Experience, it turns out, is over-rated.

Calgary Stampeders quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell has been saying it all week.

And no one’s doubting him after he torched the Edmonton Eskimos for four touchdowns through the air in his first CFL playoff start — a convincing 43-18 victory in the West Division Final at McMahon Stadium on Sunday.

“Maybe you can get it right the first time,” quipped veteran Stamps slotback Nik Lewis.

No maybe about it.

Mitchell showed the poise of a polished veteran as he picked apart the Esks defence all afternoon, completing 14-of-22 tosses for a season-high 336 yards.

The 24-year-old also scored a touchdown himself as the Stamps advanced to face the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in next Sunday’s Grey Cup (4 p.m., TSN, News Talk 770).

The Stamps won both meeting with the Tabbies — 10-7 and 30-20 — during the regular season.

Mitchell was content with his performance but made it clear he’s far from completely satisfied.

“It means we’re one game closer,” the affable Texan said. “I want to smile. I want to have fun and celebrate (Sunday’s win), but we’ve been in this position.

“We’re one game closer to the ultimate goal we set at the beginning of the season.”

The Esks gameplan was obvious. They weren’t going to allow Stamps running back Jon Cornish to run the ball down their throats.

The visitors stacked the box and dared Mitchell to beat them with his arm. He did.

“They were putting a lot of people in the box, bringing people from the sky, so to speak,” Stamps GM/head coach John Hufnagel said.

“They were playing cover-zero, so we had to make some hay in the air because we weren’t doing very much on the ground.

“I thought Bo played an excellent football game. He threw the ball with great accuracy, handled the pressure, kept his poise and didn’t make any major mistakes.”

Stamps leading receiver Marquay McDaniel hauled in a 46-yard touchdown strike on the club’s second series and the hosts were off to the races.

Mitchell plunged in from two yards out to make it 14-1 before Cornish took off on what has to be considered the highlight of the season.

The reigning MOP took an awkward-looking shovel pass from Mitchell and then rumbled his way through the entire Eskimos defence for an eye-popping 78-yard touchdown.

Then, at the risk of wearing out Quick Six, the club’s touchdown horse, Mitchell found rookie wideout Eric Rogers for a 19-yard major before halftime for a comfortable 29-4 lead at the break.

Rogers, who has already established himself as a legitimate threat in just three CFL starts, hauled in a second touchdown early in the second half to extend the lead to 36-4.

Mitchell credited his receiving corps for making him look good.

“If you all are going to come in the box and try to take away the run game, then we’re going to go over the top,” Mitchell said after spreading the ball around to six different targets.

“We know we have the receivers. We know we have the protection to make sure we have the time to do it.

“Shoot, I can’t say enough about the receivers today.”

The Esks scored a pair of touchdowns to make things interesting before limping quarterback Mike Reilly was knocked from the game for good.

Cornish punched in his second touchdown with just over two minutes to play to round out the scoring and send the 31,004 — minus those clad in green and gold — home happy.

scott.fisher@sunmedia.ca

twitter.com/SUNScottFisher​

Mobile users, click here to follow our live blog of the West Final from McMahon Stadium.The game begins at 2:30 p.m.

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