OT WIN FOR REDBLACKS
Team hangs on for dramatic victory over Calgary
REDBLACKS 29, STAMPEDERS 26 (OT)
When you fall off a horse, the best thing you can do for yourself is to get up and get back in the saddle.
As the husband of a world-champion barrel racer, Delbert Alvarado knew that already, and he put it into practice himself on Friday night.
Alvarado missed a convert and a field goal, both from 32 yards in the fourth quarter, but he split the uprights with a 34-yard attempt in overtime to give the Ottawa Redblacks a 29-26 victory against the Calgary Stampeders in a Canadian Football League thriller at TD Place stadium.
The victory sends the Redblacks into their first bye of the regular season in a good mood and in possession of a 3-2 record, which represents exactly one more victory than the franchise had in its 2014 expansion season.
“It’s not often as a kicker that you get a second chance like that to redeem yourself and win the game,” Alvarado said amid a raucous Redblacks locker-room. “To have that opportunity, I just really wanted to make sure I didn’t let this team down, and I got the job done.”
The Stampeders (3-2) had the ball first in overtime, but recently signed Redblacks defensive end Aston Whiteside forced quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell to fumble for the second time in the game and Ottawa’s Keith Shologan recovered the loose football to defuse the scoring threat.
The Redblacks played conservatively in their time with the ball in overtime, running twice with Jeremiah Johnson before putting their fate on this night in Alvarado’s hands.
“Good football teams find a way to win games,” Redblacks head coach Rick Campbell said. “There’s a whole bunch of things we need to be better at. It obviously wasn’t a perfect game by any stretch of the imagination.
“That’s why we have to keep getting better, but it’s also good to know that we can play close games against good football teams and find a way to get it done.” Now what? According to Redblacks general manager Marcel Desjardins, it’s unlikely the Redblacks will make any significant transactions during the bye week, but there could be moves made immediately after the first game following the break, Aug. 7 against the Montreal Alouettes.
Four players assigned to the six-game injured list before the season began will then be eligible to return, assuming they receive medical clearance: receivers Matt Carter, Jake Harty and Marcus Henry, and defensive lineman Justin Phillips.
Keep in mind that compensation for players on the six-game list doesn’t count against the salary cap, which does include those on the one-game injured list.
Six-game listings for linebacker Travis Brown and defensive back Jermaine Robinson, both injured in the June 25 season opener at Montreal, expire a week later.
Back to Friday night, though when the key statistic in the end was probably turnovers: The Redblacks recovered three Stampeders fumbles.
“I’m going to enjoy these few days, when I get to go home to my family (in Mississippi), and then I’m going to come back ready to work, ready to get back to it,” Redblacks defensive back Brandon McDonald said.
A 33-yard TD pass from Mitchell to Eric Rogers gave the visitors a lead midway through the first quarter. A two-point convert made it 8-0, and the advantage increased to 11 on Rene Paredes’ 42-yard field goal. It looked as if the Redblacks might again go through the first quarter without registering a point, thus equalling a 56-yearold CFL record for futility to start a season, but Henry Burris connected with Ernest Jackson on a 23-yard touchdown play before the quarter ended. Their two-point convert was good, too.
The Stamps got those points back on the next series. They shouldn’t have had the opportunity, but a Redblacks penalty for roughing the passer extended the drive, a blown coverage allowed Calgary fullback Rob Cote to catch a pass and run 30 yards to the three-yard line, from where Jon Cornish powered over the goal-line for a touchdown. A two-point convert pass was tipped, but caught by Marquay McDaniel for a 19-8 lead.
However, a sack, fumble and recovery by Whiteside set the Redblacks up in Calgary territory soon after, but a six-play drive was spoiled by two blocking penalties, leading to Alvarado’s 25-yard field goal, making it 19-11.
This time the Redblacks’ defence forced a punt, and the offence capitalized — partially. After Chris Williams dropped one in the endzone, Burris connected with Greg Ellingson for a five-yard TD, but Jeremiah Johnson fumbled on the two-point convert attempt, leaving the Stamps ahead 19-17.
When the second half began, the Stampeders were missing their star tailback Cornish, and later they confirmed that he would be sidelined indefinitely with a broken thumb.
The only third-quarter scoring came on field goals by Paredes and Alvarado, and a punt single by Calgary’s Rob Maver, leaving the Stamps ahead 23-20 as the quarter ended.
Fortunately for the 23,018 in the stands, though, the Redblacks finally struck it big with the speedy Williams, one of those big-contract signings in the off-season. He beat the Stamps’ Buddy Jackson down the sideline, hauled in the pass from Burris and sprinted the rest of the way for an 84-yard score.
That led to the convert attempt Alvarado missed, and Paredes put the Stamps back on even terms with a 49-yarder.
With about a minute to go, Alvarado missed on the 32-yard fieldgoal attempt, with the Stamps running the ball out of the end-zone and essentially running out the clock on the fourth quarter.