OTTAWA — Fourth-string quarterbacks aren’t supposed to be the hero, but that’s exactly what Dustin Crum was Saturday afternoon as he was instrumental in the Ottawa Redblacks' 31-28 overtime victory over the heavily favoured Winnipeg Blue Bombers at TD Place.
The 24-year-old was making his first start for the Redblacks (2-3) as they go through a rash of injuries, but it’s not likely to be his last.
Trailing 25-17 late in the fourth quarter, Crum managed to drive the Redblacks down field and scored a touchdown off a 12-yard run. He then connected on a two-point conversion to tie the game 25-25 in the dying seconds.
After the Bombers kicked a field goal in overtime, Crum ran in a 29-yard touchdown to complete the CFL comeback. The Redblacks had erased a 16-point deficit in the final three minutes.
Crum finished the game passing 26-for-42 for 261 yards. He was sacked six times, and could have lost confidence, but as the game went on he played to his strengths and rushed for 103 yards.
It’s what ultimately made the difference.
“I got an open field and I had Brandon Alexander in front of me for them and that’s kind of always been my thing as a quarterback is if you have an open field there’s no reason to slide there,” said Crum. “If you have a two-way go make it hard on him and I was able to make him miss a little bit and get to the end zone.”
The moment was made all the more special as Crum’s father and maternal grandfather, visiting from Ohio, were on hand to see his performance.
Crum was mobbed by teammates and said it’s a moment he won’t soon forget.
“It was excitement, not only for me in that moment, but for the fans, for the community, for my teammates and getting to be a part of that and getting to see all the work these guys put in,” said Crum.
“These guys work their butts off and for us to be able to kind of get a little bit of reward and feel that success is what it’s all about.”
The Bombers (4-2) were somewhat in shock over the turn of events.
Winnipeg’s Zach Collaros finished the game passing 22-for-32 for 354 yards with two touchdowns had few words to describe the collapse.
“They ended up making more plays than us there, so hats off to Ottawa,” said Collaros. “We didn’t make enough plays and they were able to gain some momentum there and win the game.”
Collaros felt the Redblacks had a better second half and gave credit to Ottawa’s defence, who made it difficult for the Bombers to establish its run game. Winnipeg was held to a season-low 26 yards.
“We just couldn’t get it going,” said Winnipeg head coach Mike O’Shea. “We didn’t move them off the ball like we should be able to do or have been able to do in the past. We just didn’t get the movement that we needed.”
A Lewis Ward 42-yard field goal early in the third quarter made it 18-6, but the Bombers responded with Collaros connecting with Wolitarsky for an eight-yard touchdown to go up 25-6.
Crum then had two solid drives, but settled for a 22-yard field goal to make it 25-9 and then came up empty when they gambled on third and seven.
The difference may have been a Brandin Danbridge interception that he ran back for 25 yards, and Ottawa getting the two-point convert to make it 25-17 with just over two minutes remaining.
And then Crum took over and made all the difference.
“That boy has so much confidence in himself that it’s impossible not to be confident in him,” said Ottawa receiver Nate Behar, who had 10 catches in the win. “It’s beautiful to be a part of the way he stepped up. He made great decisions all day.”
Behar, who’s been a Redblack since 2019, said it was one of the best games he’s competed in.
The opening half was not pretty for the Redblacks, who trailed 18-3 heading into the intermission.
Ottawa didn’t register a first down until late in the second quarter and were in negative yardage at the half when Winnipeg held a 201 to -17 advantage in net offence.
“I have full unadulterated confidence in these guys,” said Ottawa head coach Bob Dyce. “I didn’t get down or anything like that. I don’t have time to get down. We’re looking for solutions and that’s what we did.”
The lone offensive highlight for the Redblacks was a 47-yard field goal.
The Bombers opened the scoring as Ottawa conceded a single on Jamieson Sheahan’s 73-yard punt and on their second drive Sergio Castillo had a 52-yard field goal to take a 4-0 lead.
After a solid drive by Collaros to get into the red zone, Ottawa managed to hold off Winnipeg forcing them to settle for a field goal, but an unnecessary roughness penalty by Douglas Coleman put the Bombers on the one-yard line and they capitalized. Dakota Prukop punched his way through giving Winnipeg an early 11-0 lead in the first quarter.
The Bombers added a second TD five minutes into the second quarter when Collaros connected with Nic Demski on a 15-yard pass.
UP NEXT
The Blue Bombers host the winless Edmonton Elks on Thursday, while the Redblacks visit the Stampeders in Calgary on July 23.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 15, 2023.
Lisa Wallace, The Canadian Press
