René Paredes has made a career out of keeping his head down, trusting his swing and watching footballs split uprights.
This one travelled 62 yards and carried the Calgary Stampeders’ season with it.
Paredes drilled the longest field goal of his 15-year CFL career with two seconds remaining Saturday, lifting Calgary to a wild 40-38 victory over the winless Ottawa Redblacks at McMahon Stadium.
It was the third-longest field goal in CFL history, one yard shy of the record shared by Paul McCallum and Sergio Castillo, according to the league’s 2026 record book. For Calgary, it turned a crushing loss into the win the Stamps needed to remain in the playoff race.
“I threw my helmet and almost hit Vernon (Adams Jr.) in the leg,” Paredes said to reporters of his post-kick celebration. “I apologized to him. That was awesome, man. What a game. I’m just happy we got the win. We’ve still got a shot at the playoffs.”
That shot looked ready to disappear moments earlier.
Ottawa quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson found Justin Hardy for a 15-yard touchdown with 1:17 remaining, putting the Redblacks ahead 38-37. Calgary then took an illegal-receiver penalty on its final possession and faced second-and-20.
Vernon Adams Jr. completed the third-down throw that moved the ball close enough for a chance, although “close enough” was hardly the phrase most people would have chosen.
Paredes needed a career best with the game and possibly the season riding on his leg.
“Not much,” Paredes said of what crossed his mind. “You just keep your head down, swing as hard as you can and hope for the best.”
There was more preparation behind that calm than hope. Paredes had made a 62-yarder with the wind during warmups. He also connected from 57 yards in the second quarter, even though he believed he had mis-hit that attempt.
“I knew if I hit it clean, I would get there,” Paredes said. “We had a good operation. (Long-snapper Jason) Gougs (MacGougan) and (holder Mark) Vasser (Vassett) did a great job, and we got it done.”
Paredes finished four-for-four on field goals, also connecting from 23 and 19 yards before the game-winner. The last one provided a finish to his 251st regular-season game and another highlight in a career he considers blessed.
“This is another cherry on top,” he said. “Hopefully, I get a couple more later in the season.”
Calgary general manager and head coach Dave Dickenson helped make the kick possible before the ball was snapped. He chose the wind for the fourth quarter, hoping it might matter late.
“I didn’t have a crystal ball,” Dickenson said to reporters. “But as a kicker, when you have the wind behind you, just like a golf shot, it feels like you can let it go. We needed all those yards. Great kick by René.”
The Stamps needed every point during a fourth quarter featuring three lead changes. Adams threw for 357 yards and two touchdowns, Deonta McMahon rushed for 102 yards in his Calgary debut and both Jalen Philpot and Tevin Jones surpassed 100 receiving yards.
Ottawa nearly found its first victory. Bethel-Thompson threw for 379 yards and five touchdowns, including three to Keelan White, as the Redblacks fell to 0-13. They have lost on walk-off field goals in consecutive weeks.
Calgary improved to 6-8 and, at the end of Saturday’s game, sat two points behind Winnipeg and B.C., both 7-6, in the race for the final West Division playoff position. The Stamps have four games and visit Ottawa for the second half of the home-and-home series Saturday at TD Place.
“We know each game from now on is a playoff game for us,” Paredes said. “We’ve got Ottawa next week, so it’s going to be another tough one. We’ve just got to prepare and try to be better every week.”
Saturday was not better in every way. Calgary surrendered 38 points, committed costly penalties and let Ottawa erase a 37-31 deficit in the final minutes. It was messy, frantic and too close for comfort against a winless opponent.
It was also a win.
“It was desperation mode,” Dickenson said. “We’re not going to get where we want to get if we lose that game. It gives us a chance. I think it can spark us. I hope it does.
“We have to start playing winning football more consistently and doing things better. Hopefully, we get some momentum going and start winning games in clusters.”
