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Asked about a peculiar trick play they attempted in the second quarter — the Redblacks lined up for what looked like a 47-yard field-goal attempt, but Lewis Ward shifted sides to make it look like he would kick with his left foot, then holder Richie Leone took the snap and ran four yards, just short of the first down — Campbell said: “For me, it was a little bit in no man’s land. There was a bit of breeze blowing in (Ward’s) face. I didn’t really want to punt. I figured we could go for it with our offence on third down or do it with our field-goal team. We’d had that fake in for a while, we liked it. It didn’t work out; we were a foot short or something. The other part was not making it wasn’t a killer because of the field position it was in. Obviously I have a huge belief in Lewis, but, with the breeze and the fact it was a 47-yarder … and this was what my gut told me to do.”

The Redblacks believe in themselves, at least they say they do. There was no way they deserved to win Friday, yet they didn’t quit. They battled right until a Brad Sinopoli fumble on Winnipeg’s four-yard line ended their hopes in overtime.

“We’re going to make the playoffs, there’s no doubt in our mind,” Ellingson said. “And we’ll be a team to contend with going forward.”

In fact, the Redblacks clinched a playoff berth on Saturday night with a little help from the B.C. Lions, who defeated the Toronto Argonauts 26-23 in Vancouver. Neither the Argos (3-11) nor the Montreal Alouettes (3-11) can catch Ottawa in the standings.