OTTAWA — The Ottawa Redblacks have much to celebrate after an impressive 33-6 win over the Calgary Stampeders Friday night.
Ottawa is 4-0 at home for the first time since 1978. Its 5-2 record is their best start ever after seven Canadian Football League games and they’re riding a three-game winning streak.
Everything seems to be going in the right direction, but now they have to hope they’ll be able to recapture the momentum as they head into a bye week.
“You know, going into a bye week 5-2 I know they’re going to come back even hungrier,” said Redblacks head coach Bob Dyce. “That’s what we talked about at the end of the game. We just feel this is the beginning for us and we want to keep the momentum going.”
Dave Dickenson’s Stampeders will want to forget this one as soon as possible.
There wasn’t much to like about this one and coach Dickenson gave full credit to the Redblacks for their performance.
“They were the better team by far,” said Dickenson. “We were never really in it. They were the better team but we’ll come back, we will.”
Dickenson said the lesson for his team is to not let this loss define the season and to learn from it and move on.
Calgary drops to 3-4 and remains winless on the road (0-4).
Dru Brown had a solid outing for Ottawa, going 30-for-37 for 325 yards but struggled to finish drives, relying heavily on kicker Lewis Ward, who was 4-for-4 on the night.
Ottawa’s defence deserves significant credit for the victory.
After a league-leading performance last week, Calgary QB Jake Maier struggled, completing just 20 of 27 passes for 136 yards. Logan Bonner came in late in the game and went 4-for-8 for 61 yards.
“Defensively, week in and week out, we tell ourselves we’ve got to play Ottawa Redblacks defence,” said defensive lineman Lorenzo Mauldin. “When we do that we’re confident we’re going to come out with a win.”
Calgary opened the scoring with a 50-yard field goal from Rene Paredes, but after that it was all Redblacks.
Ottawa quickly responded with a solid drive that culminated in a 14-yard touchdown pass to Jaelon Acklin.
Ward then connected on three field goals from 40, 23, and 42 yards to round out the scoring in the first half to take a 16-3 lead.
Failing to capitalize in the red zone will be something Dyce will consider over the course of the bye week.
“That’s an area we can focus on to make sure,” he said. “On our wall right there is written finish and that’s what we have to do. We have to finish drives.”
The Redblacks didn’t take long to extend the lead.
Ottawa opened the second half with a 34-yard field goal, and Kalil Pimpleton followed up with a 99-yard punt return, extending the lead to 26-3.
“He does everything the right way,” said Brown of Pimpleton, who also had seven catches for 80 yards. “I can’t express my gratitude to him enough for continuing to stay in it even when he wasn’t on the roster.”
After just three games Pimpleton has left a solid impression.
Calgary’s night was summed up when they managed to reach the eight-yard line, only for Damon Webb to knock down a pass intended for Marken Michel.
“We’re professionals, we can’t make excuses,” said Calgary’s defensive lineman Josiah Coatney. “We’ve just got to come out and play the way we know we can play and not worry about the circumstances. That’s what being professional is.”
Paredes added a 40-yard field goal early in the fourth to make it 26-6. Dustin Crum punched in a one-yard TD with 3:44 remaining to put Ottawa ahead 32-6.
The lone stain on the night for Ottawa was Ryquell Armstead being ejected early in the second half after his second misconduct penalty of the game. Armstead had previously been fined for abuse of an official.
“One of the things we always talk about is being disciplined,” said Dyce. “That’s undisciplined play … it’s a frustrating thing because it puts stress on the whole roster.”
UP NEXT
Stampeders: Host the Toronto Argonauts (3-3) on Sunday, Aug. 4.
Redblacks: Bye week, then host the Saskatchewan Roughriders (5-2) on Thursday, Aug. 8.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 26, 2024.