REDBLACKS CLINCH EAST DIVISION WITH WIN OVER TICATS
HAMILTON — A damp and windy afternoon in Hamilton left the Tiger-Cats being left out in the cold as the Ottawa REDBLACKS went on to put their stamp on No. 1 in the East Division, defeating the Black and Gold 30-13 at Tim Hortons Field.
As a result, the REDBLACKS will receive the first round bye when playoffs roll around, while the Tiger-Cats will play host to the West Division crossover team in the Eastern Semi-Final game.
Ottawa’s quarterback Trevor Harris finished the game throwing for 267 yards and three touchdowns. He completed 23 of his 30 pass attempts despite the wet conditions that spanned across the duration of the game.
Prior to the game, it was announced that the REDBLACKS would be without the league’s rusher leader in William Powell as he was listed as a healthy scratch, opting to go with former Ticat Mossis Madu.
The Tiger-Cats also announced prior to the start of the game that defensive back Delvin Breaux had been placed on their one-game injury list, activating Mariel Cooper from their practice roster.
Feeding off of good field position that their special teams unit was providing their offence, Trevor Harris and the REDBLACKS offence slowly but surely moved their way deep into the Ticats end of the field, eventually putting up the game’s first points with a Harris to Greg Ellingson connection, followed by a successful two-point conversion to give Ottawa the 8-0 lead with 5:11 remaining in the opening quarter.
Special teams proved its worth for either team as the two teams combined for nearly 200 yards on kick returns alone. A much better stat line than the 97 yards of total offence that Ottawa and Hamilton combined for.
Sticking to the ground game, Alex Green broke loose for a 36 yard gain towards the end of the first quarter as the Tiger-Cats started to march their way downfield, doubling their total offensive output at that point with the rush. The following play then went for 12 yards with a pass completion to Marquay McDaniel. Despite the positive movement, the REDBLACKS would dig in their heels and force the Tabbies to settle for a 14-yard field goal by Lirim Hajrullahu in the early-going of the second quarter.
On the ensuing drive for the REDBLACKS, Rick Campbell reached into his bag of tricks as he sent in Dominique Davis on a third down play, catching the Ticats off guard as they anticipated a sneak from Davis, who’s typically reserved for short-yardage situations. Instead, Davis rolled out and found a wide-open Greg Ellingson for a 75-yard touchdown to boost the REDBLACKS ahead to a 15-4 lead.
A few minutes later, kicking into the aggressive wind, Lirim Hajrullahu‘s punt travelled a mere 32 yards, putting the REDBLACKS already into field goal position. Four plays later, Harris connected with Diontae Spencer for Ottawa’s third touchdown pass of the game, extending the REDBLACKS lead to 21-4 after Lewis Ward missed the conversion attempt.
The Tiger-Cats offence continued to be able to move the ball no problem but continued to find themselves getting stopped in the red zone, settling for another field goal by Hajrullahu, narrowing the REDBLACKS lead to a two-touchdown advantage at 21-7 with under two minutes to play in the first half. Hajrullahu had luck on his side despite kicking into the wind as time expired on the half, having his 43-yard field goal bounce off the crossbar and through the uprights to bring the halftime score to 21-10.
Hajrullahu pulled the Tiger-Cats within a score early on in the third quarter with his fourth field goal of the game, having the wind at Tim Hortons Field helping to carry the 41-yard field goal attempt.
Brad Sinopoli set a record in the third quarter, surpassing Ben Cahoon for most receptions by a Canadian in a single season, making his 113th catch of the year.
Harris, on a night where he passed 5,000 yards in a season for the first time in his career, kept the success flying for the REDBLACKS, connecting with Diontae Spencer for a 79-yard touchdown late in the third quarter. The score marked Spencer’s seventh touchdown of the season, a career-high for the Ottawa receiver.
Spencer finished the game making four receptions for 116 yards.
In the fourth quarter, a week after setting the professional football’s record for most consecutive field goals made, Lewis Ward further extended his mark to 46 after notching a 33-yard kick, further extending the REDBLACKS lead to 30-13.
Any chance fo the Ticats making a late comeback was silenced as Jeremiah Masoli was picked off in the end zone by Ottawa’s Sherrod Baltimore.
As time continued to tick away, Masoli followed the interception with another on the Tiger-Cats next offensive drive, adding another nail to Hamilton’s coffin for the day. Jean-Philippe Bolduc was at the receiving end of the Masoli throw, earning Bolduc his first-career interception.
The win gives Ottawa the guaranteed No. 1 seed heading into the playoffs for the East Division. They will face the Toronto Argonauts in their final regular season game at TD Place Stadium in the nation’s capital. As for the Tiger-Cats, they will welcome the Montreal Alouettes to Tim Hortons Field on Saturday before hosting the Eastern Semi-Final the following week.
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RIDERS CLINCH HOME PLAYOFF GAME WITH WIN OVER LIONS
REGINA – The Saskatchewan Roughriders are riding a modest winning streak of two, as their defence put on a dominant display to silence the Lions’ growl earning a 35-16 victory.
Zack Evans and Ed Gainey each scored a defensive touchdown, as the Riders moved into a tie for the single-season record with 11 defensive touchdowns on the campaign.
More importantly, the one-sided win helped the Green and White clinch at least second in the West and a home playoff game, with an opportunity to win the division depending on the result of the Calgary Stampeders’ Week 21 matchup with the BC Lions in the season finale.
The win did not come without its cost, however. Quarterback Zach Collaros was sidelined in the second half after taking a hit from Odell Willis and did not return. He was replaced by Brandon Bridge, who completed four of nine attempts for 44 yards in relief to complete the victory.
Tre Mason also left the game and did not return, with Cameron Marshall handling the Riders’ backfield to the tune of 134 rushing yards on 19 attempts.
The first frame opened up with impressive defensive displays put on by both sides that had Riders QB Zach Collaros and Lions QB Travis Lulay without much room to maneuver, nor a window to put the ball through.
The Riders struck first by hitting two straight field goals from beyond the 45-yard-line to take a 6-0 early first quarter lead. The boots and scores were separated by a 20-yard catch and run by Riders receiver Shaq Evans, his 50th catch of the campaign and the longest play of the first quarter.
As the quarter unfolded and the clock ticked down inside five minutes, the game’s first big play came right on cue when Riders defensive lineman Willie Jefferson went full on vertical to bat a Lulay pass attempt sky high for his fellow lineman Toby Antigha to come with, Jefferson’s fourth knock down on the year.
Following the turnover, a hard hit laid on Collaros by Lions defensive end Odell Willis led to a roughing the passer call following a Chris Jones challenge, setting the Riders up in the red zone. On the ensuing play, Rider back Tre Mason took off around the edge, reaching and just nicking the pylon for an added seven onto their lead, 13-0 Saskatchewan with zeroes on the clock.
With Collaros sidelined following the scoring drive, due to what Jones would later describe as precautionary reasons, the defences continued to buckle down in the second quarter. Brandon Bridge stepped in for Collaros, entering the game with a 2-2 record as a starter and looking to maintain the Riders’ lead.
The Lions had an opportunity to get their first score of the tilt, but a missed field goal booted by Ty Long limited their effort to just a single, getting the Lions on the board with a 13-1 Saskatchewan lead.
Then the Lions started to growl with a huge takeaway put on by Lions stud T.J. Lee’s right hand when it came swinging in to jitter the ball loose. Despite the takeaway, the Riders had the last laugh, standing tall and letting nothing up, much like they had done all night on defence.
With a minute left in first half, Saskatchewan extended its lead with another boot through the upright, making it 16-1, but shortly after, their lead was shaved to 14 points when BC added another single, making it 16-2 after two.
The second half kicked off like it usually does with a routine kick, except the return was all but routine. The Lions pounced and forced their second fumble and recovery of the game, setting the Lions up in Riders territory.
Did the Lions capitalize? They sure did and it did not take long at all, literally. It took Travis Lulay just one play to strike through 44 yards of air into Bryan Burnham’s mitts to cut right into the Riders lead and get BC right back into the action. The connection was Lulay’s 127th TD pass of his career and it couldn’t have come at a better time, cutting the deficit to 16-9.
Once again Saskatchewan looked to add some breathing room, but a missed field goal that went right off the upright for a dead ball had that humming BC offence back on the field. Unfortunately for BC, they couldn’t do much to penetrate the ruthless Saskatchewan defence. BC decided to concede two points off a safety, making it a 18-9 Riders lead.
The Riders ended up pinning the ball inside BC’s 10-yard-line, setting up a critical play in the game for the Rider defence. As Lulay was stepping into a deep ball that had everyone, including the cameraman, fooled, he was stripped by Willie Jefferson, who got inside enemy lines. The forced fumble had the ball bouncing on the one yard line when it was scooped up by the Riders’ Zack Evans, who took it in for six.
The point-after extended the Riders’ lead to 25-9, which stayed the same right up until the end of the third.
Early in the fourth quarter the Lions again found themselves pinned back deep in their own end. Lulay stepped up for a serious deep feed that connected, only right to the Riders’ Ed Gainey, who took it right back to the barn for six. Gainey, wearing number eleven, got the Riders’ 11th defensive touchdown of the season and tied a CFL record. The Riders extended their lead to 32-9 and that was all she wrote for Travis Lulay, with Jonathon Jennings coming in to replace him.
Jennings added a spark to the struggling BC Lions’ offence. Jennings found Lions receiver Anthony Parker for 34 yards, which set up just a few punches which was finally capped off by Lions QB Cody Fajardo, who snuck in from the one. That capped off an eight-play, 67-yard drive that was engineered by Jennings, cutting the deficit to 32-16.
The Riders continued to pounce and the glimmer of light for BC’s night was turned off as the Riders held on to extend their winning streak to two.
BC hosts a dangerous Calgary Stampeders squad in the final week of the regular season, while the Riders will have a breather with a week off. They’ll watch with hopes of a BC win, which would clinch the Riders a division title and a bye week to the Western Final on Nov. 18.