It came down to the final play of the game, and a field goal from Rene Paredes sealed a last-second one-point victory for the Calgary Stampeders in a rematch of the 2018 Grey Cup. They stun the REDBLACKS 17-16.

It came after the REDBLACKS elected to give up a safety with 1:14 to go in the fourth quarter, turning a four-point lead into two. Then the Stamps put together an impressive final drive of the game under pressure, spoiling the party for 22,708 REDBLACKS fans at TD Place.

The loss is the fourth in a row for the REDBLACKS since starting the year with two wins, and the fourth of their season. 

The vast majority of the game featured offence coming from the kickers. There were seven combined field goals between the two clubs before we saw the first and only touchdown of the ballgame, when Jonathon Jennings found Brad Sinopoli in the late stages of the third quarter.

Out of those seven FGs, three of them came from Ottawa’s Lewis Ward. The Kingston, Ont. native performed like his usual self, extending his unprecedented streak of consecutive field goals to 64 – which remains a CFL record.

Calgary’s late field goal was not their only chance to take a late lead. They had a chance to take the lead with 1:41 to go, but Richard Sindani let the ball slip out of his hands on Ottawa’s three-yard line. 

The fumble came as Sindani was in the process of leaping into the end zone. Miraculously, Sherrod Baltimore recovered for the REDBLACKS, and that kept the score 16-12.

After that, the REDBLACKS elected to take a safety for better field position, but the Stampeders received a clutch 28-yard return from Terry Williams. That set up the drive for the eventual game-winning field goal.

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING

“We made some plays in the second half, and made some throws too. We just have to do it on a more consistent basis. I’m proud of our defence for getting the turnovers, but we can’t live off that.” – HC Rick Campbell

“We just started too slow, and I put a lot of that on me. I think in the second half we did a lot of things better – our O-line was doing a great job, and we were giving ourselves the opportunity to protect the ball, but it just took us too long to get rolling.” – QB Jonathon Jennings

On rebounding after losses… “I wouldn’t want to do it with another group of guys. There guys are awesome, we all believe in each other. It starts there. We all have the desire to get better and I think we’re going to come back stronger.” – QB Jonathon Jennings

GAME NOTES

REDBLACKS defence forced four fumbles in the game, five turnovers total (one on downs)… breakout game for WR Brad Sinopoli… the Ontario native led the REDBLACKS receiving corps with 76 yards, and 34 YAC… QB Jonathon Jennings has first touchdown pass as a REDBLACK, finding Sinopoli… RB John Crockett had 84 rushing yards.

PLAYER OF THE GAME

SCORING SUMMARY

First Quarter

OTT – FG Ward – 13:39

CGY – FG Paredes – 8:30

CGY – FG Paredes – 6:28

OTT – FG Ward – 2:35

Second Quarter

OTT – FG Ward – 4:08

CGY – FG Paredes – 1:44

Third Quarter

CGY – FG Paredes – 3:05

Fourth Quarter

OTT – Jennings to Sinopoli (Ward conv.) 13:53

CGY – SAFE (Leone ran OOB) – 1:14

CGY – FG Paredes – 0:08

DRIVE OF THE GAME

ATTENDANCE

22,708

GAME GALLERY