A hard-fought game at Mosaic Stadium was never out of reach for the Ottawa REDBLACKS on Thursday night, but a comeback win narrowly escaped them as they fell to the Saskatchewan Roughriders by a final score of 31-26 in the season opener for both teams.
Dru Brown threw for 413 yards, connecting on touchdown passes to Geno Lewis, and Justin Hardy, while Dustin Crum and William Stanback hit pay dirt on the ground. Hardy led the way with 133 receiving yards, with Bralon Addison putting up 112.
Defensively, Adrian Frye forced a pair of fumbles, and C.J. Coldon notched his first career interception, in a game where Adarius Pickett returned with authority; tallying a team-high six tackles and a fumble recovery.
The REDBLACKS came roaring out of the gate, with Brown going 7/7 for 84 yards on the game’s opening drive, and a completion to Lewis at the Riders one-yard line setting up a one-yard rushing touchdown by Crum.
Ottawa’s defence stood tall early, with a textbook strip by Frye on Saskatchewan’s second possession returning the ball to his offence, but a field goal attempt by Lewis Ward was no good, and Mario Alford returned the ball 60 yards to the Rider 46.
Using the terrific field position, Trevor Harris marched his team down to the Ottawa 10, where Pickett knocked AJ Ouellette out of the game with a thunderous hit, but a REDBLACKS penalty on second down moved the ball to their one-yard line, where Tommy Stevens converted on a quarterback sneak to tie the game.
The REDBLACKS’ penalty woes continued, stymying their next offensive drive, and Harris’ turned the home side’s next possession into a drive capped off by a nine-yard touchdown pass to Samuel Emilus, making this a 14-7 game.
Penalties again put Ottawa behind the sticks on both sides of the ball following a huge interception by Coldon, setting up another long Rider drive that was capped off by a Brett Lauther field goal, giving the home team a 10-point lead at the half.
With Ottawa looking to find their footing again on defence, and with Alonzo Addae knocked out of the game by an injury, Harris again took advantage on the second half’s first possession, needing just five plays to complete a touchdown pass to Thomas Bertrand-Hudon. Lauther was perfect on the PAT, and the REDBLACKS found themselves in a 24-7 hole.
Brown immediately returned fire, connecting with Daniel Adeboboye, and rookie Keelan White on short passing plays, where both men earned yards after the catch to move the chains early. After a 19-yard completion to Addison, Lewis drew a red zone penalty, setting up his first touchdown catch as a REDBLACK from eight yards out, and matching the second-longest scoring streak in CFL history at nine games.
Bertrand-Hudon unfortunately would convert on the ground on the ensuing drive, but it set the stage for a fourth quarter dominated by the REDBLACKS.
Brown immediately put together another clinical drive, thanks in large part to Kalil Pimpleton flipping the field with a pass interference call against Saskatchewan. After moving the ball down to the Rider two-yard line, Stanback punched in his own first touchdown as a REDBLACK, but the PAT was blocked, and Ottawa remained down by 11.
Following a pair of two-and-out’s by the defence, Brown completed a seven-play drive by making a 17-yard pass to Hardy, who slipped a defender, and scampered another 10 yards into the end zone. Ottawa’s two-point conversion attempted was unsuccessful, but the Riders’ lead was cut to five.
The defence again came up big with Frye’s second forced fumble, recovered by Pickett, but a pair of huge sacks by Jameer Thurman and Malik Carney kneecapped Ottawa’s final two drives, and the home team narrowly escaped with the win.
Ottawa will look to improve to 1-1 on the young season, when they host the Montreal Alouettes on Friday, June 13, in a 7:00pm kickoff at TD Place.
