Emilie Lapointe, Centretown News
Redblacks fans gathered outside TD Place to watch Sunday’s game against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.The Ottawa Redblacks are going to be taking on the Edmonton Eskimos in the 103rd Grey Cup on Sunday.
Following last Sunday’s dramatic 35-28 win at TD Place against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, winners of the CFL East Division for the past two seasons, the Redblacks are moving on to the Nov. 29 league championship game in Winnipeg. It was Ottawa’s third straight win against the Tiger-Cats this season, each one a fairly tight contest.
The Grey Cup game between the Redblacks and the Eskimos — who romped to a huge 45-31 win over Calgary in the West Division Final, also played on Sunday — represents the first time in 34 years that an Ottawa team has been to the big game.
It was a cool, sunny day in Ottawa on Sunday and TD Place was filled to the brim with Redblacks fans eager to witness the team’s first CFL playoff game in just its second season.
From the beginning, the game looked as if it would be a high-scoring affair, with both teams trading quick drives and scoring touchdowns to make it 19-17 at the end of the first half.
The highlight of the game was a second down and long-yardage situation with one minute left in the fourth quarter, with the Redblacks backed up deep in their own zone.
Ottawa quarterback Henry Burris needed 25 yards for a first down, but he aired it out to receiver Greg Ellingson for a stunning 93-yard touchdown pass to put the Redblacks up 35-28. It would end up being the game’s deciding play.
Redblacks head coach Rick Campbell says after Sunday’s game that Hamilton tested his team even more this time around than in previous meetings this season.
“Give them a lot of credit. They did a lot of smart things, changing things up,” he says. “We weren’t trying purposely to be less aggressive.”
It was Campbell’s first playoff win as a CFL head coach, and he now faces Edmonton, the team he coached with for nine years before joining the Redblacks.
The last time Ottawa went to the Grey Cup, in 1981, the franchise was still called the Rough Riders.
Sunday’s win in the East final was just the latest feat in a remarkable sophomore season, as the Redblacks finished 12-6 with the best regular-season record in the division, a year after winning just two games and finishing last.
The success of this season rested heavily on Ottawa’s veteran quarterback Henry Burris, who at age 40 led the entire league in passing yards with 5,703, and is going to his second Grey Cup after winning it all in 2008.
Burris also had a variety of weapons to choose from, including four receivers, each of whom hauled in more than 1,000 yards for the season. Among them was Ellingson, who made the game-winning reception on Burris’s long-bomb throw on Sunday.
“We call those 50-50 balls,” says Campbell. “When you throw it to a guy like Ellingson, a lot of the time he will come down with it.”
He adds: “Give credit to (Burris) and (Ellingson) for stepping up and finding a way to make a play for us.”
Ellingson, who was playing against his former team, said it could have been any one of the big receivers who caught the ball, but it just happened to be him.
“It’s not just me,” he said moments after what many observers have described as a “miracle” catch. “We had four 1,000-yard receivers. If your number is called, you’re expected to deliver.
“It’s a play we’ve done before. The ball was thrown outside and the guy can go up and make a play.”
The good news for the Redblacks is that they will have their batch of top receivers healthy and rested for Sunday’s Grey Cup game.
The bad news is they will face the Eskimos, a team they went 0-2 against in the regular-season, and one of only two teams to give them trouble all year long.
Campbell said he knows the going will be tough, but they are going to try to find a way.
“We’ve got to go out there,” he said, and give (the Eskimos) our best shot.”