Bo Levi Mitchell is expected to be under center on Saturday as the Calgary Stampeders visit the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
Mitchell injured his foot/ankle during the fourth quarter of the Stampeders’ 30-27 season-opening victory over the Montreal Alouettes on June 9. The two-time CFL Most Outstanding Player quickly shed his walking boot and was a full participant in practice from Tuesday through Thursday.
“I think I got pretty lucky,” Mitchell said, per the Calgary Sun. “When you watch the video, you can see my foot start to bend, but it makes that bend originally but my foot pops out. It’s kind of nice. I feel like if it had got stuck under there some bad things could have happened.”
Ka’Deem Carey rushed for a pair of touchdowns and Rene Paredes kicked three field goals, including a 38-yard attempt with 30 seconds remaining, to lift Calgary to the victory.
The Stampeders (1-0) will look to continue their dominance of the Tiger-Cats (0-1) on Saturday. Calgary has won 16 of its past 18 encounters with Hamilton, including the 2014 Grey Cup at Vancouver.
While the Stampeders eked out a victory in their season opener, the Tiger-Cats began the campaign with a thud. The reigning East Division champions committed five turnovers and surrendered eight sacks in a 30-13 loss to the Saskatchewan Roughriders last Saturday.
Dane Evans and the new-look Hamilton offense struggled in the opener, with Evans throwing two interceptions and fumbling twice in the setback. Evans now is the unquestioned starter after sharing those duties with Jeremiah Masoli the previous two seasons. Masoli is playing with the Ottawa Redblacks.
“I don’t put it on the quarterback. When you don’t convert on second down, and don’t stay on the field, it’s hard to get in a rhythm,” Tiger-Cats coach Orlondo Steinauer said, per The Hamilton Spectator. “He was harassed, but we still had opportunities to make some plays and we didn’t. It’s not any bigger than that.”
The lone bright spot for the Tiger-Cats was Evans connecting with Steven Dunbar Jr. on a 71-yard touchdown pass.
–Field Level Media