Photo credit: Johany Jutras (CFL)
A CF-18 fighter jet flew over TD Place just before kickoff, simultaneously deafening and firing up the home Ottawa crowd. For the next three hours however, it was the Stampeders making all the noise. Calgary bested Ottawa 27-3 on Thursday’s Canadian Armed Forces Appreciation Night. It was the second Stampeder victory over the Redblacks in the span of two weeks.
“We got flat-out beat in all ways. Offense, defense and special teams and we never found a way to respond,” said Redblacks head coach Rick Campbell.
The now 2-2 Redblacks once again struggled on offense against the stout Stampeders. Trevor Harris passed for only 135 yards at McMahon Stadium in the previous Ottawa-Calgary matchup and fared no better in the rematch. Harris threw for 93 yards and two interceptions in three quarters of work before being pulled.
“They kicked our butt and we weren’t good enough. As simple as that is, that is what we have right now,” said Harris, citing the need to go over game film before fully analyzing the performance.
The Redblacks offense managed only 31 yards in the first half and posted five two-and-outs. An Ottawa team that has excelled at taking care of the football this season turned it over five times. Calgary has the top defense in the CFL by nearly every measure, making it difficult enough to beat them even without handing the ball over continuously to the Stampeder offense.
Calgary opened the scoring with a long drive late in the first quarter, capping it off with a one-yard Romar Morris touchdown. The Stampeders were then able to deliver with an effective offense and smothering defense to enforce their will on the game, building a 20-0 halftime lead in the process.
William Powell thrived on the ground two weeks ago in Calgary and was the CFL’s leading rusher heading into week five, but was limited to 17 yards and nonexistent running lanes.
For the time being, the CFL’s rushing crown is in the hands of Stampeders’ running back Don Jackson. Jackson ran for 102 yards against the Redblacks.
Stampeders quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell took a low hit from Redblacks defender Danny Mason and was forced from the game at the end of a second quarter drive. Not before he left his mark on the game however, going 16/21 for 166 yards and a touchdown.
It was the Nick Arbuckle show from then on out for Calgary. The Stampeder offense was largely on cruise control in the second half with Arbuckle at the helm and the game’s outcome no longer in question.
Calgary was without Eric Rogers (tied for the CFL lead in touchdowns), but hardly missed a beat in the passing game. As is usually the case with the Stampeders, they spread the ball around. Six receivers caught at least three passes and Kamar Jorden led the way with 79 yards receiving.
Bright spots for Ottawa were far and few between. Defensive backs Antoine Pruneau and Rico Murray played physical defense all night long and punter Richie Leone did his part in winning the field position battle.
“It’s not a game where I think you can point the finger at one guy, but if you need to you can point it at me,” said Harris. “That is the responsibility of the quarterback and I’ll take that on my shoulders.”
The Stampeder victory marks their first at TD Place since 2014. Calgary is now a stunning 17-0 in games directly following a bye week since 2005 and a perfect 4-0 to start the 2018 CFL Season.
“Definitely going to look at it tomorrow and find some answers and make sure something like this doesn’t happen again,” said Campbell.
The Redblacks will stay home next week to play the B.C. Lions on Friday night.
