On Friday night at TD Place, the Ottawa Redblacks were looking to continue their momentum when they played the Calgary Stampeders, who were looking to end a two-game losing streak.
Coming into this game, Stampeders’ quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell was 143 yards away from becoming the team’s all-time leader in passing. Meanwhile, head coach Dave Dickenson was not on the sidelines due to COVID, and John Hufnagel and Mark Kilam were coaching the team.
In the first quarter, Stampeders’ kicker Rene Paredes made a 51-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead. Those were the only points scored in the first quarter. Calgary had the ball to begin the second quarter. The offense was unable to move the ball and punted it back to Ottawa.
Both offenses struggled in the first half. Calgary’s offense was better than Ottawa’s, but they could not score touchdowns. Stampeders’ kicker Rene Paredes made his second field goal for 36-yards for a 6-0 lead with 4:07 left in the second quarter.
When the Redblacks got the ball, quarterback Caleb Evans intended the pass to go to Darvin Adams but was intercepted by Titus Wall and taken for a 46-yard touchdown, making it 13-0 with 2:56 left. The Stampeders’ led 13-0 at halftime.
In the third quarter, Stampeders’ kicker Rene Paredes made his third field goal for 24-yards, extending Calgary’s lead 16-0 with 10:35 left. After Ottawa went two-and-out, Calgary got the ball back, but Shaheed Salmon intercepted Bo Levi Mitchell’s pass.
That was Mitchell’s only interception of the game. Ottawa was unable to capitalize and punted the ball back to Calgary. Before the third quarter ended, the Redblacks made a quarterback change with Nick Arbuckle taking over for Caleb Evans. The score remained 16-0 heading into the fourth quarter.
In the fourth quarter, Calgary moved the ball towards the Redblacks’ 45-yard line before stalling. Stampeders’ punter Cody Grace punted the ball into the endzone and out of bounds for a single, 17-0 with 11:01 left. Ottawa got the ball, and the offense moved towards the Stampeders’ 18-yard line before Lewis Ward made a 25-yard field goal, putting them on the board 17-3 with 4:51 left in the game.
The Redblacks had two more chances to get into the endzone, but Nick Arbuckle threw two interceptions, ending any hopes of a comeback, and the Stampeders won the game 17-3. The Stampeders snapped a two-game losing streak and are now 5-2, while the Ottawa drops to 1-7.
If you are a fan of defenses, this game was for you. Both offenses made too many mistakes, missing tackles, and receivers missing crucial catches. Bo Levi Michell was one-yard shy of becoming Calgary’s all-time passing leader. He will do that next week against the Lions.
Calgary quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell went 13/27 for 137 yards and one interception, while running back Dedrick Mills led the rushers with 16 carries for 100 yards. Wide receiver Reggie Begelton had five catches for 50 yards, and the defense allowed 319 yards, with 52 tackles, two sacks, one forced fumble, six pass breakups, three interceptions, and one fumble recovery. Calgary plays BC next Saturday at 7 pm on ESPN+.
Ottawa quarterback Caleb Evans went 10/21 for 66 yards, one interception, and two carries for six yards, while Nick Arbuckle was 17/23 for 186 yards and two interceptions. Running back, Jackson Bennett had six carries for 30 yards, and wide receiver Nathaniel Behar had seven catches for 78 yards. Ottawa’s defense allowed 252 yards, 47 tackles, one sack, four pass breakups, and one interception. Ottawa is off next week.
