Stampeders edge Ticats to clinch home field

Kicker Rene Paredes could only trust in his form as he battled the gusting winds.

Paredes made two field goals in the final minute of the game to lead the visiting Calgary Stampeders 23-20 over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in CFL action Friday night.

With the wind at his back, Paredes hit a 37-yard walk-off field goal after making a 46-yarder to tie the game with 48 seconds left. The game began with winds recorded at 57 kilometres per hour, enough to keep the uprights swaying throughout.

"Every kick is hard and not every kick is going to go in, especially in these conditions," Paredes said. "I just had to trust my swing and if they give me a chance to win the game, or tie the game, it doesn't matter"

Calgary improves to 11-3, tops in the CFL West, while Hamilton drops to 8-5 and a share of first place with Ottawa in the East.

The game breaker for Hamilton ultimately came when it couldn't do anything with the ball once Calgary had tied the score 20-20. Ticat kicker Justin Medlock punted the ball 10 yards into the wind. Combined with a no-yards penalty, Calgary got the ball on the Hamilton 39, ran it to the 30 on the next play and set up Paredes' game-winner.

"The guys just made plays and that's the biggest thing," said Stamps quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell, who completed 25 of 40 attempts for 230 yards and one touchdown. "This team's so mentally tough we did exactly what it took at the end of the game to win it."

He acknowledged the huge role the wind played, especially at the end.

"That's what the wind does and that's why we took the wind in the fourth, to make sure that if anything could happen, it would."

Advantage Paredes

Paredes hit 5 of 7 field-goal attempts, connecting from 51, 36, 29, 46 and 37 yards and missing from 52 and 43.

Medlock made 1 of 2 field-goal attempts, hitting from 57 yards out with the wind and missing from 40.

Brandon Banks scored on an 83-yard punt return, his fourth of the season, and quarterback Jeff Mathews had a one-yard rushing TD for Hamilton. Calgary receiver Marquay McDaniel nabbed an eight-yard TD pass from Mitchell for the Stamps' lone touchdown after taking advantage of Banks' fumble on a punt return at the Hamilton 15 in the second quarter.

Calgary's Jon Cornish rushed for 90 yards.

Hamilton had four turnovers to Calgary's one.

Mathews was making his first CFL start and the 24-year-old rookie had a rough time, completing 15 of 23 pass attempts for a 155 yards, one interception and one fumble. He also rushed for the offence's lone TD. He only had 36 passing yards in the first half. Mathews was replacing Zach Collaros, who went down two weeks ago with a knee injury against Edmonton.

"There was some good and some bad," Mathews said. "We've got to fix the bad and get better at the good."

Down 14-13 in the fourth quarter, he hit Michael Ford with a 59-yard catch-and-run that put the Ticats at the one-yard line and Mathews ran that in for the score and a 20-17 Hamilton lead with less than seven minutes left in the game. It was the first score against the wind for either side all game.

The difference in the ball game was the third quarter. We were down in the scoring area  twice. We fumbled on one and missed a field on another. That was a minimum of six points and that's the ball game.- Tiger-Cats head coach Kent Austin

Both defence held and the Ticats still had the lead when they took possession with 2:34 left in the game. But a time-count violation with 2:09 on the clock meant the loss of a down and Calgary got the ball back. An apparent Hamilton interception by Courtney Stephen with 1:31 on the clock was called back by Emmanuel Davis' illegal contact penalty that gave the Stamps extra life. Paredes hit his 46-yarder with the wind to tie the game 20-20.

Calgary has beaten Hamilton nine straight games, including last year's Grey Cup. The Ticats last won back on Sept. 25, 2011 in Moncton, N.B., when Kevin Glenn was Ticat QB and Henry Burris was the Calgary pivot.

"The turnovers obviously killed us," said Hamilton head coach Kent Austin. "The difference in the ball game was the third quarter. We were down in the scoring area twice. We fumbled on one and missed a field goal on another. That was a minimum of six points and that's the ball game."

Hamilton couldn't take advantage of the wind in the third quarter. Mathews led a 47-yard drive that ate up 4:24 to get the ball to the Calgary 11 and a first down. But an offside call followed by a Mathews fumble on the 16 sent the Ticats away empty-handed.

On Hamilton's next possession, Medlock missed a 40-yard attempt with the wind that was run out with less than two minutes left in the third.