A 31-28 overtime win over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers was one of the most stunning results in the Ottawa Redblacks’ history.
Ottawa trailed 25-6 after three quarters and was starting its third quarterback in five games. But Dustin Crum led the team to two touchdowns in the final three minutes of regulation and then ran 29 yards for the game-winner in overtime.
The Redblacks will try for an encore on Sunday in Calgary, where they play a Stampeders team coming off its own big win last week.
Ottawa (2-3) got 364 total yards from Crum, who threw for 261 and ran for 103. Crum rushed for a 12-yard touchdown on the final play of regulation and then connected with Nate Behar for a two-point conversion that forced overtime.
“I’m not going sideways, I’m going to go right through him,” Crum said of the scoring run to end regulation. “I wasn’t going to let it happen again. It was a whatever-it-takes mindset.”
Crum was stopped at the 2-yard line on the final play of regulation in the Redblacks’ previous game, a 21-13 loss two weeks ago at Hamilton. He relieved Jeremiah Masoli after the veteran sustained a season-ending Achilles tear in the second quarter.
Meanwhile, Calgary (2-3) got a road win it absolutely needed in Saskatchewan, holding off the Roughriders 33-31 as quarterback Jake Maier threw for 315 yards and a pair of touchdowns. A defeat would have given Saskatchewan the season series, which could have hurt the Stampeders’ playoff chances.
Calgary won despite another abysmal week on special teams. It permitted Mario Alford to run back two punts for touchdowns and has allowed seven punt returns of more than 30 yards, the most of any team in the CFL.
“We have to change, we have to find some different ways to get through,” Stampeders coach Dave Dickenson said. “We know CFL is a big field with a lot of returns. We had some nice returns ourselves, but when you’re at your best is when you’re dictating the pace of play and making him feel like he’s got to earn hard yards.”
Calgary and Ottawa played last month in Ottawa, with the Stampeders taking a 26-15 win.
–Field Level Media