René Paredes kicked a 62-yard field goal as time expired, and the Calgary Stampeders beat the Ottawa Redblacks 40-38 at McMahon Stadium on Saturday. Calgary trailed 38-37 when Paredes lined up, and the kick was the longest of his career. Head coach and general manager Dave Dickenson called the game "desperation mode."
Dickenson said the decision to take the wind in the fourth quarter, rather than the ball in the third, paid off on the final play.
"I wrestled with myself whether or not in the 3rd quarter to give them the ball. It was my choice. I decided to have the wind in the 4th quarter. And I didn't have a crystal ball, but I just, as a kicker, when you have the wind behind you, it's like a golf shot. It just feels like you can just let it go. ... Great kick by René. Really happy for him as well as the team. We needed it," Dickenson said.
Paredes Delivers The Kick Of His Career
Paredes made a 57-yard field goal in the second quarter and said he mishit it. He said he had also made a 62-yarder in pregame warmup.
"I honestly mishit that 57. If it wasn't for the wind, I probably would have made it. I did kick one in pregame, 62 with the wind, so yeah, I knew if I hit it clean, I would get there. So we had a good operation, Googs and Vassa did a great job and we got it done," Paredes said.
Paredes said he threw his helmet in celebration and nearly hit quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. in the leg. "I already apologized to him, but that was awesome, man. What a game," Paredes said.
Asked what was going through his mind on the kick, Paredes said: "Not much, you just keep your head down, swing as hard as you can, and hope for the best." He also described his preparation. "I work hard every offseason. I work hard during the week. ... I just take one kick at a time. I don't worry about the future. I don't worry if I miss one. I just worry about the next kick. And I'm glad this one went through," Paredes said.
Adams said he did not doubt the kick. "I believed already when I was walking off the field, I said, I believe he's gonna make it. I said, God, give us a little bit of wind. He did. And that's what it was. So I believed from the jump," Adams said. Adams also described the celebration. "I tried to come celebrate with him and he threw his helmet down. I almost took my knee out. I said, oh, let me get outta the way," he said.
Defensive lineman Jaylon Hutchings was asked whether there was any doubt before the kick. "Absolutely not," Hutchings said. "He's a legend for a reason. I'm just very excited that he's our kicker."
Adams Plays Freer, Connects With Tevin Jones Late In The Half
Adams said he wanted to play with less tension after the previous week. "I wasn't uptight like I felt last week. I feel like majority of my throws were on point, how I needed them to be," Adams said.
Dickenson assessed the same performance. "I thought he played well. I thought he played really well. In fact, made a lot of great throws. ... We were kind of playing from behind a bit and he got us back and took the lead. I thought he was making good decisions, good reads," Dickenson said. Dickenson said Adams played through an ankle injury. "He was fighting an injury too. He got stepped on pretty hardcore on his ankle," Dickenson said.
Both Dickenson and Adams pointed to Adams' 60-yard touchdown pass to Tevin Jones in the final minute of the first half. "It's huge getting Tev back, man. It's a big play ability he has and that was huge for us," Adams said. "We wanted to get down and get some type points and 7's perfect. He made the right read. I made the right read and he just made the play."
Dickenson was asked about the offence's production at the end of first halves this season. "A lot of times it's just about one guy stepping up. Tevin just made a great play. ... He's definitely faster than maybe people expect. And he's just had a great game," Dickenson said. Adams described the approach as "fast football." "You don't have time to think. It's just like you see it and you react, rather than sitting in the huddle and you gotta think about things ... I think we got a lot of our big plays outta fast football this year," Adams said.
Room To Clean Up Despite The Win
Dickenson listed areas to correct. "We got too many penalties and ultimately wasn't great tackling. And special teams, again, good game, except again, penalties. So a lot of things we know we got to clean up. We'll have to do better next week," he said.
Hutchings said the win still carries lessons. "A win's a win, but ultimately there's lessons to be learned even if you win. So we'll go back, watch the film, see what we can improve on, and we play them in a week," Hutchings said.
Dickenson also discussed running back Deonta Mcmahon, who ran 15 times for 102 yards. "He's a different type of runner, but he's a slasher, but he is tough and he runs hard. He's just not that bruiser like Mills. They tested him in protection too. I thought he held up ... You could tell he had that extra juice, that little extra gear that made us look explosive," Dickenson said.
Injury Update On Reggie Begelton
Dickenson gave an update on receiver Reggie Begelton, who left the game after returning from a knee injury suffered in June 2025. "Nothing to do with his knee, which is positive. I think it was more like neck, head. Not that that's good either, but those are hard things when you come back from injury. I saw his knee also jam into the ground. I thought, I hope he's okay," Dickenson said.
Dickenson said there were early positive signs. "To me, he had personality. Those are things when you have head injuries, if you have a good personality and you sound like yourself, a lot of times that's a good sign," he said.
The Ottawa Redblacks fell to 0-13. McLeod Bethel-Thompson threw five touchdown passes in his first start of the season, and Keelan White caught three of them in a game decided on the final kick. Calgary is 6-8.
Watch the Full Videos
Calgary Stampeders: General Manager & Head Coach Dave Dickenson | Post-Game | 19.09.26
Calgary Stampeders: Rene Paredes | Post-Game | 19.09.26
Calgary Stampeders: Jaylon Hutchings | Post-Game | 19.09.26
Calgary Stampeders: Vernon Adams Jr. | Post-Game | 19.09.26