Photo | Andre Ringuette/Freestyle Photography/Ottawa REDBLACKS
It was three-fold REDBLACKS dominance on Sunday in Montreal, where Ottawa’s running back, defence and travelling fans simply outperformed the Alouettes en route to a convincing 29-11 win.
Defensive Coordinator Mark Nelson’s d-unit allowed just 166 total yards in the win for Ottawa (5-7-1), which reclaimed first place in the East with its dismantling of the Alouettes (3-9).
Running back William Powell shone in his return from the injured list, averaging nearly six yards-per-carry en route to a 144-yard day, and the off-field beasts of the East — RNation — invaded Molson Stadium and got loud.
The REDBLACKS offence went to work on Sunday’s opening possession, as quarterback Drew Tate and company put together a 16-play drive that resulted in a 16-yard Tate-to-Patrick Lavoie touchdown connection. The Ottawa pivot then found Jake Harty for the two-point convert to push the lead to 8-0.
Ottawa’s defence utterly dominated the first quarter; Darian Durant and the Als offence ended the opening 15 minutes with a grand total of minus-two yards of offence.
Kicker Boris Bede did get the hosts on the board early in the second quarter with a 43-yard field goal.
REDBACKS kicker Brett Maher then restored Ottawa’s eight-point lead with a 30-yard field goal.
Return man Diontae Spencer broke the game open later in the second quarter with a ridiculous 113-yard touchdown return on a Bede missed field-goal attempt. The REDBLACKS speedster cut right and — benefiting from some Bob Dyce-special blocking schemes — took off to the house. Tate slid a pass to Greg Ellingson for the ensuing two-point convert.
Following a Maher single on the ensuing kickoff, Ottawa led 20-3.
Tate was knocked out of the game late in the first half by a crunching hit by Montreal’s Dondre Wright.
Entering off the bench, backup pivot Ryan Lindley’s first toss was intercepted in the Montreal end zone by Tevaughn Campbell; the Als defensive back then inexplicably stepped out of his end zone before taking a knee, gifting the REDBLACKS a safety.
A Maher chip shot from 22 yards out extended the Ottawa lead to 25-3.
The hosts broke into the end zone late in the third quarter, as — following a 43-yard Tyrell Sutton run — replacement quarterback Drew Willy plunged in from the one-yard line. Willy then found Tiquan Underwood on the two-point convert to cut the REDBLACKS lead to 14.
Maher stemmed the bleeding with a 28-yard field goal to make it 28-11, and his punt single later in the fourth quarter rounded out the day’s scoring.
What They’re Saying
“We’re directly competing with them for a playoff spot, so to beat them a third time was big. We had some guys go down and we’re fighting some injury issues; Ryan Lindley, that’s big for him to come in and close out a game for us. We’re just going to enjoy this on the bus ride home, and then move onto Winnipeg quickly.” — HC Rick Campbell
LISTEN | Campbell: Huge win for us
“I felt great out there, like I was 100 per cent (and) able to do what I’m capable of doing. Both (Drew Tate and Ryan Lindley) settled in and played pretty well; in our locker room, we’re really confident in whoever’s going. The offensive line was fantastic, I love our O-line — their great, hard-working, tough guys that come to work every single day.” — RB William Powell
LISTEN | Powell: Felt great out there
Game Notes
The REDBLACKS defence forced the Montreal offence into seven two-and-outs…Jonathan Newsome registered a game-high two sacks in the win for Ottawa…Nine REDBLACKS caught a pass in Sunday’s win…The REDBLACKS boasted the fifth highest possession time in CFL history owning the ball for 41:00 minutes.
The REDBLACKS swept the season series 3-0 outscoring the Als 85-34… Brad Sinopoli had four catches and is now 12 receptions shy of the Ottawa single-season record of 94 set by Marc Lewis in 1987. He’s also 30 catches shy of tying the record for most CFL catches by a Canadian in a season, a mark set by Ben Cahoon (112 in 2013 season).
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
OTT — TD Tate to Lavoie (Tate to Harty 2-pt. conv.) — 7:24
Second Quarter
MTL — FG Bede — 13:40
OTT — FG Maher — 7:57
OTT — FG Spencer missed-FG return (Tate to Ellingson 2-pt. conv.) — 3:46
OTT — Maher single — 2:52
OTT — MTL Campbell safety — 0:48
Third Quarter
OTT — FG Maher — 7:56
MTL — TD Willy (Willy to Underwood 2-pt. conv.) — 4:14
Fourth Quarter
OTT — FG Maher — 8:45
OTT — Maher single — 2:55
