THE CANADIAN PRESS
CALGARY — The Calgary Stampeders scored three defensive touchdowns in the second half on their way to a 44-9 romp over the Toronto Argonauts on Friday night.
Running back Joffrey Reynolds pitched in with a touchdown on the ground and another through the air for Calgary (1-2).
Stampeders linebacker Dwaine Carpenter put the game out of reach on the final play of the third quarter when he stripped Argos quarterback Kerry Joseph and returned it 55 yards for a touchdown to make it 27-9.
On the Argos next series, Calgary defensive back Dwight Anderson picked off Joseph pass and ran it back 52 yards to the end zone.
Later in the fourth quarter, cornerback Brandon Browner intercepted Joseph again and ran it back for another score.
Sandro DeAngelis added three field goals for the Stampeders in front of a crowd of 33,109 at McMahon Stadium.
All the Argos (1-2) could muster was three first-half field goals from Justin Medlock.
On Calgary’s second possession, quarterback Henry Burris engineered a 10-play, 75-yard drive that was capped off by a one-yard touchdown run by Reynolds.
It was Reynolds’s 33rd career rushing touchdown with the Stampeders, moving him past Willie Burden into fifth on Calgary’s all-time list.
After Medlock kicked a 15-yard field goal to get the Argos on the board, DeAngelis answered back with a 26-yard field goal of his own to put the Stamps up 10-3 early in the second quarter.
Following another Medlock field goal from 28 yards out, the Argos had a great chance to pull into the lead when Joseph hooked up with Arland Bruce on a 25-yard reception to give Toronto a first-and-goal situation from the five-yard line.
After Browner knocked down a pass intended for Jamal Robertson at the goal line, defensive lineman Odell Willis sacked Joseph for a 12-yard loss, forcing the Argos to settle for a 25-yard Medlock field goal.
Calgary’s Mike Labinjo then recovered a Medlock fumble after a botched punt attempt to give the Stampeders great possession on the Toronto 29-yard line.
After Burris tossed an incomplete pass to Nik Lewis, Toronto’s Adriano Belli sacked the Calgary quarterback to force DeAngelis to kick a 42-yard field goal to put the Stamps up 13-9 at the half.
The third quarter featured more sloppy from both sides before Burris drove the Stampeders 103 yards on just three plays.
With Calgary facing a 1st-and-17 situation on their own seven-yard line, Burris tossed a 57-yard bomb to Jeremaine Copeland and followed that up with a 14-yard completion to Ken-Yon Rambo.
Reynolds then hauled in a 32-yard TD pass from Burris for a 20-9 lead.
NOTES: Calgary is now 39-36-1 in regular-season games with Toronto. … The Argos have lost four straight games in Calgary and eight in a row overall against the West Division. … Three Canadian receivers for the Argos went down with injuries. Andre Talbot, Tyler Scott and Matt Lambrose all left the game with various ailments. … With 50 rushing yards, Henry Burris now has 2,387 career yards to pass Jeff Garcia (2,358) to become the all-time leading rusher among Calgary quarterbacks.