Stampeders, Tiger-Cats playing out season with no playoffs ahead

The Calgary Stampeders take an eight-game winless streak into Hamilton on Friday night for their first meeting with the Tiger-Cats since the season opener.

It’s the penultimate game of the season for the Stampeders (4-11-1) and Tiger-Cats (6-10), who both will miss the playoffs as the last-place teams in their respective divisions.

Calgary began the season with a 32-24 home victory against Hamilton on June 7. Rene Paredes kicked six field goals and Jake Maier threw touchdown passes to Cam Echols and Clark Barnes to lead the Stampeders.

Calgary was 4-4 in early August before the wheels fell off. The winless skid reached eight games last weekend with a 23-18 loss to Edmonton, as the Elks completed their first three-game sweep in the Battle of Alberta since 2002.

The Stampeders were 69 seconds away from victory when Edmonton’s Eugene Lewis scored on a 10-yard pass from Tre Ford.

“The season is what it is,” Stamps coach and general manager Dave Dickenson told the Calgary Herald. “We need a play — we have a chance to make one play to win, and we don’t make the play.”

Hamilton had a bye last weekend after having its four-game winning streak snapped in a 31-10 loss to Winnipeg on Oct. 4. The Tiger-Cats are trying to avoid their first season sweep by Calgary since 2018.

“It’s just frustrating to look back at the season and wonder ‘what if?’ on certain games,” Hamilton quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell said after the lopsided loss to the Blue Bombers.

“… We knew the kind of team we were in training camp and who we could be. We didn’t play up to that potential early on.”

Fans can expect a high-scoring affair, as Calgary (29.6 points per game) and Hamilton (31.2) have given up the most points in the league this season.

The Stampeders are 0-7 on the road and 1-5-1 against East Division teams this season. The Ti-Cats are 3-5 at home and 2-7 against the West.

–Field Level Media