2008 Calgary Stampeders season
Canadian football team season
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The 2008 Calgary Stampeders season was the 51st season for the team in the Canadian Football League (CFL) and their 70th overall. The Stampeders finished in first place in the West division, won the West Final and played in the 96th Grey Cup in Montreal. The Stampeders defeated the hometown Montreal Alouettes to win their 6th Grey Cup championship.
| 2008 Calgary Stampeders season | |
|---|---|
| General manager | John Hufnagel |
| Head coach | John Hufnagel |
| Home stadium | McMahon Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 13–5 |
| Division place | 1st, West |
| Playoffs | Won Grey Cup |
| Uniform | |
| |
This season started the following streaks for the Stampeders:
- 14 consecutive seasons above .500 (2008–2022)
- 14 consecutive seasons .500 or better (2008–2022)
- 12 consecutive seasons 10+ wins (2008–2019)
Offseason
Transactions
- April 24, 2008 – Montreal native Kevin Challenger signed with the Calgary Stampeders on Friday April 25. The former Boston College star was eligible for the NFL Draft but Challenger was ranked number 108 among NCAA receivers. Challenger spent five years at Boston College and was a starter the 2006 and 2007 seasons.[1]
- May 27, 2008 – Calgary Stampeders head coach/GM John Hufnagel traded Duncan Mahony to the Edmonton Eskimos. Calgary received a conditional draft pick for the 31-year-old O'Mahony.[2]
CFL draft
In the 2008 CFL draft, 48 players were chosen from among 752 eligible players from Canadian universities across the country, as well as Canadian players playing in the NCAA.[3] The first two rounds were broadcast on TSN.ca with host Rod Black.
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | School/Club team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Dimitri Tsoumpas | OL | Weber State |
| 1 | 3 | Jesse Newman | OL | Louisiana-Lafayette |
| 2 | 16 | Fernand Kashama | DE | Western Michigan |
| 3 | 27 | Ronald Hilaire | DL | Buffalo |
| 5 | 35 | Jon Gott | OL | Boise State |
| 6 | 43 | Jonathan Lapointe | FB | Montreal |
Preseason
| Week | Date | Opponent | Score | Result | Attendance | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | June 13 | vs. Edmonton Eskimos | 39–14 | Win | 27,580 | 1–0 |
| B | June 19 | at BC Lions | 39–35 | Loss | 26,242 | 1–1 |
Regular season
Season standings
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Calgary Stampeders (C, Q) | 18 | 13 | 5 | 0 | 595 | 420 | +175 | 26 |
| 2 | Saskatchewan Roughriders (Q) | 18 | 12 | 6 | 0 | 500 | 471 | +29 | 24 |
| 3 | BC Lions (Q) | 18 | 11 | 7 | 0 | 559 | 479 | +80 | 22 |
| 4 | Edmonton Eskimos (Q) | 18 | 10 | 8 | 0 | 512 | 536 | −24 | 20 |
Source: "2008 Regular Season Standings". Canadian Football League. Archived from the original on 2009-02-05. Retrieved 2011-05-07.
(C) First round bye; (Q) Qualified for playoffs
(C) First round bye; (Q) Qualified for playoffs
Season schedule
| Week | Date | Opponent | Score | Result | Attendance | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | June 26 | vs. BC Lions | 28–18 | Win | 30,159 | 1–0 |
| 2 | July 3 | at Edmonton Eskimos | 34–31 | Loss | 32,706 | 1–1 |
| 3 | July 10 | at Montreal Alouettes | 23–19 | Win | 20,202 | 2–1 |
| 4 | July 17 | vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats | 43–16 | Win | 31,116 | 3–1 |
| 5 | July 24 | at Winnipeg Blue Bombers | 32–28 | Loss | 26,882 | 3–2 |
| 6 | August 2 | vs. Saskatchewan Roughriders | 22–21 | Loss | 35,650 | 3–3 |
| 7 | August 7 | at Saskatchewan Roughriders | 30–25 | Win | 28,800 | 4–3 |
| 8 | Bye | 4–3 | ||||
| 9 | August 22 | at BC Lions | 36–29 | Win | 34,221 | 5–3 |
| 10 | September 1 | vs. Edmonton Eskimos | 37–16 | Loss | 35,650 | 5–4 |
| 11 | September 5 | at Edmonton Eskimos | 38–33 | Win | 46,014 | 6–4 |
| 12 | September 12 | vs. Montreal Alouettes | 41–30 | Win | 30,960 | 7–4 |
| 13 | September 20 | vs. Toronto Argonauts | 34–4 | Win | 33,135 | 8–4 |
| 14 | September 27 | at Toronto Argonauts | 44–16 | Win | 29,672 | 9–4 |
| 15 | October 3 | at Saskatchewan Roughriders | 37–34 | Loss | 30,945 | 9–5 |
| 16 | October 13 | vs. Saskatchewan Roughriders | 42–5 | Win | 35,650 | 10–5 |
| 17 | October 18 | vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers | 37–16 | Win | 30,110 | 11–5 |
| 18 | October 24 | at Hamilton Tiger Cats | 28–17 | Win | 20,614 | 12–5 |
| 19 | November 1 | vs. BC Lions | 41–30 | Win | 30,275 | 13–5 |
Roster
Player stats
Passing
| Player | Att | Comp | % | Yards | TD | INT | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Henry Burris | 591 | 381 | 64.5 | 5093 | 39 | 14 | 103.8 |
| Dave Dickenson | 9 | 5 | 55.6 | 79 | 0 | 0 | 85.0 |
| Will Proctor | 1 | 1 | 100.0 | 49 | 0 | 0 | 158.3 |
| Barrick Nealy | 12 | 5 | 41.7 | 32 | 0 | 0 | 47.9 |
| Jermaine Copeland | 1 | 1 | 100.0 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 152.1 |
Rushing
| Player | Att | Yards | Avg | TD | Fumbles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joffrey Reynolds | 227 | 1310 | 5.8 | 10 | 4 |
| Henry Burris | 87 | 595 | 6.8 | 3 | 9 |
| Jon Cornish | 30 | 254 | 8.5 | 1 | 0 |
| Demetris Summers | 19 | 121 | 6.4 | 1 | 1 |
| Barrick Nealy | 9 | 112 | 12.4 | 3 | 1 |
Receiving
| Player | No. | Yards | Avg | Long | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ken-Yon Rambo | 100 | 1473 | 14.7 | 81 | 8 |
| Nikolas Lewis | 87 | 1109 | 12.7 | 85 | 10 |
| Jermaine Copeland | 52 | 763 | 14.7 | 60 | 7 |
Awards and records
- Henry Burris, Led West Division, Passing Touchdowns (39)
- Henry Burris, Led West Division, Passer Rating (103.8)[5]
- Joffrey Reynolds, CFL Rushing Champion, 1310 Yards[6]
- Joffrey Reynolds, Led CFL, Rushing Attempts (227)
- John Hufnagel, Annis Stukus Trophy winner as the CFL's coach of the year.[8]
All-Star Selections
- Brandon Browner, Western Division All-Star, Defence
- Henry Burris, Western Division All-Star, Offence
- Sandro DeAngelis, Western Division All-Star, Special Teams
- Rob Lazeo, Western Division All-Star, Offence
- Ken-Yon Rambo, Western Division All-Star, Offence
- Joffrey Reynolds, Western Division All-Star, Offence
Playoffs
| Game | Date | Time | Opponent | Score | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Final | November 15 | 2:30 PM MST | vs. BC Lions | 22–18 | Win | 35,650 |
| Grey Cup | November 23 | 4:00 PM MST | Montreal Alouettes | 22–14 | Win | 66,308 |
West Final
Date and time: Saturday, November 15, 2:30 PM Mountain Standard Time
Venue: McMahon Stadium, Calgary, Alberta
| Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BC Lions | 6 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 18 |
| Calgary Stampeders | 0 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 22 |
Grey Cup
Date and time: Sunday, November 23, 4:00 PM Mountain Standard Time
Venue: Olympic Stadium, Montreal, Quebec
| Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calgary Stampeders | 0 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 22 |
| Montreal Alouettes | 3 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 14 |