The Ottawa REDBLACKS dropped a defensive battle to the Eskimos in Edmonton by a 16-12 score. Ottawa found themselves on the 11-yard line late in the game, but all three passes fell incomplete.
Dominique Davis threw for 289 yards and a touchdown, while also throwing two interceptions. John Crockett set a new career-high with 89 rushing yards in the losing effort.
The REDBLACKS defence forced four turnovers and held the Eskimos to their second-lowest offensive output of the season. Jerod Fernandez led the way with eight tackles.
Edmonton opened the scoring on their first possession. Running back C.J. Gable earned his first rushing touchdown of the year when he scampered in from 28 yards out.
Following a chip-shot Lewis Ward field goal, the Dominique duo connected. As the first quarter was coming to a close, Dominique Davis found Dominique Rhymes for an electrifying 67-yard catch-and-run. The two-point convert failed and Ottawa took a 9-7 lead.
The REDBLACKS continued to be efficient on offence in the second quarter. Davis completed four passes on a nine-play drive that resulted in a short field goal from Ward.
Edmonton twice gambled on third down deep in REDBLACKS territory in the second quarter, but the defence held firm. Jerod Fernandez forced a fumble and J.R. Tavai made a key tackle in the backfield to halt the drives.
Neither offence could get much traction for the majority of the second quarter, but Edmonton kicked a late field goal to make the score 12-10 at the half.
The defences continued to shine in the second half, until the Eskimos broke through late in the third quarter. Trevor Harris guided his team into the red zone, only to have the Ottawa defence stand tall and stuff their former teammate on an attempted sneak into the endzone.
Edmonton found paydirt early in the fourth quarter, with Gable running in from the goal line. The two-point attempt was stopped however, making the score 16-12.
The Eskies thought they’d put the game to bed with two minutes to play. Harris launched a deep pass that was run into the endzone, but the play was called back for a holding penalty.
Ottawa took over on their own 44-yard line with a minute-and-a-half to go and needing a touchdown. Davis hit Rhymes to get the REDBLACKS into the red zone. Three passing plays from the 11-yard line fell incomplete, and the Eskimos hung on for the win.
Ottawa (3-5) return home next week to take on the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (5-2). Kickoff is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. at TD Place on Saturday, August 17. Edmonton (5-3) will travel to face the Toronto Argonauts on Friday, August 16.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
“We did a good job of getting the ball in space. That’s what we wanted to do with guys like [Rafael Araujo-Lopes] and [DeVonte Dedmon] – get them in space. We were able to run the ball pretty well. Second half, we just weren’t able to run the ball quite as well as we wanted to. We had a chance at the end there and didn’t get it done.” – HC Rick Campbell
“Hats off to Edmonton – they did a good job of stabilizing us in the second half. That’s a really good team we faced. We were just taking it one play at a time [in the first half]. Not worrying about the next play, just worrying about the present play and trying to execute that play the best we can.” – QB Dominique Davis
GAME NOTES
The REDBLACKS forced four turnovers on third down sneaks (three turnovers on downs, one forced fumble)… Rafael Araujo-Lopes recorded his first CFL reception on a screen pass during the REDBLACKS first drive of the game… DeVonte Dedmon accumulated 141 all-purpose yards. Ottawa attempted a punt with Dedmon onside late in the game. It was unsuccessful… Lewis Ward is now 21-for-21 on field goal tries this season.
GAME GALLERY
SCORING SUMMARY
First Quarter
EDM – TD Gable (Whyte conv.) – 5:52
OTT – FG Ward – 2:32
OTT – TD Davis to Rhymes – 0:03
Second Quarter
OTT – FG Ward – 4:54
EDM – FG Whyte – 0:08
Third Quarter
-No scoring-
Fourth Quarter
EDM – TD Gable – 8:35
Attendance
27,951
