themselves as the class of the CFL but it also served as a nice wakeup call for the Lions. They followed it up by winning against Ottawa and Toronto during their extended nine- day trip to Ontario and wouldn’t lose again until September 23rd in Edmonton.
Injury Updates
After being knocked out on a late hit by Winnipeg’s Taylor Loffler, Manny Arceneaux was in good spirits at the facility on Monday and Tuesday while going through some light workouts with both the conditioning and training staff. Arceneaux’s ankle will be monitored carefully as the week goes on and he also went through concussion protocol. Buono said he is progressing. Shawn Gore is also recovering nicely from his post-concussion issues and went through some mobility drills of his own. Number 85 may be a factor this week but like Arceneaux, nothing is set in stone until the doctors give a green light. Gore was concussed October 1st in a win over Ottawa and last played October 29th in Saskatchewan before the lingering issues returned.
Matt Baker:mbaker@bclions.com