The Ottawa Redblacks (5-2) put their home unbeaten streak on the line on Friday night against the Calgary Stampeders (3-4) from TD Place Stadium. The Ottawa fans enjoyed what their team did in this game and Kalil Pimpleton continues to be a rising star in the CFL.
First Quarter:
In the first quarter, Calgary punt returner Dedrick Mills returned a 53-yard punt by Richie Leone for 32 yards before getting tackled on the Redblacks’ 51-yard line. Calgary’s offense went on a two-play drive for 8 yards before kicker Rene Paredes made a 50-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead with 9:51 left.
On Ottawa’s second possession of the game, quarterback Dru Brown and running back Ryquell Armstead led the offense to a seven-play drive for 70 yards resulting in Brown throwing a 14-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Jaelon Acklin putting the Redblacks up 7-3 with 6:46 left of the first quarter.
Calgary’s offense struggled in the first quarter. They could not get their passing or running game going. In addition, the offensive line gave up two sacks but one was taken away after the Redblacks were called for an illegal contact penalty.
On the final play of the first quarter, Calgary quarterback Jake Maier threw an 11-yard pass to Cam Echols on their 55-yard line to begin the second quarter. The Stampeders trailed the Redblacks 7-3.
Ottawa had 122 yards on offense (93 yards passing, 29 yards rushing). Quarterback Dru Brown completed 7 of 9 passes for 93 yards, and one touchdown. Calgary had 35 yards on offense (26 yards passing, 16 yards rushing, 7 yards lost). Quarterback Jake Maier completed 5 of 7 passes for 26 yards.
Second Quarter:
In the second quarter, Ottawa running back Ryquell Armstead received his second game misconduct penalty and was ejected from the game with 9:57 left. He finished the game with four carries for 25 yards and two catches for 23 yards.
Ottawa did not have another running back dressed in this game. Wide receiver Braelon Addison was the Redblacks running back for the rest of the game.
Ottawa’s offense finished the series going on a seven-play drive for 52 yards before kicker Lewis Ward made a 40-yard field goal extending the Redblacks lead to 10-3 with 9:44 left of the second quarter.
Late in the second quarter, Ottawa had the ball again. They went on a four-play drive for 36 yards before the offense stalled. Kicker Lewis Ward made a 23-yard field goal for a 13-3 lead with 2:25 left before halftime.
Ottawa’s defense made quick work of Calgary’s offense to get the ball back to Ottawa. Calgary’s offense went two-and-out in five of their seven drives in the first half. Ottawa quarterback Dru Brown led the offense to a six-play drive for 40 yards before kicker Lewis Ward made his third field goal of the night for 42 yards and the Redblacks led the Stampeders 16-3 at halftime.
First Half Stats:
Ottawa had 270 yards on offense (250 yards passing, 35 yards rushing, 15 yards lost). Quarterback Dru Brown completed 20 of 25 passes (80%) for 250 yards, and one touchdown. Wide receiver Braelon Addison had one carry for 13 yards, and three catches for 19 yards.
Wide receiver Kalil Pimpleton made seven catches for 80 yards, while Justin Hardy made four catches for 49 yards, and Jaelon Acklin made three catches for 34 yards, and one touchdown. Ottawa’s defense made two sacks and two tackles for loss. The Redblacks were penalized four times for 40 yards.
Calgary had 39 yards on offense (31 yards passing, 27 yards rushing, 19 yards lost). Quarterback Jake Maier completed 7 of 10 passes (70%) for 31 yards. Running back Dedrick Mills had six carries for 27 yards and two catches for 13 yards.
Wide receiver Cam Echols made one catch for 11 yards, while Marken Michel made one catch for 10 yards. Calgary’s defense made two sacks and one tackle for loss. The Stampeders were penalized two times for 15 yards.
Third Quarter:
In the third quarter, Ottawa returner Kalil Pimpleton returned a 64-yard kickoff for 47 yards down to the Stampeders’ 47-yard line. Ottawa’s offense went on a four-play drive for 21 yards before kicker Lewis Ward made a 34-yard field goal for a 19-3 lead with 12:29 left.
After Calgary’s offense went two-and-out, punter Cody Grace punted the ball 42 yards to Kalil Pimpleton. Pimpleton broke a couple of tackles before scoring a 99-yard touchdown for a 26-3 lead with 10:06 left of the third quarter.
For the rest of the third quarter, both defenses combined making two sacks and forcing two-and-outs. On the final play of the third quarter, Calgary backup quarterback Tommy Stevens rushed for a gain of four yards to the Redblacks’ 27-yard line. The Stampeders trailed the Redblacks 26-3.
Fourth Quarter:
In the fourth quarter, Calgary finished a seven-play drive for 39 yards before kicker Rene Paredes kicked a 40-yard field goal. The score was now 26-6 Ottawa with 13:16 left.
Late in the fourth quarter, Ottawa went on a nine-play drive for 65 yards that ended when backup quarterback Dustin Crum scored a one-yard touchdown using the quarterback sneak. It was now 33-6 Redblacks with 3:24 left in the game.
In Calgary’s final two possessions of the game, Logan Bonner was the new quarterback for the Stampeders. The Stampeders did not do much offensively with Bonner at quarterback. They had the ball for the final minute and three seconds of the game.
The Redblacks defeated the Stampeders 33-6. They are now 4-0 at home this season for the first time in 46 yards when they were known as the Rough Riders. In addition, they’ve passed their win total from last season.
Final Stats:
Ottawa had 380 yards on offense (325 yards passing, 79 yards rushing, 24 yards lost). Quarterback Dru Brown completed 30 of 37 passes (81%) for 325 yards, and one touchdown. Wide receiver Bralon Addison had five carries for 28 yards and three catches for 42 yards.
Wide receiver Kalil Pimpleton had a nice game making seven catches for 80 yards, one kick return for 47 yards, 8 punt returns for 162 yards, and one touchdown. Wide receiver Dominique Rhymes made five catches for 75 yards.
Kicker Lewis Ward made 4 of 4 field goals with a long of 42 yards. Ottawa’s defense made 42 tackles, one tackle for loss, four sacks (2 by Bryce Carter), and 10 tackles on special teams. Ottawa was penalized five times for 55 yards.
Calgary had 241 yards on offense (197 yards passing, 77 yards rushing, 33 yards lost). Quarterback Jake Maier completed 20 of 27 passes (74%) for 136 yards, and two carries for 11 yards. Backup quarterback Logan Bonner completed 4 of 8 passes (50%) for 61 yards. Running back Dedrick Mills had 9 carries for 43 yards and five catches for 57 yards.
Wide receiver Cam Echols made five catches for 53 yards, while Tyson Middlemost made two catches for 31 yards. Kicker Rene Paredes made two field goals with a long of 50 yards. Calgary’s defense made 43 tackles, three tackles for loss, three sacks, one fumble recovery, and eight tackles on special teams. Calgary was penalized three times for 28 yards.
Final Thoughts:
Bralon Addison did a nice job filling in at running back Ryquell Armstead who was ejected. The question of the day to the head coach has to be why he didn’t dress another running back for this game.
Every team should have at least two running backs ready to go just in case someone goes down with an injury or in this case, ejected from the game. Armstead needs to learn discipline because his absence could’ve changed the outcome of this game and hurt the team. That was not the case tonight and I hope that Armstead learned a valuable lesson.
I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again. Calgary is not a good football team. The coach kept calling the same plays over and over again and Ottawa’s defense knew what was coming. When something is not working, you need to change it.
Look what happened to Montreal on Thursday night. If Calgary had made a change before the second, they probably would’ve scored touchdowns and made it a close game.
Calgary should’ve replaced Maier with Tommy Stevens to start the second half to a least get the offense moving. Instead, they kept Maier in the game and called the same plays resulting in six points. I’m surprised the coaching staff and the front office still have jobs because this is unacceptable. Calgary fans deserve better and this team will continue to struggle until change is made.
Next Sunday, the Calgary Stampeders host the Toronto Argonauts at 7 pm on TSN and CFL+, while the Ottawa Redblacks are on a bye week. Subscribe to Fubo to watch all of the 2024 CFL Season. Purchase CFL tickets today on StubHub and Viagogo.
