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Hope nobody bet the house on the Edmonton Elks beating the Ottawa Redblacks Saturday night – and if you did, start looking for somewhere else to live.
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In a game that ended with Elks fullback James Tuck getting stopped one yard short of a game-winning touchdown, the Redblacks — heavy underdogs in the CFL season-opener for both teams —came away with a heart-stopping 16-12 win three provinces to the west of the nation’s capital.
It was a tremendous victory for the Redblacks, who won just three games in 2019, the last time the CFL played a season, and a team many “experts” are picking to be the league’s worst.
“We talked to the players this morning about it taking a long time to play this football game — you’re going to play for 60 minutes and the games are usually won at the end,” said Redblacks head coach Paul LaPolice. “We certainly did that today and put ourselves in a position to get our two points and I’m just really proud of how the team responded.”
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While Ottawa’s offence really struggled Saturday —quarterback Matt Nichols had 71 yards passing (he completed 12-of-20 passes and was sacked five times) and the rushing game produced just 56 yards— the defence and special teams units stepped up in a big way.
Returning to the team he was part of from 2014-16, defensive back Abdul Kanneh had two huge interceptions, the second one for a 102-yard touchdown with 9:57 left when he grabbed a tipped ball off the hands of Elks receiver Shai Ross. Randall Evans stepped in front of a pass from Elks QB Trevor Harris and provided an interception with a bit more than three minutes left. Linebacker Avery Williams made 14 tackles for Ottawa.
Asked what he was thinking as he sprinted toward the Elks end zone, Kanneh said: “I was thinking I’d better not get caught because my sons and my little nephews were going to be making fun of me, sending me stuff on Instagram and YouTube and stuff like that. My lady would make fun of me, too.”
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While the TSN CFL analysts questioned whether Nichols’ right shoulder was right — he had surgery two years ago —he quarterback said he felt good.
“It felt great all game,” said Nichols. “You know, there’s a couple of early throws where I felt like it was more me, I wish I’d had my legs underneath me a little bit quicker. It just felt like I was taking too quick a drops, trying to catch up to my mind. I didn’t have my feet set up on a couple of the early throws. Obviously, we need to do more on offence. I felt good during the game, though.”
The Redblacks also got three field goals, two of them from more than 50 yards out, from record-setting kicker Lewis Ward.
As for the What Ifs … well, the Redblacks appeared to have scored a spectacular trick play touchdown early in the second quarter DeVonte Dedmon took an Edmonton punt and tossed a pass (almost) laterally to Ryan Davis, who sped 72 yards down the left sideline into the end zone. But the Elks successfully challenged that it was a forward pass. Asked about the close call, LaPolice told TSN at halftime: “We feel like creativity is rewarded in the Canadian Football League and we want to make sure we’re creative in what we do.”
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The teams were tied 3-3 after the first quarter. The Elks took a 3-0 lead on a 12-yard Sean Whyte field goal on their opening drive. A nice 21-yard punt return by Dedmon gave Ottawa the ball on the Edmonton 48-yard line. And Ward nailed a 52-yard field goal to tie the game.
Whyte’s 52-yard field goal gave the Elks a 6-3 lead with 3:10 left in the second quarter. The Redblacks got the three points back on a 20-yard Ward field goal with 33 seconds left in the half. With no time on the clock, Whyte booked a 48-yarder to make it 9-6 at the half.
A 43-yard Whyte field goal 4:58 into the third quarter gave the Elks a 12-6 lead.
With 4:29 left in the third quarter, Kanneh made a beautiful play to jump in front of Derrel Walker and snag an interception.
Ward hit a 51-yard field goal to make it 12-9.
ALSO: BACK IN RED AND BLACK: Celebrate the return of Ottawa’s CFL team after 645 days
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMijgFodHRwczovL290dGF3YXN1bi5jb20vc3BvcnRzL2Zvb3RiYWxsL2NmbC9vdHRhd2EtcmVkYmxhY2tzL2NmbC1zdHVubmVyLW90dGF3YS1yZWRibGFja3MtbGVkLWJ5LXRlcnJpZmljLWRlZmVuY2UtaW4taHVnZS13aW4tb3Zlci1lZG1vbnRvbi1lbGtz0gG8AWh0dHBzOi8vb3R0YXdhc3VuLmNvbS9zcG9ydHMvZm9vdGJhbGwvY2ZsL290dGF3YS1yZWRibGFja3MvY2ZsLXN0dW5uZXItb3R0YXdhLXJlZGJsYWNrcy1sZWQtYnktdGVycmlmaWMtZGVmZW5jZS1pbi1odWdlLXdpbi1vdmVyLWVkbW9udG9uLWVsa3Mvd2NtLzBmYWFlMDc2LTk1NTgtNGZiZS1iMjExLTc4YTQzNWJhZTUwOS9hbXAv?oc=5
2021-08-08 11:10:51Z
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