OTTAWA – Ottawa’s Thursday night tilt against Calgary was about as close to a must win game as you can get in Week 9. Coming out of their bye hoping to reverse a four-game losing streak and grab their first home win of the year, the REDBLACKS did just that in a 31-11 result over the Stampeders.
The Ottawa defence forced four turnovers and limited a lethal Calgary run game while Dru Brown and his receivers had a productive outing in front of their home fans.
CFL.ca brings you three key stats from the Ottawa REDBLACKS’ win over the Calgary Stampeders.
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35 – CALGARY RUSHING YARDS
The Stampeders’ offence came into Week 9 averaging a league-high 127 rushing yards per game. The Ottawa REDBLACKS’ defence held their own against a usually productive unit on Thursday night, limiting Dedrick Mills and company to just 35 rushing yards at TD Place Stadium.
Calgary had 20 of those rushing yards in the first half but after heading down the tunnel at half down by 14 they were unable to establish their ground game in the second half as P.J. Walker looked downfield.
3 – OTTAWA INTERCEPTIONS
Ottawa’s secondary showed Walker no mercy in his first CFL start, picking him off twice before halftime and then sealing the win with a pick-six in the fourth quarter.
Amari Henderson and Deandre Lamont got the first-half interceptions for the REDBLACKS, and then Alijah McGhee made a house call on his 61-yard pick in the fourth.
2 – JUSTIN HARDY TOUCHDOWNS
While Euguene Lewis did much of the heavy lifting between the red zones on Thursday, Justin Hardy was the receiver doing the damage in scoring range for Ottawa.
After both teams struggled to put up points through the first 15 minutes, Brown starting to find success through the air early in the second. He threaded a 12-yard pass to Hardy good for six points to cap off a six-play scoring drive for the game’s first touchdown. After the three-minute warning, Hardy again found pay dirt as he got open for an easy 15-yard grab in the end zone.