Despite a valiant second-half effort, the Ottawa REDBLACKS came up just short in Winnipeg, falling at the hands of the Blue Bombers 25-16.
Very early in the contest, the Blue Bombers made it clear running the ball was the plan, and with Chris Streveler and Brady Oliveira pounding the rock, the REDBLACKS were in for a challenging night to slow them down. The Bombers’ opening drive lasted 10 plays, but stalled out, and Sergio Castillo put the game’s first three points on the board from 28 yards out.
After trading punts, the REDBLACKS found an answer, using a six-play, 32-yard drive to kick a field goal of their own from 18 yards out. From there, the Blue Bombers took over the game, as Ottawa struggled to do anything but spin their wheels offensively.
The Bombers kicked a long field goal to take the lead, before increasing it with an 11-play, 70-yard drive, consisting of nothing but run plays, to which the REDBLACKS had no answer. Now holding a 16-3 lead, and with Ottawa starter Dru Brown out for the night with an upper-body injury, the Bombers escaped a REDBLACKS score as halftime loomed, with what was deemed a lateral pass resulting in a lost fumble.
As they have done before, the REDBLACKS showed plenty of fight in the second half, scoring a touchdown, courtesy of running back Ryquell Armstead, his first in the CFL, early in the third quarter, narrowing the Winnipeg lead to six points.
Castillo remained hot for the entire night, banging through another long field goal early in the fourth, but the REDBLACKS offence, now led by Dustin Crum, continued to claw their way back. A pair of field goals from Lewis Ward made it interesting late, but Streveler and the Winnipeg offence did just enough to ice the game away, before kicking one last field goal for good measure.
The REDBLACKS, currently 2-2, now prepare themselves for a clash with the Edmonton Elks at The Brick Field at Commonwealth Stadium, on Sunday, July 14th.
