Ottawa REDBLACKS nab 2nd OT win in back-and-forth against Stampeders

| American Football | 07/24/2023

CALGARY – In a battle of two teams trying to get back to .500, the Ottawa REDBLACKS came out on top.

Defeating the Calgary Stampeders 43-41 in a back-and-forth battle that went to overtime, the REDBLACKS secured their first win in Calgary since 2019.

Winning in overtime for the second week in a row, Dustin Crum threw for 257 yards and two touchdowns while adding 63 yards on the ground on seven carries.

Nate Behar‘s crucial fourth-quarter score and overtime two-point conversion catch helped the REDBLACKS seal the win as he grabbed eight receptions for 81 yards and a touchdown, and Justin Hardy added 94 yards and a touchdown for Ottawa.

Damon Webb led the REDBLACKS defensively with seven tackles and a sack while Brandin Dandridge and Alonzo Addae both grabbed an interception for Ottawa in the win.

Jake Maier had a career-high 450 yards for four touchdowns and two interceptions for the Stampeders in the loss, with Marken Michel grabbing four receptions for 134 yards and two touchdowns.

The REDBLACKS got on the board early thanks to a 33-yard field goal from Lewis Ward, but the first score on the ground was Calgary’s as Maier found Clark Barnes for his first CFL touchdown, grabbing a 54-yard reception and taking it to the house for a 6-3 Stamps lead.

But the REDBLACKS would answer quickly as for the second-straight week Dandridge grabbed a pick-six, giving Ottawa a 10-6 lead to end the first quarter.

With Calgary down at home to start the second quarter, Maier fumbled and turned ball over to right at the start of the second quarter that allowed the REDBLACKS and Crum to get the ball back.

A quarterback who made headlines the week prior for using his legs, Crum rushed for 27 yards to set up first and goal, and a three-yard rush from Ante Milanovic-Litre extended the REDBLACKS lead.

As they had all game, Calgary responded immediately thanks to a Michel 33-yard touchdown that cut Ottawa’s lead to four, and the Stamps defence forced Ottawa’s first two-and-out of the game to keep the pressure on in the second quarter.

An unnecessary roughness foul after a punt return helped the Stamps move 50 yards to the REDBLACKS 36-yard line, but Ottawa’s defence sacked Maier with 37 seconds to go, with the Stamps settling for a field goal as Rene Paredes cut the lead to a single point.

Crum took his fourth sack of the game to start the third quarter for another two-and-out, thwarting the first half momentum the REDBLACKS had found, and the Stamps used the very next drive to score as Tommy Stevens ran the ball into the end zone himself, but missed the two-point conversion.

In a battle of constant lead changes, the REDBLACKS came right back as Crum found Hardy for 24 yards, and Crum successfully converted the two-point attempt to lead by three after trailing by five.

Ottawa looked to have found their momentum once again as Bryce Carter sacked Maier, but another Michel score, this time a 95-yard touchdown for the biggest play of the game, gave the Stamps the lead right back with Maier recording a career high in passing yards.

After turning the ball over on downs, the REDBLACKS g0t the ball right back thanks to an Addae interception, and Crum found Behar for 23 yards as he scored his first of the season with less than 1:30 on the clock to cap off an 11-play, 87 yard drive.

Trailing by three and needing a Paredes field goal to send the game to overtime, the Stamps kicker achieved the feat of scoring over 2,000 career points with a 47-yard kick that was good enough to force an extra frame.

The home team would strike first in overtime, as Maier found Tre Odoms-Dukes in the end zone for seven yards as he tallied 101 receiving yards in the game with the touchdown, but the two-point conversion failed and left the game in Ottawa’s hands.

Crum found Behar for 14 yards for a REDBLACKS first down, which put them into position for Milanovic-Litre to once again rush for three yards into the end zone, with the Crum-Behar connection good for one last play as they successfully converted the two-point attempt for a second overtime win in their last two games.

The REDBLACKS will go home to host the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in Week 8 at TD Place Stadium at 7:30 p.m. ET on Friday, July 28, while the Stampeders will travel to Percival-Molson Memorial Stadium to face off against the Montreal Alouettes at 7:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 30.

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