There was a familiar face in Alberta, Canada tonight to area fans. That face was of Fitch standout Davanzo Tate. The former Falcon started tonight's opening day game for the Calgary Stampeders at his defensive back position. Number forty-five made 6 tackles in a rematch of last year's Grey Cup, unfortunately for the Stamps, this time the Montreal Alouettes prevailed 40-27.
Tate was signed by Calgary on May 11 and is on the depth chart as a backup. However, starter J.R. Ruffin (Idaho) was sidelined with an injury so Davanzo took full advantage of his opportunity and made the most of his CFL debut as he also forced a fumble. In 2008, Tate was invited to attend the rookie minicamp of the New York Giants.
The Stampeders also have wide receiver Ken-Yon Rambo (Ohio State) on their roster, as well as, veteran quarterback Henry Burris (Temple) who is on pace to throw for over 30,000 career yards by the end of the season. Calgary is well known for their quarterbacks as Doug Flutie and Jeff Garcia once were signal callers for the red and white.
Calgary has won six Grey Cups (1948, 1971, 1992, 1998, 2001, 2008).
