Redblacks roll past Stampeders 33-6, remain undefeated at home

OTTAWA — The Ottawa Redblacks have a lot to celebrate after an impressive 33-6 victory over the Calgary Stampeders on Friday night.

Ottawa is 4-0 at home for the first time since 1978. Their 5-2 record is their best start ever through seven games in the Canadian Football League and they are riding a three-game winning streak.

Everything seems to be going in the right direction, but now they have to hope they can regain 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,” Redblacks head coach Bob Dyce said. “That’s what we talked about at the end of the game. We feel like this is the beginning for us and we want to keep the momentum going.”

Dave Dickenson’s Stampeders will want to forget him as soon as possible.

There wasn’t much to like about this one and Coach Dickenson gave the Redblacks full credit for their performance.

“They were the better team by far,” Dickenson said. “We were never really into 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 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 defense deserves significant credit for the win.

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 have to play the Ottawa Redblacks defense,” defensive lineman Lorenzo Mauldin said. “When we do that, we’re confident we’ll come out with a win.”

Calgary opened the scoring with a 50-yard field goal by Rene Paredes, but after that it was all Redblacks.

Ottawa responded quickly with a solid drive that culminated in a 14-yard touchdown pass to Jaelon Acklin.

Ward then connected on three field goals of 40, 23 and 42 yards to round out the scoring in the first half to take a 16-3 lead.

The failure to capitalize in the red zone will be something Dyce will consider throughout the bye week.

“This is one area we can focus on to ensure,” he said. “Finish is written on our wall and that’s what we have to do. We have to finish the drives.”

It didn’t take long for the Redblacks to extend the lead.

Ottawa opened the second half with a 34-yard field goal and Kalil Pimpleton followed with a 99-yard punt return to extend the lead to 26-3.

“He does everything the right way,” said Pimpleton’s Brown, who also had seven catches for 80 yards. “I can’t express my gratitude enough to him for continuing to stick with it even when he wasn’t on the roster.”

After just three games, Pimpleton has made a solid impression.

Calgary’s night was summed up when they got to 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,” Calgary defensive lineman Josiah Coatney said. “We have to go out and play the way we know we can play and not worry about the circumstances. That’s what being a professional is all about.”

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 left to put Ottawa up 32-6.

The only blemish on the night for Ottawa was Ryquell Armstead, who was ejected early in the second half for his second misconduct penalty of the game. Armstead had previously been fined for abusing an official.

“One of the things we always talk about is discipline,” Dyce said. “It’s an undisciplined game … it’s a frustrating thing because it puts stress on the whole roster.”

IT FOLLOWS

Stampeders: Host the Toronto Argonauts (3-3) on Sunday, August 4.

Redblacks: Bye week, then host the Saskatchewan Roughriders (5-2) on Thursday, August 8.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on July 26, 2024.

Lisa Wallace, Canadian Press