WINNIPEG — Sergio Castillo was grateful he got a second chance.
The Blue Bombers kicker made up for an earlier miss in a big way when he booted a 47-yard field goal as time expired to lift Winnipeg to a 30-27 victory over the Ottawa Redblacks on Thursday.
Winnipeg was ahead 17-0 after the first quarter, 20-3 at halftime and held a 27-10 lead 21 seconds into the fourth quarter.
“I thought we were done and relaxed,” Castillo said. “And you know, props to Ottawa for coming back. That’s resilience right there, but resilience on our team, too.
“To give me another shot after the miss, I’m thankful for them.”
After the Blue Bombers went ahead on Brady Oliveira’s four-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter, the Redblacks started surging with 17 unanswered points.
Lewis Ward was good on a 46-yard field goal at 4:39, Justin Hardy caught an eight-yard touchdown pass eight minutes later and then receiver Kalil Pimpleton had the 10th consecutive sold-out crowd at Princess Auto Stadium groaning.
When Castillo went wide on a 57-yard field-goal attempt, Pimpleton returned the ball 117 yards for a TD with 53 seconds remaining to make it 27-27.
“I was 100 per cent confident that ball was going in,” Castillo said. “I just aimed wrong. I aimed left centre rather than right centre. It was a beautiful draw, like I wish how my golf game was.”
Head coach Mike O’Shea said he had no qualms about sending Castillo out for the 57-yarder. Last week, Castillo tied a CFL record for the longest field goal when he connected on a 63-yarder in a loss to Calgary.
“It is way harder to punt that distance than it is to kick the field goal from that distance,” O’Shea said. “I think there is a reason why they always try the field goal instead of punting for the single.”
After Pimpleton’s return, Winnipeg quarterback Zach Collaros was intercepted by King Ambers but Ottawa couldn’t do anything with its possession.
“Kind of poor execution on us,” Crum said of the last series that included an initial short, incomplete pass. “I think I could have done something different with the ball there on first down, for sure.”
Starting at their own 43-yard line, Collaros rushed 17 yards and then hit Nic Demski for an 11-yard reception to help set up field position for Castillo’s winner that moved Winnipeg’s record to 5-4.
“Just relieved. Happy to win,” Collaros said.
It was the opposite of Winnipeg’s fate last week, when Stampeders kicker Rene Paredes booted a 40-yard walk-off field goal in a 28-27 Calgary victory.
And it was also the opposite of Ottawa’s outcome last week, when it was down 21 points against the Toronto Argonauts before fighting back for a 46-42 victory.
Redblacks head coach Bob Dyce was disappointed the team (3-7) started out slow again, but had praise for his players.
“I give these guys all the credit in the world for battling back the way they did,” Dyce said.
The Redblacks had their two-game win streak snapped and also lost starting quarterback Dru Brown to injury.
Brown was stopped with a diving tackle midway through the third quarter. He limped off the field, went into the medical tent and then watched the rest of the game from the sidelines.
“We won’t know anything until we get some imaging,” Dyce said of an update.
Collaros completed 24 of 34 pass attempts for 298 yards with one TD toss and two interceptions in front of 32,343 fans.
Brown was 12-of-21 passing for 166 yards and one pick when he left the game. Crum was 11-of-17 passing for 125 yards with one TD and no interceptions. He also rushed four yards for a touchdown.
Collaros threw a TD pass to Jerreth Sterns and backup Chris Streveler plunged one yard over the goal line.
Demski led all receivers with six catches for 128 yards.
Castillo was good on field goals from 53 and 39. Ward also booted a 43-yarder.
The Bombers have won 10 of their past 13 games against Ottawa and four consecutive at home. The Redblacks’ last victory in Winnipeg was Aug. 17, 2018.
Bombers: Travel to Montreal to play the Alouettes on Aug. 21.
Redblacks: Host the Edmonton Elks on Aug. 22.
