REDBLACKS EXPECT TICATS TO FIGHT TOOTH AND NAIL
Despite losing speedy receiver, Hamilton still poses significant challenge for Ottawa
In a game with so much on the line, Rico Murray was just making a play on the football, trying to make sure Brandon Banks couldn’t catch it.
But when Banks, the star receiver for the Hamilton TigerCats, hit the ground in a 35-31 win for the Ottawa Redblacks on home field last Friday, his collarbone was jarred by the impact. Now, Banks is out for the season with a broken clavicle. And Murray, the Redblacks’ defensive back who is a good friend of Banks’, dating back to when they were Ticats teammates from 2013-16, must move on with his season. A win for Murray’s team Saturday in Hamilton guarantees first place and a bye to the East Division final.
“I saw the ball coming over his shoulder, I saw him trying to play the ball. I just tried to dive over him to make a play on the ball,” Murray said. “I felt my hand punch the ball out. As he landed, I scraped over top of him and I had my own impact. I didn’t hear anything, but a few of my teammates said they heard an uncommon snapping sound. When I got up, I was excited I’d made a play. Obviously, him not getting up immediately, I knew something was wrong.
“He’s a good friend of mine. I sent him a message after the game, after I got the news. I told him I felt bad it had to be him. This league loves him, he’s a great player. I just wished him a speedy recovery.”
Injuries in football are an unpredictable part of the game. What the players work so hard for can be taken away in a flash. And teams have to deal with it.
With game-breaker Banks out, it’s expected the Ticats, who’ve already battled through seasonending injuries to starting receivers Jalen Saunders, Shamawd Chambers, Chris Williams and Terrence Toliver, will get former NFLer Terrell Sinkfield, who they signed two weeks ago, into their lineup versus Ottawa. Again, it’s Next Man Up.
“Ottawa doesn’t care if Speedy (Banks) is out, they’re going to play the same way,” Ticats coach June Jones told reporters.
The past three years, the team that finished first in the East has reached the Grey Cup (it was Ottawa in 2015 and 2016). It’s a streak Ottawa is obviously looking to keep going. With a 9-7 record, it has already bettered the 8-9-1 record it had each of the past two seasons.
In 2016, that 8-9-1 was good enough to catapult them to a Grey Cup victory. Gaining some momentum these next two weeks before the playoffs would be a good way to start another pursuit of a championship.
“Just winning a game in this league is hard,” said Murray. “Obviously if you’re going into the playoffs and you’ve got a bit of a buzz going in, it makes it a lot easier to prepare for other teams, knowing everybody’s clicking. You don’t want to stumble. These games leading into the playoffs are very important for us. They’re going to prep us for the bigger ones down the road.”
Leaning on veteran players like the 31-year-old Murray, who was part of the Toronto Argonauts team that won the Grey Cup last season, adding the been there, done that factor, is a good thing this time of year.
“The guys that have the championship experience, the guys that have played in the big games, they understand that whoever we’re playing late in the season, it’s no different than when we played them earlier in the season,” said Murray. “They have the same guys, the same jerseys, the same playcallers. The thing that gets amplified are the emotions and some anxiety because you know how big a game it is.
“When you can put those emotions aside, stay mentally locked in and focus in on whatever play or moment you’re in, it’s just playing football. It’s about X’s and O’s, it’s about getting in there and doing what you do to the best of your ability.”
Second guessing: The CFL live mic caught QB Trevor Harris in the huddle telling running back William Powell to clutch the ball with two hands on a handoff late in Friday’s game. Powell, with one hand on the ball, fumbled and the Ticats got one final opportunity to win the game from their own 13-yard line with 1:13 left. Said Campbell: “I need to protect our team better. We can just take a knee. We’ll still leave time on the clock. I wanted to count on our players. That ages me quite a bit. You can take a knee and give them two or three plays trapped in their end.”
A local touch: The Redblacks have added a couple of local players to their practice roster — linebackers Drew Morris (Acadia) and Daniel Tshiamala (St. FX and Laval). National defensive back Daryl Townsend (Windsor) and international defensive lineman Blaine Woodson (Delaware) were released. Said Campbell: “It’s for depth, it’s also to look at them — it’s more geared toward next year, evaluating people. We want to see what they have. You never know (if they’ll play this year), but that wasn’t the original intent.”
The end around: The Redblacks had a light practice Wednesday — basically a walk-through — without pads. “I guess the head coach was in a nice mood today,” Campbell joked. “I had this planned ahead of time. We did a full practice (Tuesday). This was a full work day, just not a physical work day. (Thursday) will be a full physical practice again. The intent is, physically we have a full tank of gas and feel good Saturday at 4 (p.m.)” ... Bodog.ca listed the Redblacks at 7/1 in its Grey Cup odds. So for a $1 wager, you’d win $7 if they won the Grey Cup. The website lists four teams as having a better shot at winning the Grey Cup: Calgary (7/5), Saskatchewan (13/4), Edmonton (11-2) and Hamilton (13-2). Winnipeg is also listed at 7/1, while B.C. is 15/2 ... A final word from linebacker Kyries Hebert on media folks around the league picking Ottawa to lose against Hamilton: “I hope no one ever picks us again.”