CFL playoff history: Riders-Stamps

The Calgary Stampeders and Saskatchewan Roughriders have made a habit in recent years of meeting in the post-season, hearkening back to a series of terrific playoff battles in the 1960s and early 1970s.

Calgary fans hardly need a rehash of the three Novemberelimination games so far this century Jason Armstread, Kenton Keith and Kerry Joseph are among the Riders who've haunted the Stamps en route to winning all three West playoff meetings.

From 1962 through to 1971, the two CFL teams would faithfully meet up in a Western playoff just about every year.

We're not talking nine playoff games between those years. More like 18,since the league back then used multiple game series to determine post-season matchups.

The rivalry wouldsubside, however. The late 1970s andall but the final year of the 1980s were a whistling graveyard for both clubs, with the other three West teamstaking turnssavouring championships.

There were two meetings in the 1990s, a prelude to the current rivalry.

Here is a look at some of the more memorable sets between the two clubs in the last half-century:

1963: Beginning ofthe legend

Calgary finished three games ahead of Saskatchewan heading into their two-game West semifinal and it seemed as if the Stamps would breeze after the opener.

Defender Art Johnson intercepted three Ron Lancaster passes and Earl Lunsford scored two touchdowns in Calgary's 35-9 home win.

The jury was out on fourth-year CFL proLancaster, who inhis first season in Saskatchewan finished with more interceptions than touchdowns. This was also the case in histhree previous seasons with Ottawa.

While it was true he'd won the Grey Cup in his rookie CFL season in 1960 as part of a tandem with Russ Jackson, the championship was won largely on the strengthof Ron Stewart'spower runningand team defence. Rough Riders coach Frank Clair could hardly predict both of his quarterbacks would one day end up in the CFL Hall, describing their collective Grey Cup performanceunder centre as "spotty."

Fast forward three years towhat was dubbed byThe Canadian Press at the time as one of "Canadian football's greatest upsets," with Lancasterbeginning to carve out hisniche in league loreby throwing for a record 492 yards in the return game.

Saskatchewan made up the deficit with a 39-12rout over the stunned Stamps, with thetouchdown that put the Riders overthe top coming with just two minutes left.

1967: Let's play 3

The teams both finished 12-4and engaged in three bruising games for the CFL West title.

Calgary quarterback Peter Liske, a castoff of the Toronto Argonauts, threw two touchdowns in a 15-11 opening win. Saskatchewan's only touchdown came courtesy of Hugh Campbell, the future CFL Hall of Fame Eskimos coach and GM.

The Riders won the second contest 11-9, andthe Stampedersdidn't just lose the game. Canadian player of the year Terry Evanshen who would endure a much more famous hardship in retirement broke hisankle onan icy Taylor Field shortly after scoring Calgary's lone touchdown.

The 17-13 finale was closer on the scoreboard than on the field in Calgary. Lancaster threw two touchdowns, and former linebacker George Reed led aground attack that resulted in 304 yards rushing, 2 times more than Calgary's running output.

Calgary left its mark on the Riders,however. The reward for Saskatchewan after three toughgames was Angelo Mosca and the Hamilton Ticats, who hadlimited Ottawa to just three points in a two-game rout.

Mosca made 13 tackles as the Tiger-Cats roared 24-1 over the Riders, the lowest Grey Cup point total of the last 60 years.

1970: Cool in the cold

In another best-of-three series, Calgary spotted the Riders 10 points before ruling the West final opener 28-11, with quarterback Jerry Keeling tossing three touchdowns.

Saskatchewan would grind out an 11-3 win to set up the rubber match and halfback Bob Pearce put the Roughriders in good position at the halfway mark of the third game with a 45-yard score.

With temperatures right at freezing in Regina, veteran Calgary defensive back/kicker Larry Robinson booted a 32-yarder through gusty windsfor the 15-14 win as time expired.

"I didn't have time to be nervous I was too busy tying up my shoe," said Robinson, who never missed a game in 14 seasons with Calgary.

In a battle of CFL teams who finished third in their respective divisions, Montreal prevailed over the Stampeders in the Grey Cup.

1971: Timely turnovers

The Stampeders would win 30-21 in the West final opener, but Calgary defender Frank Andruski was full of praise for Reed and Lancaster.

"You can hit George, step on his face and spit in his eye he just keeps plowing over top of you," Andruski said.

Reed would do fine in the second game, finishing with 76 yards rushing, but Lancaster had one of the worst games of his stellar career.

The Riders had made up the point differential with a 21-10 lead heading into the final quarter and were driving in Calgary territory. Lancaster's pass attempt was picked off and returned by Reggie Holmes 88 yards for the major as the Stamps would go on to score 20 unanswered points. Lancaster threw four interceptions in all.

Clinging to a 14-11 lead late in the Grey Cup against the Argos, Andruski would pounce ona Toronto fumble inside Calgary's 10 to help end a 23-year championship drought.

1989: Lambs that roared

Perhaps chastened by recent disappointments, a little more than 16,000 showed up for the first playoff game at McMahon Stadium in 10 years.

It looked like more of the same for the fans as Calgary fell behind in the West semifinal 23-9. But quarterback Terrence Jones, replacing injured Danny Barrett, led the Stamps tothe game's next 17 points.

Down 26-23 late in the game, unheralded Riders back Brian Walling rumbled 50 yards for the winning score. The 33-26final was Saskatchewan's first playoff win in 13 years.

Most counted them out in the ensuingdivision final against the Eskimos, who boasted a 16-2 record and whopping 342-point differential.

"We'll be loose and we're one of the teams that beat them this year," said Saskatchewan quarterback Kent Austin. "We'll give them a fight."

Austin fought only half the battlein the upset against Edmonton,injured and replaced admirably by Tom Burgess.

The Edmonton Sun no doubt helped put the Riders in an ornery mood by depicting them as "sacrificial lambs" in an infamouscartoon leading up to the West final.

Austin would heal in time for the Grey Cup thrilleragainst Hamilton, earning top offensive player honours asthe Riders hoisted theirfirst Grey Cup in23 years.

1997: Slack magic

Calgary quarterback Jeff Garcia was knocked out of theWest semifinalearly with a knee injury, but after a period of struggle, replacement Dave Dickenson had the Stampsahead by a pointin the fourth quarter after throwing a pair of touchdown passes.

Saskatchewan quarterback Reggie Slack rushed for a 17-yard score with 64 ticks left to lead the 8-10 Riders to an upset win. Slack rushed for 102 yards and threw a touchdown to future Hall of Famer Donald Narcisse in the 33-30 final.

The Roughriders would produce more magic in a one-point upset over the Eskimos in the West final, but the clock struck midnight as Toronto's DougFlutie administered a Grey Cup thumping in his final CFL game.