HAMILTON — Bo Levi Mitchell finally has his first win over the Calgary Stampeders.
Mitchell threw for 450 yards and five touchdowns to lead Hamilton past Calgary 42-20 on Friday night. Mitchell, 34, spent his first 10 CFL seasons with the Stampeders before joining the Tiger-Cats in 2023.
Hamilton faced Calgary once last season with Mitchell on the injured list. He returned to McMahon Stadium on June 7, passing for 300 yards with a TD and an interception in a season-opening 32-24 loss.
"It feels good, it's something I've wanted to do since I left there," Mitchell said. "It's not something that I have a vengeance against those guys but it's your old team.
"I'd be lying if I didn't tell you I wanted to go out there and just beat the brakes off of them because I did . . . it felt good to go out there and do it and just put that to bed."
Mitchell wasn't alone. Cornerback Jonathan Moxey, defensive back Richard Leonard and running back Ante Litre are also former Stampeders.
Moxey's first-quarter interception ended Calgary's impressive opening drive. It also set up Mitchell's eight-yard TD pass to Tim White at 9:30 as Hamilton quickly surged into a 30-0 first-half advantage.
"I didn't expect to be able to jump on them that quickly," said Hamilton head coach Scott Milanovich. "Obviously the interception was, I thought, critical because they had some momentum, they were moving on the first drive."
Mitchell leads the CFL in passing yards (5,026), touchdowns (31) and interceptions (17). He registered his third 5,000-yard passing campaign but the first since 2018.
"It's a milestone," Milanovich said of Mitchell's accomplishment. "I know, probably more important than that, how important that game was to him with his time in Calgary.
"I was proud of the way he played, especially after mentioning (during the week) I did want to get Taylor (backup Taylor Powell) some reps. That's not the easiest thing for a starter so I thought Bo handled it beautifully and played really well."
Mitchell is just 359 yards short of his career-best 5,385 passing yards set in 2016. He also needs four TD passes to match the career-high 35 he had in 2018.
Despite its early deficit, Calgary pulled to within 33-20 to start the fourth. Marc Liegghio's 35-yard field goal at 4:43 put Hamilton ahead 36-20 before an announced Tim Hortons Field gathering of 22,410.
Mitchell cemented the win with a 14-yard TD pass to Steven Dunbar Jr. at 8:20. Mitchell completed 24-of-37 passes with an interception.
Hamilton (7-10) earned its fifth win in six games but will miss the CFL playoffs. The Ticats finished 4-5 at home.
Calgary (4-12-1) fell to 0-8 on the road. The Stampeders are also winless in their last nine games (0-8-1) and will miss the CFL playoffs for the first time since '04.
Dunbar and Tim White had two TDs each for Hamilton while Jevoni Robinson scored the other. Liegghio booted three converts and three field goals.
Tre Roberson and Matt Shiltz scored Calgary's touchdowns. Rene Paredes kicked two field goals while Reggie Begelton had a two-point convert.
Shiltz was 12-of-24 passing for 124 yards and an interception while rushing seven times for 43 yards. Jake Maier finished two-of-five for 30 yards in spot duty.
"We got behind early and obviously they ran away with it," said Dave Dickenson, Calgary's head coach/GM. "We did fight back and he (Shiltz) was part of the reason why we got back into the game . . . we never really threatened them though.
"They had it under control the whole time. We kept fighting but it certainly wasn't enough."
Hamilton also announced in the first half it will retire Hall of Famer Garney Henley's No. 26 at next year's home opener. He'll join Angelo Mosca (No. 68) and Bernie Faloney (No. 10) as the only players in franchise history to have their jerseys retired.
Paredes' 42-yard field goal at 11:00 of the third cut Hamilton's lead to 33-20.
Shiltz pulled Calgary to within 33-17 at 5:17. After scoring on a 15-yard run he threw to Begelton for the two-point convert.
Shiltz left the game at 7:11 following a seven-yard scramble but returned in the fourth.
Liegghio's 18-yard field goal at 2:52 extended Hamilton's advantage to 33-9.
Roberson's 65-yard pick-six at 14:36 of the second cut Hamilton's half-time lead to 30-9. It took away from an otherwise solid performance by Mitchell, who was 17-of-23 passing for 281 yards and four TDs.
Hamilton accumulated 339 net offensive yards and 18 first downs, compared to 131 yards and seven first downs for Calgary.
Parades' 45-yard field goal at 13:53 put Calgary on the board. Liegghio's 29-yard boot at 12:48 extended Hamilton's lead to 30-0.
Mitchell found Dunbar on a six-yard TD pass at 4:30 to put Hamilton ahead 27-0. It came after Mitchell found Robinson on a 27-yard scoring toss 17 seconds into the quarter.
Mitchell and White combined on a 31-yard scoring strike at 11:07 of the first. It followed Cody Grace's 17-yard punt that, with the illegal kick penalty, resulted in just a seven-yard net.
UP NEXT
Hamilton: At Ottawa (8-7-1) on Friday night.
Calgary: At Saskatchewan (9-7-1) on Oct. 26.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 18, 2024.
Dan Ralph, The Canadian Press