Ottawa's Redblacks lost again on Friday, falling 41-20 to the B.C. Lions in a game that clinched a CFL playoff spot for the Lions.
Global News described the result as a "41-20 victory over the beleaguered Ottawa Redblacks." For the Redblacks it was the team's 22nd straight loss, dating back to last season.
How the game went
Ottawa did make it interesting for a stretch. The Redblacks cut the lead of the Lions, who were the home side, to just three points in the third quarter. B.C. finished the night with a 21-point margin, and the playoff berth that came with it.
The numbers
Lions quarterback Nathan Rourke threw for 360 yards, completing 25 of his 31 pass attempts, with three touchdowns and an interception. Running back Zander Horvath added 89 yards on 14 carries and scored two touchdowns.
On the Ottawa side, quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson went 25 for 35 for 253 yards and a touchdown.
What they said
Redblacks head coach Ryan Dinwiddie summed up the night in a short line: "We just didn't make enough plays."
On the other side, Lions linebacker Mathieu Betts framed the clinch as the first goal rather than the last. "I mean, it's step one for sure. We've got two weeks to get the best seed as possible," he said.
What led here
On Oct. 4 we reported that the Redblacks had fallen to 0-15, ottown's earlier report on what was then a new CFL record for losses to open a season. Friday's game in B.C. added another one to that count.
For Ottawa fans, the story of the season has been less about the standings than about whether this team can find a win before the schedule runs out. Friday's game showed some of both sides of that: a stretch in the third quarter when the Redblacks were within a field goal, and a finish that went the other way.
What's next
The schedule gives Ottawa a home game next. The Redblacks host the Toronto Argonauts on Friday, Oct. 16.
The Lions, meanwhile, visit the Calgary Stampeders on Saturday, Oct. 17, with a playoff spot already in hand and, as Betts put it, two weeks to work on their seeding.
The Redblacks' game against Toronto is the next chance for Ottawa to break the streak in front of its own fans, and the next time the team can show that the stretch in the third quarter on Friday was more than a flash.
Sources: Global News
