Sunday, October 21, 2018
REDBLACKS Football-Dodging the tornados
Hunter Loft with Jean-Christophe Beaulieu
The wicked
winds of September streaked across Ontario last Friday night. By the
time they reached Ottawa, they had formed three tornadoes, with
sufficient strength to cause hundreds of millions of dollars of
damage. One of the whirlwinds jumped across the Ottawa River, causing
extensive destruction in Gatineau, Quebec. Non-partisan winds.
Ever the
troopers, we jumped in the car Saturday morning and headed to our
nation's capital for the REDBLACKS' game against the Edmonton
Eskimos. We had no idea about the extent of the damage. But once we
entered the inner city, we knew something was amiss. None of the
traffic lights worked, and there was chaos on the roads.
More than
150 000 hydro customers were affected by the storm. Fortunately, for
us football fans, there was power in and around Lansdowne Park. Game
on, girls and boys!! The stands filled slowly as people struggled to
get to the game. We took the advised route by going to Canada Post
headquarters, (the building where mail is stored!) and taking the bus
from there. A normal half hour journey took more than an hour.
The game
began at 4:00pm, in brilliant sunshine. The little flags on the top
of the goalposts danced only slightly, indicating little or no
significant wind on the field. In the first half, neither team was
able to get the ball into the end zone on most opportunities.
Fortunately for the REDBLACKS, their rookie kicker, Lewis Ward, was
right on the money throughout the game. He blasted seven field
goals through the uprights for the second time this season. Late in
the game, Ottawa quarterback Trevor Harris hit Greg Ellingson for a
touchdown to complete the scoring. Final score: Ottawa 28, Edmonton
15. (Or should that read: Lewis Ward 21, Ottawa 7, Edmonton 15.)
The score
was close throughout the game. Ottawa would nudge ahead, only to be
caught by the Eskimos. Teams began the second half with Ottawa
leading 12-7. They rolled down the field, but failed to move the ball
on second down in the red zone. They got 3 points on their field goal
to edge ahead 15-7. The Eskimos stormed back on a touchdown pass to
their brilliant receiver, D'haquille Williams. Their two point
convert tied the score. But those were the last points that the
Eskimos tacked onto the scoreboard.
The game was
marred by penalty flags, turnovers and bad decisions. But all of
those things, as well as some brilliant play, made for an exciting
afternoon of football. The REDBLACKS now enjoy a bye week, whereas
the Eskimos will face the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on September 29th.
Our
grandson, Hunter, spent an hour after the game meeting with many of
the players from both teams. They were all very pleasant and
courteous, Chatting with him, signing his Belleville Minor Football
League jersey. One player gave him his headband. Another told him
that he was sorry, that he could not give him his gloves because they
cost $ 45, plus tax, and he had to pay for them himself!!
We drove
back to The County after the game, hesitating at all of the
non-functioning traffic lights. A great way to spend a very fine
Canadian autumn day!!
James Hurst
September
25, 2018
# posted by James Hurst @ 2:20 PM 
