Introduction | Week 5 | Week 7
Some pretty fun football this week! A couple very close games, and some unfortunate heartbreakers, so let’s dive right in.
GAME VODS
Toronto @ Montreal
Calgary @ Winnipeg
Saskatchewan @ BC
Ottawa @ Edmonton
TORONTO ARGONAUTS @ MONTREAL ALOUETTES
Played: Thursday July 11
Final Score: TOR 37 – MTL 18
Points Breakdown by Quarter: Q1: TOR-3 MTL-1 | Q2: TOR-21 MTL-14 | Q3: TOR-3 MTL-3 | Q4: TOR-10 MTL-0
Well, that’s not how I expected this game to go. What a dominant performance by the Argonauts. They seized the lead early and just never gave it up. Cameron Dukes seriously rebounded after a very dodgy game against Saskatchewan last week and looked real good. The Argos offence didn’t do anything crazy, but a very solid run game and short, efficient passes moved them down the field pretty effectively. Janarion Grant also had some great punt returns to set the offence up for success. The real heroes this game were the defence, though. Alouette’s quarterback Caleb Evans was intercepted twice, and both times the Argos turned it into touchdowns. The first was a beautiful pick-six by Wynton McManis to extend the lead in the 2nd quarter, and the second in 4th quarter by Benjie Franklin stopped any chance of a Montreal comeback. The Argos have to be feeling good about knocking over an undefeated team in their own house, especially after getting beaten by the Al’s in Toronto a couple weeks ago. They travel to Hamilton next week, where I expect them to notch another win.
If this game showed anything, it’s how key Cody Fajardo is to this Alouettes offence. He left the game at the end of the 1st quarter with some leg pain, and did not return to the field; though he was up and moving on the sidelines, helping coach the offence. Caleb Evans struggled against the Toronto defence, only making a little over half of his throws, and suffering two very critical interceptions. The offence did what they could, and kept it competitive for a while, but McManis’ aforementioned pick-six put them far enough behind that they just couldn’t recover. The Als defence played good ball, but unfortunately they spent the majority of the game on the field and ended up tired out by the end of the game. They put up a valiant effort, but they just couldn’t make it happen. Montreal has a bye next week, so they’ll have some time to rest up before Saskatchewan comes to town. Good thing too, since this squad is a little banged up, they could use some time to recuperate.
CALGARY STAMPEDERS @ WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS
Played: Friday July 12
Final Score: CGY 37 – WPG 41
Points Breakdown by Quarter: Q1: CGY-7 WPG-6 | Q2: CGY-16 WPG-17 | Q3: CGY-0 WPG-7 | Q4: CGY-14 WPG-11
The Stamps may have lost this one, but you can’t say they didn’t leave it all on the field. Jake Maier finally got his first 300+ yard game of the season, finally connecting on those long-bomb passes that he just hadn’t been able to land up to that point. Calgary came out of the gate swinging with a fast touchdown, and spent the rest of the game neck and neck with Winnipeg. The defence did great work, securing two critical interceptions, and kicker Rene Paredes has yet to miss a single field goal all season. It was not all good news, however. While the Stampeders did get interceptions, Winnipeg stole the ball right back just as many times, and to greater effect. Their offence also stalled out a little in the 3rd quarter. While they did recover and continue to make it a very close game, even a single field goal in that quarter could have changed the trajectory of the game. Overall, not a perfect game, but still one to be proud of. Unfortunately, the Stamps are now under .500, which is never a good feeling. They face a very scary BC Lions squad next week, though if they play like tonight they may just squeak out a win.
It looks like the Bombers have finally shaken off whatever issues they’ve been having. Zach Collaros was back in the driver’s seat tonight, and finally got his first touchdown pass of the season. The real hero on offence this game, however, was Ontaria Wilson. He racked up over 200 receiving yards, including some very impressive catches and his first ever CFL touchdown. With Brady Oliveira rushing for over 100 yards and Nic Demski and Drew Wolitarsky also putting up decent numbers, Collaros had his pick of targets tonight. The defence got in on the action too, with a couple of very important interceptions that kept Winnipeg in the fight through the middle of the game and managing to stop Calgary from scoring a single point for the entire 3rd quarter. Collaros did throw 2 interceptions, but the defence managed to either stop Calgary’s drive or steal the ball right back. If the Bombers can keep this momentum going, they might just salvage the season and make the playoffs. They travel to Saskatchewan next week though, and face a Riders team who have only lost to the dominant BC Lions.
SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS @ BC LIONS
Played: Saturday July 13
Final Score: SSK 20 – BC 35
Points Breakdown by Quarter: Q1: SSK-7 BC-10 | Q2: SSK-3 BC-9 | Q3: SSK-3 BC-3 | Q4: SSK-7 BC-13
This may have been a loss, but the Riders absolutely proved they can hang at the top of the league. Even missing starting quarterback Trevor Harris, they kept the game competitive right through the 4th quarter. The defence did a fantastic job of keeping BC out of the endzone, and forced BC to settle for field goals more often than not. On offence, AJ Oulette finally looked like his old self, putting together some excellent runs and punching in both Riders touchdowns. Unfortunately, the Lions’ defence was able to slow them down enough that they couldn’t quite keep pace. Shea Patterson has been doing a solid job while Harris is out with injury, but the Lions defence kept the pressure on the whole game, and it showed in his play. I really like how this team is playing though. Lots of interceptions, a ballsy onside kick early in the 4th quarter, and just general fun football. They weren’t my pick to win the division at the start of the season, but now I’m not so sure. They face Winnipeg next week in Regina, and I’m sure they’re planning to wallop their arch-rivals at home.
Alright, I know I always bring up Vernon Adams Jr. when I talk about the Lions, but it’s not my fault they surgically attached a cannon to his right shoulder. He put up 451 passing yards this game, and he missed a little under half of his targets. He put up more yards by himself than three quarterbacks across two teams in this week’s Toronto vs. Montreal game combined, and he missed half the time. The Riders defence put him through the ringer and he still put up amazing numbers. That said, he did have trouble finding the endzone, and only managed 2 touchdowns and they had to kick field goals more often than they’d like. That said, kicker Sean Whyte simply does not miss, and got BC 21 of their 35 points, extending his franchise record for consecutive made field goals. This team is an absolute offensive powerhouse, to the point where I don’t even really have the time to talk about their very solid defence, who played well and made an absolutely heroic stop in the 4th quarter, though Adams threw an interception which ended up giving the Riders a touchdown anyway. This team is scary, and they face Calgary next week. The Stamps have been looking solid, but I don’t much like their chances even with home field advantage.
OTTAWA REDBLACKS @ EDMONTON ELKS
Played: Sunday July 14
Final Score: OTT 37 – EDM 34
Points Breakdown by Quarter: Q1: OTT-3 EDM-7 | Q2: OTT-10 EDM-8 | Q3: OTT-8 EDM-3 | Q4: OTT-16 EDM-16
What an outstanding game for the Redblacks offence. Dru Brown threw for an astounding 480 yards, 3 different receivers had over 100 yards, and Lewis Ward landed all 5 of his field goals. Particular mention goes to receiver Kalil Pimpleton, who, in his first CFL game and first ever start in professional football, racked up 153 receiving yards, a touchdown, and set up the game winning field goal with 8 seconds left on the clock. Ottawa’s defence weren’t slouching either, managing to sack McLeod Bethel-Thompson three times during crucial drives and getting some vital interceptions. This is probably the best Ottawa has looked all season, made even better that it wasn’t just the usual names making all the big plays. Dru Brown out passing Vernon Adams wasn’t something I had on my bingo card this week, but it’s going to be a huge confidence boost to a quarterback who’s been struggling to find his footing a bit. Ottawa face down the Elks again next week, but this time in their own house. This might be their chance to pass the Argos in the standings, who have to face a very scary Riders team.
I feel really bad for Boris Bede this game. He not only missed a field goal, which turned out to be very important, but he also kicked Edmonton’s last punt out of bounds, giving the Redblacks the ball at midfield and setting up Pimpleton and Ward’s last second heroics. The Elks came out strong, but stalled out in the 3rd, giving Ottawa a chance to close the points gap. It was a rough game for their receiving corps, with nobody clearing 90 receiving yards and the excellent Kurleigh Gittens Jr. only managing 29. Geno Lewis had several great catches late in the game, but it was too little too late. It seems that this game was the straw that broke the camel’s back in Edmonton, as the Elks finally got rid of head coach/general manager/defensive coordinator Chris Jones after only eight wins across two and a quarter seasons. Elks fans have been loudly demanding this move for a while, and hopefully this shakeup can help the Elks finally break their losing streak. This team looks a lot better than their record, and I hope that they don’t have to wait much longer for their first win. They rematch the Redblacks next week, so we’ll see what changes they can make to get a win at TD Place.
STANDINGS AT THE END OF WEEK 6
EAST
MONTREAL ALOUETTES 5 – 1
TORONTO ARGONAUTS 3 – 2
OTTAWA REDBLACKS 3 – 2
HAMILTON TIGER-CATS 0 – 5
WEST
BC LIONS 5 – 1
SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS 4 – 1
CALGARY STAMPEDERS 2 – 3
WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS 2 – 4
EDMONTON ELKS 0 – 5
NEXT WEEK: WEEK 7
Edmonton @ Ottawa – Friday July 19 7PM EDT
Winnipeg @ Saskatchewan – Friday July 19 9:30PM EDT
Toronto @ Hamilton – Saturday July 20 7PM EDT
BC @ Calgary – Sunday July 21 7PM EDT