Rene Paredes received a vote of confidence from an impressed opponent after the veteran kicker booted another game-winning field goal as time expired.
Paredes kicked a 40-yard field goal on the final play of the game to lift the Calgary Stampeders (6-3) to a thrilling 28-27 win over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (4-4) on Saturday.
Just 61 seconds earlier, Winnipeg’s Sergio Castillo tied a CFL record by kicking a 63-yard field goal to give the Blue Bombers a 26-25 advantage.
“He got the last laugh again,” said Castillo, who also kicked a 100-yard single on the ensuing kickoff to put Winnipeg up by two points. “I think it was like three game-winning kicks he has when I play against him.”
Castillo was impressed that Paredes was able to keep his composure after missing a 46-yarder with just over three minutes left on the clock.
“Him being a 14-, 15-year vet, that speaks volumes because anybody can make one in the fourth, but can you miss one and then bounce back mentally, so props to Rene for that, because between those two ears, I bet there’s a lot of negativity, because it’s happened to me before,” said Castillo, who finished the game with four field goals.
Paredes also had four field goals and added two singles for the Stamps, who snapped a two-game losing streak.
“Same as every kick — been there 12 times already (with walk-off field goals),” said Paredes, who commended his teammates for putting him in great positions to succeed.
“Our offence is pretty good. I’m not having the best season this year. But I’m going to keep grinding and working. This (game) probably helps me.”
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After missing the previous game with a head injury, quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. returned to the lineup and threw a pair of touchdown passes to Tevin Jones.
“Clutch Rene, I’m happy to have him on my side,” said Adams, who completed 17-of-24 passes for 300 yards. “It just feels great to beat a great Winnipeg team three times in one year. We know we’re going to probably see them again in the playoffs.”
Starting quarterback Zach Collaros threw a touchdown pass to Jerreth Sterns for the Bombers, while his backup Chris Streveler ran for a TD.
After missing Winnipeg’s previous game with a neck injury, Collaros looked fine in his return as he completed 21-of-26 passes for 214 yards.
Collaros connected on the first four passes he threw on Winnipeg’s first drive of the game to help set up a 49-yard field goal by Castillo at 4:47 of the first quarter.
Trey Vaval returned a punt 33 yards back to Calgary’s 13-yard line later in the opening quarter. Three plays later, Streveler plunged into the end zone for a one-yard touchdown to put the visitors up 10-0.
The Bombers then added to their lead 63 seconds into the second quarter when Sterns caught a 23-yard TD pass from Collaros to cap off a seven-play, 78-yard drive.
The Stamps answered right back 69 seconds later when Jones hauled in a long bomb from Adams and ran the rest of the way for a 78-yard TD.
“We were pretty bad in the first quarter,” said Calgary coach and general manager Dave Dickenson. “They definitely had the momentum, but we were making a lot of mistakes and really, we just hung in there. It really was that play to Tevin that started the offence figuring stuff out.”
Paredes added a 90-yard single on the ensuing kickoff to pull the Stamps within nine points.
Thanks to a 25-yard catch followed by a 32-yard run by Brady Oliveira, the Bombers moved deep into Calgary territory once again, but came up empty-handed when they turned the ball over on downs. Linebacker Jacob Roberts was credited with stopping Streveler short of gaining the yard he needed after Winnipeg coach Mike O’Shea decided to gamble on third down.
After Castillo kicked a 53-yard field goal to put the Bombers up 20-8, Adams responded by leading the Stamps on a five-play, 70-yard drive that he capped off by tossing an eight-yard TD pass to Jones.
After Paredes booted an 87-yard single, Castillo kicked a 37-yard field goal with six seconds left in the first half to put Winnipeg up 23-16.
Paredes accounted for all of the scoring in the third quarter as he kicked a 13-yard field goal and then added another one from 31 yards out
The Calgary kicker then booted a 34-yard field goal at 2:15 of the fourth quarter to give Calgary a 25-23 lead. The Stamps had a chance to add to that lead, but he missed a 46-yard field goal attempt wide to the right to give Winnipeg the ball back with 3:13 left on the clock.
Castillo then booted his long bomb to tie the CFL record that Paul McCallum of the Saskatchewan Roughriders set in 2001.
“It was probably all the 20 tortillas that my mother-in-law made me when she got here from Texas,” said the affable kicker, who would like nothing more than to earn the chance to play the Stamps again in the playoffs. “They’re all homemade, so I got a lot of extra power there.”
UP NEXT
Blue Bombers: Host the Ottawa Redblacks on Thursday.
Stampeders: Host the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Saturday, Aug. 23.
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