Stampeders outlast Roughriders in bitter battle

Bo Levi Mitchell was bailed out Saturday by the Calgary Stampeders defence, who shut down the Saskatchewan Roughriders for a 19-10 road win at the end of a controversial week.

The Roughriders were penalized by the CFL this week for holding extra practice sessions with non-roster players, just days after Mitchell cryptically called out the cheating on Twitter. In front of a sellout crowd at Mosaic Stadium, many brandishing homemade signs taunting the Stampeders quarterback, Calgary (5-1-1) kept Saskatchewan (1-6) out of the end zone in the final two quarters to complete a sweep of a home-and-home series. Veteran defensive end Charleston Hughes had three sacks to lead a defensive effort that limited Saskatchewan to 357 yards.

Mitchell saw his streak of games with at least one touchdown pass end at 21, but unloosed a 64-yard reception to seldom-used backup wide receiver Simon Charbonneau-Campeau with 1:40 left in the game. The long gainer set up Rene Paredes' clinching field goal.

Mitchell was 18-of-31 for 298 yards and one interception. Slotback Marquay McDaniel made eight receptions for 110 yards, with almost all of his output coming on second-down conversions. Jerome Messam was limited to seven rushes for 27 yards and had a lost fumble in the third quarter, but scored the only Calgary touchdown. Paredes went 4-of-4 on field goals.

Roughriders QB Darian Durant was 24-of-37 for 267 yards, and was the game's leading rusher with 10 attempts for 74 yards. Backup QB Mitchell Gale scored the Roughriders' TD. Kicker Quinn van Gylswyk was 1-for-3 on field goals, converting a 54-yard attempt but missing a pair of 40-yarders. The second came with 2:04 to play.

The Roughriders ended an 81-minute touchdown drought when Gale scored on a 1-yard keeper on the last play of the first half. Saskatchewan needed three tries to get the last yard, with an offside penalty on Calgary cornerback Tommie Campbell creating a third shot. On an nothing-to-lose gamble, Gale broke Hughes' tackle and scored.

The TD was set up by a 35-yard sideline reception by Ricky Collins Jr. that took the Roughriders into the red zone for the first time.

Calgary reopened a nine-point lead on its first possession of the third quarter. Roy Finch broke a 44-yard punt return and a 28-yard pass interference penalty on Saskatchewan's Justin Cox contributed to a quick five-play, 58-yard drive on the Stampeders' first possession of the second half.

Saskatchewan stayed in contact thanks to two turnovers in the second half. Messam turned a safety-valve reception into a 63-yard gain, but had the ball stripped at the 12-yard line and Major Culbert recovered. Cox also took down an interception.

In Week 9, Calgary has the critical rubber match of its season series against the B.C. Lions in Vancouver on Friday. The winner will own a tiebreaker that could help determine playoff position. The Stampeders squared the head-to-head record with an improbable 44-41 come-from-behind overtime win July 29, when they scored 15 points in the final three minutes of regulation and made a goal-line stand in OT.

The Roughriders visit the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Saturday.