Stamps hand Argos 10th straight home defeat
Last Updated: Saturday, August 29, 2009 | 1:47 AM ET
CBC Sports
Argonauts defensive tackle Etienne Legare, left, closes in on Calgary quarterback Henry Burris in the first half. (Chris Young/Canadian Press)Cody Pickett must be wondering what he has to do to get the upper hand on the Calgary Stampeders and post his first win as a Canadian Football League quarterback.
Staring at a potential game-tying field goal attempt by Toronto Argonauts teammate Justin Medlock, Pickett was asked to squeeze in one more play with the ball at Calgary's 50-yard line and five seconds left on the clock.
But with time ticking away and Argos receivers unable to break loose from pass coverage, Pickett's last-second desperation pass went incomplete to ensure the team's 10th consecutive loss at home, 23-20 on Friday night.
Pickett, who completed 32 of 45 passes for 311 yards and two touchdowns, is now winless in four CFL starts, including three defeats to the Stampeders.
Toronto rookie head coach Bart Andrus defended the last-play call, saying he wasn't comfortable with a 57-yard attempt by Medlock after watching him in the pre-game warm-up.
"I just wanted to get in a little closer," Andrus later told reporters. "When we got to the line of scrimmage … we had enough time [for a play]. It's been done before, out of bounds, stop the clock.
"We were trying to get the ball underneath and he [Pickett] went deep."
Lack of communication
After the game, a shocked Medlock said it was simply a lack of communication between himself and the coach.
In a 13-12 Argos' loss to Winnipeg on Aug. 1, the strong-legged Medlock booted a 57-yard attempt off the left upright with 26 seconds left on the clock "with the [Rogers Centre retractable] roof open," Andrus said. In Friday's warm-up, Medlock said he hit the crossbar from 60 yards.
"If you have to kick a deep one, it doesn't matter if it's 62 or 63 [yards]. I would kick it from 65," said Medlock, who split the uprights from 43 and 21 yards on Friday. "But I definitely think 62 would have been my limit."
However, the more important numbers to the Toronto organization and its fans are two and six — the team's record following a fourth straight loss.
Stampeders quarterback Henry Burris helped keep the Argos in the East Division basement, erasing a 20-16 deficit with an eight-yard touchdown pass to Jeremaine Copeland with 46 seconds left in regulation.
Copeland's fourth-quarter heroics capped an entertaining second half that mercifully injected some much-needed life into the contest for the crowd of 25,329. Spectators were forced to endure a simply brutal opening half that featured 14 combined punts and just a field goal apiece.
It was a big night for Burris, who passed Doug Flutie for the most completions in franchise history, connecting on 19 of 29 pass attempts for 260 yards. A week earlier, Burris surpassed Flutie as Calgary's all-time leading passer with 20,792 yards.
4th-quarter struggles
Rogers Centre has also been an inhospitable place for the Stampeders (4-4), who came in having lost eight of their last 10 road games to Toronto.
The Argos' fourth-quarter problems continued as Calgary put 13 points on the board in the final 15 minutes. In its last seven games, Toronto has been outscored 69-19 in the final quarter. The Stampeders hold a 87-21 points edge in the second half over the past four meetings.
Pickett appeared on his way into the win column when he rolled right found a sliding P.K. Sam in the end zone for a 19-yard completion late in the fourth quarter. Former teammates with the Rhein Fire of NFL Europe, Pickett and Sam hooked up for a 12-yard TD reception midway through the third quarter.
It marked the fourth major in seven CFL contests for Sam, who was making his season debut for the Argos after being released by the National Football League's Buffalo Bills last month after he suffered a quad injury. Sam then tweaked a groin with Toronto on Monday.
Calgary is 2-0 this season against the Argos, beating them 44-9 at McMahon Stadium earlier.
"If it was going to be a close game I wanted our defence on the field at the end to protect the lead and that's what happened," said Stampeders head coach/general manager John Hufnagel. "I think it's really a big step for this football team."
With files from The Canadian Press
