Stampeders defeat Redblacks 45-31, extend Ottawa's winless season to 0-14

OTTAWA — The Calgary Stampeders defeated the Ottawa Redblacks 45-31 on Saturday, extending Ottawa's winless season to 0-14 and keeping Calgary's playoff hopes alive.

Deonta McMahon scored a pair of touchdowns for the Stampeders, who led the entire game.

"I've got respect for Ryan," Calgary head coach Dave Dickenson said of his Ottawa counterpart Ryan Dinwiddie. "I think the league knows he's an excellent offensive mind, head coach."

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Calgary quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. completed 24 of 30 pass attempts for 422 yards and three touchdowns, and was interception-free.

Receiver Jalen Philpot surpassed 1,000 receiving yards on the season in the win.

"He's looking fast and running with the ball," Dickenson said of Philpot. "He does a lot of gritty stuff in the run game as well. If we're going to do well, he's gotta continue to be the guy."

Ottawa's losing streak now stands at 20 straight games, a modern-day CFL record that extends back to last September.

McLeod Bethel-Thompson, in his second straight start for the Redblacks, was 30-for-47 passing for 418 yards and a pair of touchdowns with one interception.

"We're definitely close and (it's) a testament to the guys in the locker room how they fought, keep fighting each week," Bethel-Thompson said.

The Stampeders scored on their opening drive when Adams threw 45 yards to Clark Barnes to get to Ottawa's 12-yard line, and then threw to McMahon to score.

Tyreik McAllister scored on a 28-yard rush and McMahon ran four yards for his second touchdown of the game in the second quarter.

Anthony Johnson intercepted Bethel-Thompson on the drive after McMahon's touchdown.

Bethel-Thompson ended a 75-yard, eight-play drive with a 13-yard catch and run with Ayden Eberhardt for Ottawa's first touchdown with less than a minute remaining in the first half.

Calgary kept the pressure on in the third quarter when Tevin Jones capped the final seconds with a 15-yard scoring catch.

Ottawa mustered a pair of touchdowns in the fourth quarter and a two-point convert by Justin Hardy with less than five minutes to go, but it wasn't enough.

"One thing we can't question is our fight, we fight for a full 60," Dinwiddie said. "Now our level of execution has got to get better."

Dickenson, who worked with Dinwiddie when he was an assistant in Calgary, offered support for the first-year Ottawa coach.

"I know this year hasn't gone the way he was hoping for, obviously, but I know he's going to just keep working," Dickenson said. "He'll find a way."

Calgary kicker Rene Paredes kicked field goals from 40, 49 and 43 yards and contributed five convert points, while Ottawa's Brett Lauther was good from 13, 56 and 28 yards and added two convert points.

The Stampeders (7-8) were tied for fourth with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the West Division at 14 points each after the game.

A crossover playoff berth was in play, with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats ranked third in the East heading into Saturday night's game against the Edmonton Elks.

The team that ranks fourth in the West can cross over and take a playoff berth from the No. 3 team in the East with more points at the end of the regular season.

Garbutt Disposal reported last week that Calgary needed a walk-off 62-yard field goal by Paredes to beat the visiting Redblacks.

With files from The Canadian Press, Sportsnet and The Globe and Mail