By: Santino Filoso
On Friday night the Redblacks welcomed the BC Lions and former Redblacks QB Kevin Glenn to TD Place. Following a painful trend, the Redblacks lost another defensive struggle late in the 4th quarter to move their record to 1-9 on the year.
Pre-game:
– OSEG continues to do the little things right, honouring Ottawa’s storied CFL history by unveiling a statue of Frank Clair
– The trolls who run the official CFL twitter account do their best to get Ottawa fans excited about the game
– R-Nation continues to show that they aren’t fair weather fans, filling TD Place once again
– Redblacks win the coin toss and choose to recieve
1st Quarter:
– Jamill Smith (#15) fields the opening kick and returns it 26 yards to Ottawa’s 35 yard line
– Henry Burris (#1) shows off his arm with a long pass as the Redblacks look to strike quickly but Marter (Matt Carter #85) fails to bring it in
– A Henry² (Marcus Henry #16) catch leads to a 35 yard FG off Brett Maher’s boot
– Jonathan Willams (#75) forces the Lions to punt on their opening drive when he gets this 3rd sack of the year, bringing Lulay down for an 8 yard loss
– Defence is the name of the game as the teams trade two and outs
2nd Quarter:
– Burris criminally under throws a pass right to Dante Marsh who picks it off and returns it 34 yards
– Paul “Grandaddy” McCallum’s 49 yard FG is good evening things at 3
– The pocket collapses around Burris who is flushed, and hits Wallace Miles (#84) on the run for a 1st down
– The Redblacks dial up a fake field goal when Alex Carder (#4) hits FB Patrick Lavoie (#81) for a fresh set of downs
– Chevon Walker (#29) has a few tough plays, first dropping a screen pass that would’ve been touchdown and then getting nailed by Solomon Elimimian, breaking his arm and fumbling for the 2nd time in his career while trying to extend the ball over the goal line
– In his first start in weeks, Moton “The Motivator” Hopkins tackles Harris in the end zone for a safety
– Fans at TD Place continue to wait for the Redblacks offence to show any signs of life as they go two and out
– Antoine Pruneau (#6) misses Lulay as he comes in free on the blitz, allowing Lulay to scramble outside for a massive gain
– With no time left on the clock, McCallum’s 34 yard FG ends the half
Half-time:
Third Quarter:
– The defence continues to dominate, gang tackling Lions RB Andrew Harris for a loss
– Ricky Schmitt punts 69 for a rouge, extending BC’s lead to 7-5
– Showing off a slick spin move Bradon Lang (#91) sacks Lulay
– Lavoie gets beat clean by his man and Burris quickly goes down
– Henry² makes an incredible one handed catch, snagging a wobbly Burris throw
Fourth Quarter:
– BC tries to get fancy but their WR sweep is snuffed out for a huge loss as the Redblacks keep contain and box Emmanuel Arceneaux in
– With torrential rain falling and easily within FG range, Maher never gets the chance to give the Redblacks the leads as Danny O’Brien (#9) lets the snap slide right through his hands, and his panicked pass falls incomplete
– Lulay survives a collapsing pocket, breaks a few arm tackles and turns a sack into positive yards
– With just over a minute left and deep in Redblacks territory, Lulay fumbles the ball and re-injuries his throwing shoulder
– The Lions recover the loose ball, dashing any hopes of a Redblacks comeback
– Final score: 7-5 for BC
Key Stats:
Burris went 21 of 32 for 188 yards with 0 TDs and 1 INT
Walker had 4 carries for 6 yards
Henry² made 4 catches for 51 yards
Maher punted 9 times for 428 yards
Jermaine Robison (#32) made 7 tackesl
Closing Thoughts:
Another week brings another close loss. It’s said that good teams find ways to win games, so maybe expansions teams find ways to lose them. On a night when the offence struggled, the defence gave the Redblacks a chance to win. Some fans have been clamouring for Burris to be benched for weeks and his performance did nothing to silence his critics. There were a few drops, but Burris looked off all night, under and over throwing open receivers. The run game was non-existent, with only 12 yards gained on 10 carries between Walker and Michael Haynes (#34). The offensive line played soft all game long, failing to give Burris any kind of time and their inability to open up running lanes perhaps plays a factor in OC Mike Gibson’s reluctance to call runs.
The defence played lights out, putting points on the board again and limiting BC to two FGs and a rouge. If you hold the other team without a touchdown in the CFL you should win the game, plain and simple. If there is a positive to take from the Redblacks recent losing streak it’s that the defence is playing consistently tough and refuses to give up. Though their efforts are currently overshadowed by the team’s offensive woes, the Redblacks strong defence bodes well for the team’s future.
On special teams the Redblacks did an admirable job containing the league’s most dangerous returner (Tim Brown), holding him to a single long return of 25 yards. Maher made every field goal he had a chance to kick and averaged nearly 48 yards per punt.
With their next game on September 21st, the Redblacks need to make the most of their bye week by figuring out a way to put points on the board and how to deal with the loss of Chevon Walker, out for the season with a broken arm. Sitting in last in the East and with a record of 1-9, the Redblacks next game against the GREENWHITES is pivotal in keeping their playoff hopes alive.
– All images via Roman Romanovich, CFL.ca and the Ottawa Sun
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