Category: FOOTBALL

OTTAWA, ON — The Toronto Argonauts had already punched their ticket to the East Division Final but were determined to finish the CFL regular season on a high.

They did just that beating the Ottawa Redblacks 27-22 to win its franchise-record 16th game Saturday night at TD Place.

Adding to their impressive 16-2 season record was the fact they finished the season with a perfect divisional record of 10-0, a CFL first.

“It’s pretty impressive, right?” said Argonauts head coach Ryan Dinwiddie. “It’s a long season to go through all the ups and downs and different battles and I’m just so proud of that room.”

The Redblacks (4-14) are at the opposite end of the spectrum, missing the playoffs for the fourth straight season. Toronto has more wins this season than the Redblacks 14 over the past four seasons.

Ottawa didn’t beat a division rival once this season.

“I felt this game was a microcosm of our whole season,” said Ottawa head coach Bob Dyce. “Showed the fight that the team had consistently throughout the year, but at the same time some of the challenges we faced showed as well.

“We’re tired of being the team that tries hard or is close, right. We have to execute and make the plays that we need to make at all times and we just didn’t find ways to do that tonight and through the season.”

The Argonauts will have next week off as they watch to see who wins the East semifinal between Hamilton and Montreal.

“The regular season is over now and now it’s time to play big-boy football in the playoffs,” said Dinwiddie. “You throw all the records out the window and now we’ve got to find a way to win the next game.”

The Argonauts sat a number of their starters, including QB Chad Kelly, but Toronto’s depth shone through.

Cameron Dukes finished the game 22-of-34 passing for 317 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.

Ottawa’s Dustin Crum was 22-of-35 for 261 yards with two TD’s and two interceptions.

The one highlight for the Redblacks was Devonte Williams reaching 1,003 yards for his first-ever 1,000-yard season.

Williams will be looking for a new contract next season and this is a nice stat to point to. Williams almost fell short of the milestone, but with 41 seconds remaining had a seven-yard gain to hit the mark.

“It meant a lot to me and to the guys around me as well,” said Williams after the game, holding his nine-month-old son. “It’s a collective effort and we all appreciate it.”

Toronto took the lead in the first quarter and never looked back, but the Redblacks did fight to the end.

Ottawa outscored the Argonauts 16-13 in the second half, but an eight-point deficit at the half was the difference.

“Obviously they’re a good team and when you make as many mistakes as we did and didn’t execute well enough you’re not going to be able to come out on the right side of it very often,” said Crum.

“We’ve just got to start faster as an offence. Defence gave us some opportunities early that we didn’t capitalize on.”

Ottawa’s Michael Domagala scored his third field goal, from 46 yards out, midway through the third to bring Ottawa within five, but a late two-yard TD by Toronto’s Deonta McMahon made it 21-9.

Boris Bede added a 37-yard field goal midway through the fourth quarter to give Toronto a 24-9 lead sending many of the Ottawa faithful for the gates.

Crum picked up his first TD of the game connecting with Justin Hardy for a 30-yard pass with 6:21 remaining, but any hope of a comeback was dashed by Bede’s 38-yard field goal to put the Argos up 27-16.

Ottawa made it look closer than it was with Keaton Bruggeling scoring his first CFL TD by connecting with Crum for a 16-yard pass.

“It was so surreal,” admitted Bruggeling. “All year working hard, all of last year working so hard thinking about every touchdown celebration in the whole wide world. It’s just an amazing feeling.”

The difference in this one was the Argos jumping to a 14-0 lead on a pair of first quarter TDs.

“We talked about it in the locker room, the importance of starting out fast,” said Dukes. “We mentioned if we didn’t start fast, we’d find a way in the end. We trust in the guys around us and it’s a great team that we’ve got.”

Ottawa’s Alonzo Addae picked off Dukes early in the first quarter but on the next play the Argos came right back with Mason Pierce picking off Crum to run back a 35-yard TD.

With two minutes left in the quarter Dukes connected with Dejon Brissett, who was left all alone, for a 61-yard TD pass.

Ottawa managed to get down to Toronto’s 10-yard line, but settled for a 24-yard field goal early in the second quarter to get on the board. Domagala added a 39-yard field goal at the end of the half to get the Redblacks within eight.

OTTAWA, ON – Spot a team a 22-0 lead and turn the ball over half a dozen times, and your chances for success will be pretty slim. Just ask the Ottawa Redblacks.

The Redblacks turned the ball over six times on Saturday and the Montreal Alouettes made them pay with a 32-15 win.

The Alouettes (8-7) clinched a CFL playoff berth with the victory. The Redblacks (4-11) saw their playoff hopes take a hit with the setback, but not all hope is lost. They must win their final three games and get some help.

“Different things that we definitely have to clean up offensively. I felt special teams and defensively we played a pretty solid game. A lot of that offensively falls on my shoulders,” Redblacks quarterback Dustin Crum said.

“Turnovers can change games and a lot of those were on me. I take responsibility and I have to wear that as a quarterback.”

Cody Fajardo threw for 178 yards and a touchdown for the Alouettes, while William Stanback ran for 85 yards and a touchdown.

Crum threw for 247 yards but had two interceptions and a fumble. Nick Arbuckle took over for the final series of the game and completed seven passes for 85 yards.

Trailing 22-0 heading into the fourth quarter, the Redblacks finally got on the board 27 seconds into the quarter with a one-run quarterback sneak by Tyrrell Pigrome, who took over from Crum for the short yardage play. Matt Domagala converted the major and the Redblacks trailed 22-7.

The Alouettes responded with a 48-yard field goal from David Cote just over two minutes later for a 25-7 lead. With just over seven minutes to play Shawn Lemon returned a Crum fumble 30 yards for a touchdown and a 32-7 lead.

“That’s all we wanted was a win and an opportunity to compete in the playoffs,” Lemon said, adding the defence had a solid afternoon.

“That’s what we preach. It all starts with Coach (defensive coordinator Noel) Thorpe. He has a great game plan for us week in and week out. We have the easy job, we just come out and execute. We want to keep coming out and getting better. It was a great team win.”

The Redblacks showed perseverance though with a 73-yard drive that ended in a four-yard touchdown run by Devonte Williams. Crum then found Shaq Evens in the end zone to complete the two-point conversion and cutting the lead to 32-15 with four minutes to play.

After the Redblacks failed to accomplish anything on the opening possession of the game, the Alouettes took the ball 80 yards on their opening series and capped the drive with a 25-yard touchdown run by Stanback at 5:19. The Cote extra point put the Alouettes up 7-0.

The Redblacks tried to respond with a big drive of their own and got as far as the Montreal 10-yard line. Unfortunately Crum was intercepted in the end zone by Reggie Stubblefield.

That was the only time the Redblacks had possession of the football on the Montreal side of the field in the first half.

“Grace to God and I just appreciate everybody, coaching staff, front office. All of that,” Stubblefield said.

“Great team effort all around. It’s what we preach and what we execute on, so that’s what’s going to show.”

The Alouettes went ahead 8-0 at 10:55 of the second quarter on a 46-yard punt single and in the final minute of the half Fajardo found Tyson Philpot in the end zone for a 19-yard touchdown pass. Cote’s extra point gave the Alouette a 15-0 lead at halftime.

The Redblacks had a strong drive going that took them deep into Montreal territory late into the third quarter. Unfortunately for them, Crum had his pass intercepted by Marc Antoine Dequoy, who returned the ball 108 yards for a pick-six.

“We were down a couple of times in the score zone and turned the ball over, which was a little disappointing,” Redblacks coach Bob Dyce said.

“We talked about competing right from the opening whistle right through to the end of the game. I don’t have an explanation for the slow start. We made a couple of errors and it was certainly disappointing.”

The Cote conversion gave the Alouettes a commanding 22-0 lead after three quarters.

OTTAWA, ON – It was dicey towards the end, but the Ottawa Redblacks can breathe a little easy after ending a lengthy winless skid.

Dustin Crum threw a pair of touchdown passes and ran for another to lead the Redblacks to a 36-28 win over the visiting Saskatchewan Roughriders on Friday. The Redblacks led 36-14 late but held on for the win.

“Definitely relieved. It was good to see guys step up, take that growth and be able to finish off the game,” said Crum, who finished with 243 passing yards as the Redblacks (4-10) snapped a seven-game losing skid and kept their faint playoff hopes alive.

“Everyone says winning solves everything. It was frustrating more than anything.”

The Roughriders (6-8) suffered their third straight loss but remained third in the CFL West. QB Jake Dolegala threw two touchdowns and passed for 291 yards.

Ottawa got some breathing room under two minutes into the fourth quarter when Crum connected on a 32-yard catch-and-run touchdown that led to a 29-14 lead after the Michael Domagala extra point.

Crum ran for a 35-yard score seven minutes into the quarter that led to a 38-14 lead for the Redblacks after the conversion.

The final 90 seconds became interesting after Roughriders special teamer Mario Alford returned a punt 106 yards for a score cutting the Redblacks lead to 36-20 after a failed two-point conversion.

Saskatchewan then recovered an onside kick, and a few plays later Antonia Pipkin scored on a one-yard run with 60 seconds to play. The two-point conversion pass to Samuel Emilius was good and suddenly it was 36-28.

It would get no closer.

“A lot of the games we had the lead and let it get away from us, know that we were better than our record indicated,” said Crum of Ottawa nearly blowing its lead. “Being on the right side of this we’re relived and hopefully it can motivate guys and get us locked into this playoff run.”

The Redblacks are chasing the Montreal Alouettes and Hamilton Tiger-Cats for a playoff berth after the CFL East-leading Toronto Argonauts clinched their spot.

“We won this game tonight and that’s what we were focused on” said Ottawa coach Bob Dyce. “Now we’ve got a chance to play Montreal twice, which is the team that is right in front of us, and we feel that we control our destiny in that regard.

“That’s what we’re focused on. We’re not looking at the past, we’re just looking to get better each week.”

It took only 22 seconds for the Redblacks to put up 11 points at the end of the first half and turn a 13-8 deficit into a 19-13 lead at the midway point of the game.

An interception by Deandre Lamont at midfield and returned to the Saskatchewan six-yard line led to a touchdown pass from Crum to Bralon Addison on the next play. The two-point conversion, a pass from Crum to Justin Hardy, gave the Redblacks a 16-13 lead.

On the ensuing series, a fumble recovery by the Redblacks led to a 42-yard field goal by Domagala at the buzzer sent the home team into the break with a 19-13 lead.

The game was tied 7-7 to start the second quarter but a 54-yard touchdown pass from Dolegala to Samuel Emilus just over a minute into the quarter put the Western Riders up 13-7 after a failed conversion.

“We are a resilient group and we showed that tonight when we didn’t quit. Obviously we have to build on this and come up with the same energy next week,” Emilus said.

“We just have to come out better in the second half better. We came out flat and we can’t do that no more. We’re trying to get the playoff spot so we just have to make the push, and I’m confident we can get it done.”

A 54-yard punt single by Ritchie Leone narrowed that lead to 13-8 with just over three minutes to play in the half before the defence allowed the offence to shine.

Saskatchewan opened the scoring in the first quarter on an 11-yard touchdown strike for Dolegala to Kian Schaffer-Baker nine minutes into the game. Brett Lauther’s extra point put the Riders up 7-0.

Ottawa drew even before the end of the quarter when Tyrell Pigrome scored on a one-yard run and Domagala converted the extra point in the final minute of the quarter.

The Redblacks outscored the Riders 3-1 in the third quarter. After Adam Korsak delivered a 55-yard punt single early in the quarter cutting the lead to 19-14, Domagala hit on a 32-yard field goal with three minutes to play in the quarter to send the Redblacks into the final quarter with a 22-14 lead.

OTTAWA, ON – The Hamilton Tiger-Cats didn’t get off to the best start, but all that mattered was they finished with a 27-24 win over the Ottawa Redblacks on Friday night.

After a back-and-forth second half with several lead changes, Ottawa seemed poised to answer in the dying minutes of the fourth quarter.

Down by three, the Redblacks were approaching midfield when rookie quarterback Dustin Crum had the ball knocked out of his hands. Hamilton’s Ted Laurent recovered with 69 seconds left and after a pair of rushing plays, the Tiger-Cats ran out the clock for the win.

“You’ve got a lot of really competitive guys in this locker room and you look around and you see a lot of guys frustrated,” said Crum. “To end up on the wrong side of this one with playoff implications on the line really, really hurts.”

Ottawa (3-9) has lost six games in a row and sits four points behind the third-place Tiger-Cats (5-7) in the East Division standings. Hamilton owns the tiebreaker.

Crum went 17 for 26 for 260 yards and one interception. He also rushed for 42 yards and one touchdown.

Hamilton’s third-string quarterback Taylor Powell finished 21 for 32 for 326 yards and three touchdowns. Tim White had seven catches for 180 yards.

The Tiger-Cats had only three days rest after falling to Toronto last Monday.

“The toughest part was just deciding how much to get on the field and how much not, especially with a quarterback that’s still finding his way,” said Hamilton head coach Orlondo Steinauer. “That was really the toughest part of it … I’m just so proud of him.

“There isn’t a person in there that’s not banged up and didn’t play through something, so super proud.”

Hamilton led 6-3 at the half after two Marc Liegghio field goals. Powell hit his stride in the second half.

“I think it was just the floodgates didn’t bust open, but we were moving the ball fine,” said Powell. “Offensive football is about staying with it and doing the right thing and then the second half happened.”

Ottawa had chances in the first half but couldn’t take advantage.

With the game tied 3-3, the Redblacks looked poised to score after making their way to Hamilton’s one-yard line. Ottawa failed on all three of attempts to get over the line and turned the ball over on downs.

“Right now, we’re not a good enough team not to be focused and locked in at all times enough to finish,” said Redblacks head coach Bob Dyce. “You see in the first half, when you’re first and goal at the one and if you’re a physical team you should be able to get the ball into the end zone. It’s just that simple.”

Ottawa’s kicking game was ineffective at times as a 45-yard field-goal attempt by Lewis Ward hit the goalpost and a 50-yard attempt at the end of the half went wide.

Ward did connect on a 19-yard kick for the Redblacks, who were coming off 11 days rest.

“I don’t think it’s a matter of rust,” said Dyce. “I think it’s a matter of executing when it’s most important and we weren’t able to do that.”

Ottawa started strong in the second half when Ante Milanovic-Litre ran in the first touchdown of the game to give the Redblacks a 10-6 lead.

The Tiger-Cats responded on the next drive. It was capped by an 11-yard TD pass to Tyreik McAllister.

Ottawa replied with a 10-play drive concluding with Tyrrell Pigrome punching in a one-yard TD. Hamilton then marched down the field and Powell connected with Tim White on a five-yard TD pass.

Crum answered by driving the Redblacks back into the red zone and he rushed for a two-yard TD. Ottawa led 24-20 with 6:46 remaining.

The Tiger-Cats regained a lead they wouldn’t relinquish when Powell connected with White on a 20-yard TD pass with 2:58 left.

“We have to win at all three phases right now for us to be successful and that didn’t happen today,” said Dyce.

The Redblacks have lost 16 consecutive home games to East Division rivals. Their last home win against an East team came in November 2018 against Toronto.

Hamilton hosts Winnipeg next week, while the Redblacks travel to B.C. to take on the Lions.

OTTAWA, ON – Caleb Evans couldn’t have asked for a better finish against his former team.

The Montreal Alouettes (6-3) quarterback scored the winning touchdown in a wild come-from-behind 25-24 victory over the Ottawa Redblacks (3-7) Saturday night.

Evans, who played the 2021 and 2022 CFL seasons in Ottawa, had a rough first half but came up huge when needed.

Trailing 24-19 Montreal took possession at its own 38 and on third and four Evans connected with Hergy Mayala for a 51-yard pass.

Montreal failed to get across the goal line on its first two attempts and with the game on the line Evans made the decision to run.

“I was looking to throw it, but they kept backing up, I guess because of the last play, and I said to myself I could get this running if I run it,” said Evans. “So my mind changed to go get the touchdown and that’s what it was.”

Evans finished the game 24 for 36 for 333 yards, two TDs and two interceptions — and the winning rushing TD.

After his late game heroics Evans could be seen running along the sideline rubbing his fingers together indicating a money sign. Asked about the meaning he admitted he had just watched the Johnny Manziel documentary and the image came to mind.

“It’s money time,” said Crum with a laugh. “That’s all it was and it just felt good.”

Montreal head coach Jason Maas gave Evans full credit.

“That whole final drive sequence that he did was phenomenal,” said Maas. “Finding the right guys at the right time. Sometimes you draw it up and other times you have to make it happen and he’s very capable of that.”

The loss was an especially difficult one for the Redblacks, who are now mired in a four-game losing streak. They had led every minute up to that final Als’ drive.

Ottawa has yet to beat a division rival this season and now has a 15-game home losing streak against East Division teams.

Redblacks coach Bob Dyce was at a bit of a loss for the turn of events and admitted this one stung a little more.

“As a team we didn’t finish,” said Dyce. “We had opportunities on special teams, big returns, opportunities to get first downs then we had opportunities to get them off the field, so all three phases we have to be better.”

Ottawa’s Dustin Crum finished the game 14 for 17 for 130 yards and rushed for 42 yards and one TD.

“We know we had opportunities to go and win that game so whenever that happens obviously it’s a little more frustrating,” Crum said. “But you have to deal with it because there’s a lot of close games in this league and you have to be able to handle the ups and downs of it and keep getting better.”

Ottawa has five games remaining against East Division rivals which will be key heading down the stretch.

Maas gave full credit to his team for resetting after a disappointing first half that resulted in just three points.

“We know when we play ball we’ve got to do it for 60 minutes, or whatever it takes,” said Maas. “We need to compete for all of those 60 minutes and what I love about our team is that they’re willing to do that.”

Trailing 24-13, Montreal made things interesting after Evans was able to connect with Tyler Snead for a 20-yard TD, but fell short on the two-point convert to trail 24-19 with 2:33 remaining.

Ottawa was its own worst enemy in the third taking a number of penalties, but extended its lead five minutes into the fourth quarter.

After a solid drive to lead his team to the 13-yard line Crum, seeing no great passing lane, opted to run in the TD and with a Lewis Ward convert took a 24-10 lead in front of 19,475 spectators.

Montreal’s David Cote connected on a 50-yard field goal with just over five minutes remaining to make it 24-13.

Trailing 17-3 Montreal was able to make things interesting after Evans connected with Snead for a seven-yard touchdown pass early in the third quarter to make it a one-score game.

A solid first half allowed the Redblacks to jump out to a 17-3 lead.

Leading 7-3 Ottawa’s Cleyon Laing, who had three sacks on the night, recovered a fumble at Montreal’s 25-yard line midway through the second quarter. After Nate Behar had a nine-yard gain, Tyrrell Pigrome came in for a short yardage play and ended up running in a 16-yard TD, his second of the game making it 14-3.

Ward connected on a 39-yard field goal with 37 seconds remaining in the second quarter to put Ottawa up 17-3.

Pigrome was instrumental earlier in the game as well.

Late in the first quarter Evans threw an interception and Ottawa’s Damon Webb returned it for 67 yards to Montreal’s 34-yard line. Six plays later Pigrome picked up his first CFL touchdown on a one yard rush.

Cote had a 10-yard field goal for its only scoring of the opening half.

OTTAWA, ON – Bo Levi Mitchell had a tough return to action Friday.

Mitchell threw five interceptions and two touchdowns and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats pulled out a 16-12 win over the Ottawa Redblacks. He completed 23-of-40 passes for 353 yards following a four-game absence after being placed on the six-game injured list with a hip ailment in June.

However, Mitchell got hurt on the second-to-last play of the contest and was in the tunnel post-game on crutches in a walking boot.

“He wasn’t well enough to walk off or even limp off and that’s usually not a good sign, but we’ll remain positive until we get the final answer,” said Ticats head coach Orlondo Steinauer.

“I don’t think all interceptions are equal. Yeah, sure it’s going to be five on the books, one was tipped, the other one we gave our guy an opportunity. It was a 50/50 ball and we have to find a way to do a better job. Bo historically has done that, he gives his receivers opportunities.”

But it was the Ticats’ defence that came through, holding the Redblacks (3-4) out of the end zone and limiting them to four field goals from Lewis Ward, including a 15-yarder for the only score of the fourth quarter.

Redblacks quarterback Dustin Crum completed 13-of-21 passes for 158 yards and one interception. He also ran for a game-high 82 yards.

Crum led the Redblacks down the field in the final minute, but his third-down pass from the Hamilton four-yard line was knocked down with 13 seconds to play to effectively end the game.

“It’s not the result that you want, but again, the defence was just very impressive tonight again. Five interceptions, what does that say about your defence?” Redblacks head coach Bob Dyce said.

“I don’t think the game should come down to the last minute, last drive, anything like that. I think, you know, especially as we go back and look through the film, we’ll see a lot of reasons, and any time your defence gets five turnovers, five interceptions, you gotta capitalize and score touchdowns and we were unable to do that.”

The Ticats improved to 3-4 on the season and halted a one-game skid. The Redblacks, meanwhile, were looking for their first three-game winning streak in five seasons.

The game started as scheduled and then was abruptly stopped due to severe weather, with just two minutes 11 seconds having elapsed. The game was delayed for an hour.

Once play resumed, the Ticats controlled the first half but only had a 9-6 lead to show for it.

Mitchell threw a pair of interceptions — on their opening drive of the game and on the final drive of the half — which led to Ottawa’s six points. Those were the only two mistakes of the half for Hamilton.

Douglass Coleman picked off Mitchell and returned the ball to midfield. But the Redblacks were unable to collect a first down, instead settling for a 49-yard field goal from Ward at 4:48 of the opening frame.

Mitchell was intercepted by Abdul Kanneh, who returned it to the Hamilton 32-yard line with just five seconds to play in the half. On the ensuing play — the last of the half — Ward converted on a 40-yard field goal.

Mitchell connected with Duke Williams on a five-yard touchdown pass at 9:33 of the first quarter, but the conversion attempt from Liegghio was no good. Liegghio hit a 25-yard field goal to give the Ticats a 9-3 lead with 56 seconds remaining in the second.

The Redblacks picked up just two first downs in the opening 30 minutes, compared to 14 from Hamilton.

A 54-yard field goal from Ward six minutes into the third quarter tied the game at 9-9.

In the dying seconds of the quarter, Mitchell threw a pick that was fumbled on the return and recovered by Hamilton offensive lineman Coulter Woodmansey, to give the Ticats a fresh set of downs.

On the next play, Mitchell connected with Kai Locksley on a catch-and-run touchdown. Liegghio converted the score on the last play of the quarter to give Hamilton a 16-9 lead.

“It’s great that we made a play afterwards. Kai making that great run, that great catch and run. That was awesome. He’s playing great and it was an amazing play. It’s great to see our teammates pulling together,” Woodmansey said.

“Divisional games are more important standings-wise, but we’re just focused on what’s ahead of us. Next week we’ll work to get another win.”

OTTAWA, ON – Fourth-string quarterbacks aren’t supposed to be the hero, but that’s exactly what Dustin Crum was Saturday afternoon as he was instrumental in the Ottawa Redblacks’ 31-28 overtime victory over the heavily favoured Winnipeg Blue Bombers at TD Place.

The 24-year-old was making his first start for the Redblacks (2-3) as they go through a rash of injuries, but it’s not likely to be his last.

Trailing 25-17 late in the fourth quarter, Crum managed to drive the Redblacks down field and scored a touchdown off a 12-yard run. He then connected on a two-point conversion to tie the game 25-25 in the dying seconds.

After the Bombers kicked a field goal in overtime, Crum ran in a 29-yard touchdown to complete the CFL comeback. The Redblacks had erased a 16-point deficit in the final three minutes.

Crum finished the game passing 26-for-42 for 261 yards. He was sacked six times, and could have lost confidence, but as the game went on he played to his strengths and rushed for 103 yards.

It’s what ultimately made the difference.

“I got an open field and I had Brandon Alexander in front of me for them and that’s kind of always been my thing as a quarterback is if you have an open field there’s no reason to slide there,” said Crum. “If you have a two-way go make it hard on him and I was able to make him miss a little bit and get to the end zone.”

The moment was made all the more special as Crum’s father and maternal grandfather, visiting from Ohio, were on hand to see his performance.

Crum was mobbed by teammates and said it’s a moment he won’t soon forget.

“It was excitement, not only for me in that moment, but for the fans, for the community, for my teammates and getting to be a part of that and getting to see all the work these guys put in,” said Crum.

“These guys work their butts off and for us to be able to kind of get a little bit of reward and feel that success is what it’s all about.”

The Bombers (4-2) were somewhat in shock over the turn of events.

Winnipeg’s Zach Collaros finished the game passing 22-for-32 for 354 yards with two touchdowns had few words to describe the collapse.

“They ended up making more plays than us there, so hats off to Ottawa,” said Collaros. “We didn’t make enough plays and they were able to gain some momentum there and win the game.”

Collaros felt the Redblacks had a better second half and gave credit to Ottawa’s defence, who made it difficult for the Bombers to establish its run game. Winnipeg was held to a season-low 26 yards.

“We just couldn’t get it going,” said Winnipeg head coach Mike O’Shea. “We didn’t move them off the ball like we should be able to do or have been able to do in the past. We just didn’t get the movement that we needed.”

A Lewis Ward 42-yard field goal early in the third quarter made it 18-6, but the Bombers responded with Collaros connecting with Wolitarsky for an eight-yard touchdown to go up 25-6.

Crum then had two solid drives, but settled for a 22-yard field goal to make it 25-9 and then came up empty when they gambled on third and seven.

The difference may have been a Brandin Danbridge interception that he ran back for 25 yards, and Ottawa getting the two-point convert to make it 25-17 with just over two minutes remaining.

And then Crum took over and made all the difference.

“That boy has so much confidence in himself that it’s impossible not to be confident in him,” said Ottawa receiver Nate Behar, who had 10 catches in the win. “It’s beautiful to be a part of the way he stepped up. He made great decisions all day.”

Behar, who’s been a Redblack since 2019, said it was one of the best games he’s competed in.

The opening half was not pretty for the Redblacks, who trailed 18-3 heading into the intermission.

Ottawa didn’t register a first down until late in the second quarter and were in negative yardage at the half when Winnipeg held a 201 to -17 advantage in net offence.

“I have full unadulterated confidence in these guys,” said Ottawa head coach Bob Dyce. “I didn’t get down or anything like that. I don’t have time to get down. We’re looking for solutions and that’s what we did.”

The lone offensive highlight for the Redblacks was a 47-yard field goal.

The Bombers opened the scoring as Ottawa conceded a single on Jamieson Sheahan’s 73-yard punt and on their second drive Sergio Castillo had a 52-yard field goal to take a 4-0 lead.

After a solid drive by Collaros to get into the red zone, Ottawa managed to hold off Winnipeg forcing them to settle for a field goal, but an unnecessary roughness penalty by Douglas Coleman put the Bombers on the one-yard line and they capitalized. Dakota Prukop punched his way through giving Winnipeg an early 11-0 lead in the first quarter.

The Bombers added a second TD five minutes into the second quarter when Collaros connected with Nic Demski on a 15-yard pass.

OTTAWA, ON – The Ottawa Redblacks finally had reason to celebrate following a 26-7 win over the Edmonton Elks on Friday night.

Not only did Ottawa pick up its first win of the season, but it was the first home win in 640 days. The last win at TD Place was also against the Elks — a 34-24 victory on Sept. 28, 2021.

“Psychologically this definitely takes some of the pressure off,” said Ottawa fullback Marco Dubois. “I also think it sends a message to other teams that it’s not just going to be easy when you come to Ottawa. We can compete every week.”

Quarterback Tyrie Adams deserves a lot of credit for his performance. The 26-year-old was making his first CFL start and finished the game 14 for 20 for 185 yards and one touchdown. He also had 31 yards rushing.

“Forget anything about me, I’m just ecstatic about getting this win for this team, for this organization and for these fans,” said Adams. “I obviously didn’t do it by myself. Hats off to the defence, hats off to the offensive lineman, hats off to the running back and hats off to everybody.”

It might be easy for Adams to give credit to others, but the young QB played with poise and confidence and set the tone for the team.

During the course of the week head coach Bob Dyce had talked of the importance of minimizing turnovers and Adams got the message loud and clear.

“He did a good job with regards to that,” said Dyce. “He didn’t force the ball when he didn’t have to. He hit the check downs underneath and let his playmakers make the plays and then he made plays with his legs.”

Edmonton also gave the ball to a young QB making his first CFL start, but Jarret Doege didn’t fare quite as well.

He finished the game 19 for 33 for 214 yards and one touchdown, but was picked off three times and sacked on four occasions in the loss.

“There’s nothing you can do but go back to work,” said Doege. “I’m just going to have to study harder and just prepare harder and maybe do some extra walk through to get us rolling faster in the first half.”

With the win, Ottawa improves to 1-2-0 on the season while Edmonton falls to 0-4-0.

“I don’t think anybody would have predicted we’d be 0-4 right now,” said Elks head coach Chris Jones. “I feel strongly that we’ve got good players and we’ve got to figure it out and try to do things that they do well.”

Ottawa got off to a solid start and never looked back.

The Redblacks opened the scoring after taking advantage of defensive pass interference on Siaosi Mariner and turned it into a 35-yard field goal 10 minutes into the game.

Just over one minute later Ottawa took a 10-0 lead when Dubois took an Adams pass 54 yards for the first offensive TD of the season.

“We’ve rarely played with a lead the last few years so having that killer instinct was important,” said Dubois. “I think we had that (Friday) and it was important to play with that mindset right to the very end because in the CFL we all know things can come down to the wire.”

A pair of 51 and 15-yard field goals by Lewis Ward in the second quarter completed the Redblacks’ scoring in the opening half to take a 16-0 lead.

The Elks got on the board in the third quarter on a drive that started with an unfortunate punt by Richie Leone that allowed Edmonton to start its drive from midfield.

Five plays later Doege connected with Maurice Ffrench for a three-yard TD pass. Edmonton’s two-point conversion attempt failed leaving it trailing 16-6 late in the third quarter. Jake Julien picked up a single for the Elks with a deep punt to round out the scoring.

Ward added a 41-yard field goal to make it 19-6 in the opening minute of the fourth quarter and later added a second offensive touchdown when Demontre Tuggle ran the ball in nine yards for his first career TD. Adams made a solid block on the play as the Redblacks took a 26-7 lead.

Ottawa improved its running game significantly, finishing with 208 yards with Tuggle leading the way with 126.

“We were feeling it,” said Tuggle. “The running backs as a whole, we were challenging ourselves during the bye week of how could we be better, how can we become more of a spark for the offence and we really took that personally.”

Edmonton is back in action next Thursday against Saskatchewan, while Ottawa heads to Hamilton to take on the Tiger-Cats next Saturday.

OTTAWA, ON — It was far from perfect but the Calgary Stampeders were more than happy to leave the nation’s capital with a win.

Calgary spoiled the Ottawa Redblacks’ home opener with a 26-15 victory at TD Place on Thursday. Stampeders head coach Dave Dickenson was the first to admit that there were far too many penalties (10), turnovers (three) and just overall mistakes, but said winning can mask a lot of those issues.

“We really didn’t play good enough probably to win, but the effort was so good,” said Dickenson. “And our playmakers showed up.”

Calgary (1-1) also benefited from a solid performance from quarterback Jake Maier, who threw for 304 yards on 19-of-28 passing with one rushing touchdown and one interception.

Maier was looking to redeem himself after last week’s loss to the BC Lions.

“You know it’s not about me,” Maier said. “It’s about our group and how well we can play and we played better this week as a group and we need to play even better next week.”

It may be a new season for the Redblacks but it was much of the same as the team failed to win at home yet again. Ottawa has now lost 24 of its last 26 at home.

Redblacks fans will now have to wait until June 30 to see if Ottawa could earn a home win when they face the Edmonton Elks following an upcoming bye week.

Nick Arbuckle started the game at QB for Ottawa but was replaced by Tyrie Adams late in the second quarter after a subpar performance.

Arbuckle was 13-of-21 for 72 yards and one interception, while Adams went 7-of-13 for 88 yards.

It also marked the second straight game Ottawa failed to score an offensive touchdown.

Lewis Ward had two field goals, while Brandin Dandridge had an impressive 79-yard punt return and Richie Leone kicked a single. A two-point convert on Dandridge’s TD rounded out the scoring.

Five turnovers proved to be far too costly to overcome for Ottawa.

“What’s frustrating is that in some ways we’re beating ourselves as opposed to the opponent beating us,” said Redblacks head coach Bob Dyce. “We talked at halftime that we had to go out and take this game and it didn’t make a difference what they were doing, we had to go out and take the game.”

Ottawa trailed 15-12 at the half and only managed to come up with two field goals in the second half.

“We have to be better as coaches, obviously,” said Dyce. “It all starts with us as coaches and we have to do a better job. It’s our job to put these guys in a position to win and we haven’t done that.”

After a rough start, trailing 15-4 with 44 seconds left in the opening half, the Redblacks salvaged the opening half thanks to Dandridge’s punt return. A two-point conversion made it a three-point game as Ottawa trailed 15-12.

Calgary extended its lead to 22-12 midway through the third quarter when Maier capped a solid drive by punching in a two-yard TD.

Adams drove the Redblacks into the redzone, but Ottawa was forced to settle for a 21-yard field goal by Ward with 4:16 left in the fourth quarter.

“It’s very frustrating,” said Adams. “Every loss is frustrating, but this one hits a bit harder because this is the first game since I’ve been in the CFL where I feel I underperformed, where I wasn’t as consistent as I’ve been.”

Rene Paredes followed with a 14-yard field goal — the 499th of his career — to make it 26-15 for the Stampeders with 2:32 remaining.

The Redblacks started the game strong with an opening drive that got them down to Calgary’s four-yard line but failed to take advantage, even going for it on third down.

In the final minute of the first quarter, Calgary was able to march down field and Mills completed the drive running in a three-yard TD and with a two-point convert led 8-1.

Calgary extended its advantage after Adams fumbled the ball at Ottawa’s 26-yard line, allowing Branden Dozier to run the ball back for a second Stampeders TD, making it 15-1.

Peyton Logan’s fumble on a punt return gave Ottawa possession at Calgary’s 11-yard line, but the Redblacks failed to convert and settled for a 13-yard field goal.

Adam Auclair’s interception gave the Redblacks another opportunity. But on the next play, Arbuckle made a poor decision and was intercepted, leading to his replacement.

OTTAWA, ON – OK, so, yeah, it didn’t count.

Not in the standings, anyway.

But the Ottawa Redblacks will have to hope a tough 22-21 pre-season loss, decided by a last-play field goal, on a beautiful Friday night at TD Place, isn’t a sign of things to come. Not on the heels of what they’ve been through the past three seasons. Remember, the Alouettes left most of their starters in Montreal. So, there’s that.

Ottawa had a big edge in net offence: 398-269. But they had trouble finishing drives.

The Redblacks will have to evaluate, learn and bounce back. There’s plenty of time before the Canadian Football League regular season begins. Starting quarterback Nick Arbuckle played a bit more than a half and completed 15-of-25 passes for 209 yards. Tyrie Adams played the remainder of the game, completing 7-of-11 passes for 105 yards and also rushed twice for 26 yards. He also had a costly fumble in the fourth quarter, trying to squirm for more yardage. Eleven different Redblacks caught passes.

OTTAWA, ON – The Montreal Alouettes turned a sluggish start to the season into a post-season berth.

Dominique Davis’ late rushing touchdown lifted the Alouettes to a playoff-clinching 34-30 victory over the Ottawa Redblacks on Friday night. Montreal (8-8), which started the year 2-6, is now set to host a post-season game in the coming weeks.

“It’s a character-building win. I keep mentioning that we want to bring a championship home and we want to keep stacking our bricks. We’re one step closer with a home playoff game now,” said Alouettes defensive lineman Jamal Davis II.

“We executed in the second half, so shout out to the defence. That’s really what it was, not getting down when things were shifting up and down throughout the game. It was just keeping our demeanour and I’m happy we came out with the win.”

Entering the fourth quarter with a 27-24 lead, Montreal went down by three points due to 44- and 10-yard field goals from Ottawa (4-12) kicker Lewis Ward with just over nine minutes remaining.

Davis’ one-yard touchdown run with less than three minutes remaining put the Alouettes ahead for good to claim the victory.

The loss was the 10th straight at home for the Redblacks, who have just one victory in their past 22 outings at TD Place Stadium. Ottawa remains alive for a playoff berth but needs to win its final two games and have the Saskatchewan Roughriders drop their last two contests.

“It’s definitely deflating losing like that but at this point of the season you just have to keep fighting. We’re still waking up to accomplish things that are within our reach,” said Redblacks rookie wide receiver Siaosi Mariner.

Montreal quarterback Trevor Harris went 19-of-27 passing for 241 yards and one touchdown in the win. Kicker David Cote contributed a pair of field goals from 23 and 45 yards out.

“This was a total team win, and maybe the biggest team win of the year.,” Harris said. ”Defence, special teams, offence, we were all in it together, and that’s what counts.”

Redblacks QB Nick Arbuckle paced his squad going 28-of-36 passing for 271 yards and two touchdowns.

“Every time we lose I’m a little disappointed, but certainly not disappointed in the effort of the guys out there,” Redblacks head coach Bob Dyce said.

“We thought it was going to be a game that would go down to the wire, and it did. We had our opportunities, we just didn’t seize our final one.”

The first half consisted of plenty of action, as the Redblacks took a 24-17 lead into the break.

On the game’s first play from scrimmage, Arbuckle tossed a lateral to wide receiver Ryan Davis, who then connected with Shaquille Johnson on a 45-yard catch-and-run play. Three plays later, that trickery led to the Redblacks opening the scoring on a 23-yard touchdown pass from Arbuckle to Mariner, who collected his first touchdown on his first reception in his CFL debut.

“It was a blessing and I thank my coaches for putting me in that position and thank my teammates for believing in me,” Mariner said. “It was nice to score, but I’d trade that touchdown for a win.”

On Ottawa’s next possession, Arbuckle fumbled attempting to scramble and Alouettes defensive back Adarius Pickett scooped the ball up and scored on a 16-yard return to tie the game up at 7-7.

After a 35-yard touchdown catch from Tevaun Smith gave the Redblacks a 14-7 lead just over two minutes later, Cote hit a 23-yard field goal to cut the deficit to 14-10 with under four minutes remaining in the quarter.

On the first play of the second quarter, Ottawa QB Caleb Evans scored a one-yard rushing touchdown to boost his side’s lead to 21-10. Just over eight minutes later, Montreal responded as Harris connected with running back Walter Fletcher on a 40-yard touchdown pass. The frame ended with a 41-yard field goal by Ward.

The Alouettes took their first lead of the game in the third quarter as they turned a 24-17 deficit into a 27-24 advantage.

Cote kicked off the scoring with a 45-yard field goal five minutes in before running back William Stanback ran it in for a three-yard touchdown with just under four minutes left in the quarter.

OTTAWA, ON – It wasn’t perfect by any means, but the Toronto Argonauts did enough to hold off the Ottawa Redblacks and earn a 24-19 win Saturday afternoon.

In many ways, it was a tale of two halves as the Argos (7-5) dominated the first, while the Redblacks (3-9) tried to claw their way back in the second to the delight of the 21,673 Ottawa faithful before falling short. Ottawa has not won at home since Sept. 28, 2021 and are now 1-20 in their last 21 games at TD Place.

We tried to do our darndest to lose that game,” said Argos head coach Ryan Dinwiddie. “It’s tough to win football games and we were on a five-day week and guys were beat up and I think that showed. But they found a way to get it done and I’m very proud of these guys.”

The victory gives the first-place Argos a four-point cushion over the second-place Montreal Alouettes (5-7). Toronto also snapped Ottawa’s two-game winning streak.

Argos quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson finished the afternoon 27-of-39 passing for 365 yards to go with one touchdown and one interception. Ottawa counterpart Nick Arbuckle completed 26 of 40 passes for 290 yards and one interception.

Despite being solid for much of the game and outplaying Arbuckle in the first half, Bethel-Thompson admitted he’ll lose sleep over the interception and an overthrown ball.

“I think it was a really good offensive performance, but those two throws are going to kind of hurt my heart and [I] won’t sleep very well because of those two throws,” he said. “This team has a really big backbone and the defence is awesome and special teams played lights out and we’ll find a way to win games, which you’ve got to appreciate that.”

Ottawa defensive end Lorenzo Mauldin had two sacks to give him 12 on the season, tying Justin Capicciotti’s 2015 single-season Redblacks record.

Mauldin admitted he’s proud of the accomplishment, but football is not about celebrating individuals.

“Individuals can make plays, but if we don’t make enough of them it results on the team,” Mauldin said. “Again, we didn’t make enough plays and the team suffered for it.”

Toronto led 13-6 at the half and Boris Bede connected on a 47-yard field goal early in the third quarter to extend the lead, but the Redblacks responded courtesy of a Lewis Ward 35-yard field goal to make it 16-9.

After picking up a single, Toronto looked to take full control after Kurleigh Gittens Jr. got the Argos down to Ottawa’s 12-yard line. Gittens scored on the next play on a 12-yard reception to make it a 24-9 lead.

Ottawa responded with its first TD of the day as Arbuckle marched the ball downfield and Caleb Evans capped the drive with a two-yard run to trim the deficit to eight.

Damon Webb intercepted a Bethel-Thompson pass at midfield and Ottawa was able to turn it into a 31-yard field goal to get within five with just over seven minutes remaining.

Ottawa then drove down to Toronto’s 13-yard line and gambled on third down, but fell short. The Redblacks were able to hem the Argos in deep and recovered the ball at the Toronto 35 for one final attempt to score, but failed to take advantage again.

‘Tough to lose that way’

“It’s tough to lose that way,” admitted Arbuckle, who made his first start at TD Place. “When you know you were so close to making the play offensively to win the game, but at the same time, it’s just another thing for us to learn from. We’ve still got a lot of games left this season.”

Trailing 13-0 with just under two minutes left in the first half, the Redblacks were able to get on the board as Lewis Ward connected on 48- and 47-yard field goals to make it a one-score game.

Despite the lacklustre play early, Arbuckle wouldn’t dwell on it, instead opting to look ahead.

“I obviously don’t feel like I played well enough in that first half,” he said. “But it’s part of what we do. We bounce back as quarterbacks from whatever was going on and it’s on to the next play.”

The Argos took a 10-0 lead late in the first quarter, due in great part to Damonte Coxie eluding four Ottawa defenders to run the ball down to the two-yard line. That set up a two-yard rushing TD from A.J. Ouellette. Bede added a 17-yard field goal late in the second quarter to make it 13-0.

Bede opened the scoring for the Argos early in the first quarter with a 51-yarder for his 200th career field goal.