CFL.ca photo/Walter Tychnowicz
OTTAWA — As wild as Friday night’s 29-25 win over the BC Lions was — and as many corrections as there are surely to be made on tape — there was no masking the relief on REDBLACKS head coach Rick Campbell’s face following the victory.
“The way the league’s looking this year, every win’s going to be really valuable (and) we’ll look back on this one and be glad we got this win,” said Campbell, whose team now stands alone atop the East Division at 3-2. “It wasn’t always pretty, but I was proud of our guys who found ways to make plays in the fourth quarter. Good on our players.”
RELATED
» Gallery: BC at Ottawa
» By The Numbers: Ottawa 29, BC 25
» RECAP: Late Powell touchdown propels REDBLACKS past Lions
Late-game William Powell touchdown aside, Ottawa was helped to the win by five Lewis Ward field goals.
Campbell naturally had nothing but positives to say about his freshman kicker, who is now 13-for-14 on the season.
“I’m not surprised — he’s kind of going to be the same whether he’s kicking a field goal in the pre-season, post-season, Panda Game or whatever,” said Campbell of Ward, a University of Ottawa product. “That’s a strength of his, he’s consistent. He seems to not get fazed, (and) he’s able to just focus on the task at hand.”
The next test for the first-place REDBLACKS will be a trip to Hamilton to face Jeremiah Masoli and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in Week 7; Masoli and co. will be hungry, having fallen 31-20 on home turf against Saskatchewan this week.
“The games are going to keep getting bigger, especially when we face the East Division teams,” continued Campbell. “The CFL’s fun to watch for a reason, that’s why I love this league, but man, the hair is turning grey.”
The fifth-year head coach showcased his own cannon of an arm during Friday’s game with a long-bomb toss of the challenge flag — something that drew quips from the Twitterverse and media scrum alike.
“I like throwing those, especially when I’m mad at (the call),” chuckled Campbell. “I like to really test out my arm. You can tell how mad I am at the challenge by how far I throw the flag.”
