Ottawa Redblacks' quarterback Dominique Davis (4) celebrates his touchdown against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers during the first half of CFL action in Winnipeg Friday, August 17, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods
The Ottawa REDBLACKS turned in a complete performance on Friday night against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, topping one of the West Division’s strongest teams 44-21. Ottawa now has double the wins of any of their East Division foes.
Ottawa’s stingy defence stifled and frustrated the Winnipeg offence all evening long. The REDBLACKS have held opponents to under 30 points in all but one game this season.
Trevor Harris went 29-for-39 for 361 yards through the air and a touchdown pass. Dominique Davis scored two touchdowns against his former team and was one of four different REDBLACKS to find the end zone.
The teams traded two-and-outs on their first possessions, but Ottawa got some traction on their second drive of the game. Harris spread the ball around to six different receivers to get down to the goal line. Davis snuck the ball in, and Harris found Greg Ellingson on the two-point convert to give Ottawa an early lead.
The Bombers responded immediately with a touchdown of their own. Matt Nichols hooked up with Darvin Adams for a big, 45-yard passing score.
On their first drive of the second quarter, Harris hit William Powell with two short passes that got the REDBLACKS into the red zone. Davis again plunged it in from the goal line, and Harris found Diontae Spencer for the two-point convert to give Ottawa a 16-7 advantage.
Back-to-back Ottawa drives stalled shy of the Winnipeg 30-yard line in the closing minutes of the first half. Lewis Ward knocked down two mid-range field goals to give the REDBLACKS a 22-7 lead going into half time.
Winnipeg opened the second half with a touchdown. Andrew Harris came alive on the drive, rushing for a big gain to extend the possession and then leaping to break the plane on a direct snap. The extra point made the score 22-14.
Needing a response, the REDBLACKS got it courtesy of a 59-yard catch-and-run from Harris to Dominique Rhymes. Rhymes was the target on the very next play, when he sprawled out to make a great catch in the corner of the end zone. Powell earned the two-pointer to make the score 30-14.
Winnipeg couldn’t complete three plays before the REDBLACKS found the end zone again. The Bombers fumbled and Avery Williams showed good poise to calmly scoop up the ball and run it the length of the field for the touchdown. Powell scored another two-pointer to give Ottawa a 24-point lead.
With the first play of fourth quarter, Nichols and Adams connected for another long touchdown. The 72-yard catch-and-run cut Ottawa’s lead to 17 points.
Ottawa made sure to see out the game with solid play on both sides of the ball. William Powell darted in for a long rushing touchdown and the defence forced an important turnover on downs in their own red zone to see out a statement win for the REDBLACKS.
Ottawa (6-3) heads into their bye week with a win and will be back in action at home on Friday, August 31 against the Montreal Alouettes. The Blue Bombers (5-4) face a tough test next week when they face the Calgary Stampeders on Saturday, August 25.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
“Winnipeg’s a good team and playing them in their home stadium’s tough. They were trying to fight and claw their way back and our guys always had a response- that’s huge. It felt like we were in control of the game and our guys saw it all the way through.” – HC Rick Campbell
“We stuck together – everybody played for each other. Our o-line’s message going into the game was ‘let’s link up, play a complete game and play together. Let’s fight this thing out and see what happens.’ I think everybody did that and we played tough down the stretch. We’re not going to back down from anyone.” OL – SirVincent Rogers
GAME NOTES
Lewis Ward converted both of his field goal attempts, bringing his consecutive field goal streak to 24… The REDBLACKS were 4-for-4 on two-point converts… Winnipeg’s Andrew Harris surpassed 7,000 career rushing yards. He is the 14th player in CFL history to reach the 7,000-yard plateau… The REDBLACKS defence limited Harris to only 35 total yards in the first half… Dominique Rhymes’ third quarter touchdown reception was his first career CFL touchdown.
SCORING SUMMARY
First Quarter
OTT – TD Davis (Harris to Ellingson 2-pt. conv.) – 6:59
WPG – TD Nichols to Adams (Medlock conv.) – 3:28
Second Quarter
OTT – TD Davis (Harris to Spencer 2-pt. conv.) – 11:30
OTT – FG Ward – 3:43
OTT – FG Ward – 1:37
Third Quarter
WPG – TD Harris (Medlock conv.) – 8:04
OTT – TD Harris to Rhymes (Powell 2-pt. conv.) – 5:28
OTT – Fumble ret. TD Williams (Powell 2-pt. conv.) –
Fourth Quarter
WPG – TD Nichols to Adams (Medlock conv.) – 15:00
OTT – TD Powell – 7:43
