Lewis Ward didn’t know how to feel when he saw his 51-yard field goal split the uprights with no time left on the clock.
Ward’s lengthy kick gave his Ottawa Redblacks a thrilling 31-29 win over the Calgary Stampeders at McMahon Stadium on Thursday.
“I had a split second there where I was completely emotionless,” said Ward, who finished the game with three field goals. “I saw it go through. I wasn’t happy, I wasn’t sad, I wasn’t surprised. I just didn’t know how to feel.
“It was a strange feeling, but then seeing everyone around me afterwards, then you get a little excited.”
Calgary kicker Rene Paredes hit a field goal from 48 yards with 2:23 remaining on the clock to put the Stamps up 29-28 before Ward’s heroics.
Ottawa coach Bob Dyce wasn’t surprised to see his kicker come through in the clutch for the Redblacks (6-2-1), who are unbeaten in their last five games (4-0-1).
“We call him Money Lew, so we expect him to be successful in those situations and that’s what he does,” said Dyce.
Calgary coach Dave Dickenson even called a timeout to try to ice Ward.
“It’s nothing surprising, nothing new to him. They can call a timeout if they want,” Dyce said. “His focus is so great that he’s going to take care of his process and then put the ball through the uprights. I can’t be prouder of him.”
Quarterback Jeremiah Masoli completed 27-of-35 passes for 254 yards and one touchdown pass to Devonte Dedmon.
“Definitely too close for comfort, but we fought a good team,” Masoli said. “Those guys were battling hard out there. Close games in the CFL, you’ve got to find a way to win. We’re learning how to do that as a team.”
After dressing as the Redblacks’ third quarterback in Ottawa’s last two games, Masoli made his first start since suffering a season-ending ruptured Achilles tendon in a 21-13 road loss to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on July 8, 2023.
Ryquell Armstead and Dustin Crum ran for touchdowns for Ottawa, while Richie Leone added a single.
Short-yardage quarterback Tommy Stevens ran for three touchdowns for the Stampeders (4-6), who lost for the first time at home this season in front of 17,692 fans at McMahon.
“It was a rough one and our locker room’s real quiet,” said Calgary coach Dave Dickeson after the disappointing setback. “A lot was put into it, just unfortunate to come out with the loss.
“I’m not saying we outplayed them, but it felt like a lot was put into finally getting that lead, but we just weren’t able to finish.”
Paredes kicked two field goals, while punter Cody Grace had a pair of singles for Calgary.
Starting quarterback Jake Maier completed 24-of-32 passes for 269 yards, but he wasn’t able to toss a touchdown pass for just the second time this season — both against Ottawa.
“I just think that was two teams that played really hard,” Maier said. “Sometimes you’re on the right side of it, sometimes you’re not. We were just on the wrong side of it. I felt like throughout the game we were battling on offence.”
After Ward’s first field goal to open the scoring, the Stamps answered right back with a one-yard touchdown run by Stevens to cap off a six-play, 70-yard drive that was aided by a pair of penalties.
The Redblacks retook the lead at 8:07 of the first quarter thanks to a 25-yard TD run by Armstead.
Once again, the Stamps replied with a one-yard touchdown rush by Stevens, this time to put an exclamation mark on a five-play, 75-yard drive.
Ward kicked his second field goal of the game, this time from 19 yards out, at the end of the first quarter.
Ottawa’s offence came alive late in the second quarter as Massoli led the Redblacks on a six-play, 70-yard drive that he punctuated by tossing a nine-yard TD pass to Dedmon to make it 20-16.
The Redblacks carried that momentum into the third quarter as Masoli marched his team 83 yards down the field before giving way to Crum, who came into the game at quarterback to run for a one-yard TD.
After a 29-yard field goal by Paredes at 9:23 of the third quarter, Stevens ran for his third touchdown at 4:51 of the fourth to pull the Stamps within two points.
Paredes put Calgary ahead, but Ward had an answer.