Stamps, Riders stay tied atop West after 44-44 deadlock

Oct 17, 2009 - 11:37 PM CALGARY (CP) - The Calgary Stampeders and Saskatchewan Roughriders battled to an exciting 44-44 tie on Saturday afternoon to remain tied for top spot in the CFL's West Division with identical 8-6-1 records.

Rob Cote and Brett Ralph caught touchdown passes from Henry Burris in overtime for the Stampeders, while Calgary's Chris Szarka ran for his third touchdown before Chris Getzlaf caught a 35-yard TD pass from Darian Durant.

Joffrey Reynolds ran for three touchdowns for the Stamps in regulation, while Sandro DeAngelis kicked a pair of field goals. Burke Dales added a single while the Stamps also recorded a safety.

Luca Congi kicked a pair of field goals and added two singles for the Riders, who needed a late fourth quarter touchdown grab by Andy Fantuz, followed by a two-point convert to force overtime.

In OT, Calgary scored first on Cote's TD, but the Riders came right back with a one-yard TD plunge by Szarka.

Getzlaf then caught a short pass from Durant and broke a tackle before rambling 35 yards into the end zone.

The Stamps, however, forced the tie when Burris tossed a five-yard TD pass to Brett Ralph in the end zone.

On Calgary's first drive of the game, the Stamps marched the ball 93 yards downfield on 14 plays, but had to settle for a 14-yard field goal by DeAngelis.

After Congi missed a 50-yard field goal, Saskatchewan had to settle instead for a 49-yard single.

Burris then engineered a six-play, 68-yard drive that resulted in Calgary's first touchdown in nine quarters when Reynolds rambled 38 yards into the end zone at the end of the first quarter.

The Riders responded right back early in the second quarter with a drive of their own which was capped off by a six-yard rushing touchdown by Szarka.

After Congi conceded a safety in the Saskatchewan end zone, the Stamps built up a 19-8 lead when Reynolds ran for a three-yard TD to cap off a six-play, 74-yard drive.

The Riders then responded right back thanks to a 65-yard reception by Jason Clermont that gave Saskatchewan a first down on the Calgary four-yard line. Two plays later, Szarka plunged across the goal line for a one-yard TD.

Following a 67-yard single by Dales, Congi kicked a 15-yard field goal with four seconds left in the first half to pull the Riders within two points.

DeAngelis accounted for the only points of the third quarter by kicking a 30-yard field goal. Congi then replied with field goals from 71 and 29 yards out in the fourth quarter to pull the Riders within one point.

After struggling to move the ball in the second half, Burris got into a rhythm late in the fourth, driving the Stamps deep into Rider territory to set up a four-yard TD run by Reynolds.

Once again, Saskatchewan responded as Durant led the Riders on an eight-play, 67-yard scoring drive, that was capped off when he tossed a 25-yard touchdown pass to Fantuz. Durant then tied the game with a two-point convert to force overtime when he tossed the ball to Rob Bagg just across the goal line.

NOTES: Saskatchewan offensive lineman Gene Makowsky played in his 246th career game for the Riders to tie him for second spot all-time with Hall of Fame quarterback Ron Lancaster. a Calgary slotback Jeremaine Copeland passed the 1,000-yard receiving mark for the fifth time in his career. a The Stamps now have an all-time regular season record of 111-85-9 against Saskatchewan, including a 65-34-5 mark at home.