Photo: Bob Butrym/RFB Sport Photography / 3DownNation. All rights reserved.
Dave Dickenson should have been basking in the glory of his 100th career coaching victory following Calgary’s 28-23 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Saturday, but instead, he was forced to play bouncer.
The 53-year-old head coach found himself at the centre of a minor post-game skirmish between the two teams, physically separating his players from the opponent to prevent a larger altercation from kicking off.
“I was in there trying to break it up. It was their long snapper and our players. I was just trying to say, ‘It’s over, get away,’ and then I’m just basically trying to talk to our guys and get them out of there,” Dickenson told the media post-game.
The incident may have been instigated by linebacker Kyle Wilson, who intercepted Hamilton’s Jake Dolegala on the final play of the game. The TSN broadcast appeared to show the 30-year-old veteran taunting members of the Ticats as they walked-off the sideline for handshakes, until running back Larry Rountree III pushed him back.
When the camera cut back to the field moments later, Dickenson was face-to-face with Ticats’ long snapper Gordon Whyte in the middle of a mass of Stampeders. The specialist appeared to be irate as Dickenson gestured at him to leave the field. Calgary cornerback Anthony Johnson, who had already been pushed away once, attempted to re-enter the fray and was restrained by his coach, while offensive lineman Christy Nkanu always had to be physically steered away.
Dickenson got an assist in breaking up the fracas from Hamilton special teams coordinator Bob Dyce, as well as Calgary linebackers coach Marcus Klund. He downplayed the entire situation post-game, attributing it to the regular emotions of a tightly contested result.
“It was a lot of effort, and we’ve been on the tail end of those. When you lose those, it’s some frustration, I’m sure,” he said. “No reason for us to really say any more than we battled. We made the last play, and we were able to get the W.”
Calgary’s victory, which came with backup quarterback Josh Love making his first career start, ended a two-game losing skid for the franchise. Running back Dedrick Mills scored the winning touchdown on a 49-yard run with 29 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
The Stampeders (5-6) will return to action on Monday, September 7, when they host the Edmonton Elks (8-3) in the Labour Day Classic.
Editor’s note: This article was assembled using key files obtained by 3DownNation contributor Ryan Ballantine.
