QB HARRIS TURNS IN A GAME FOR THE AGES
‘It’s seriously about the team,’ he says after record-breaking performance
No longer can people say Trevor Harris is unable to win the big game.
Or was that not even enough? “It just improves my record in the playoffs to 1-38,” the Redblacks quarterback joked after throwing a CFL playoff record six touchdown passes in Sunday’s 46-27 destruction of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
The Ottawa Rough Riders also scored six TDs through the air in a 1966 post-season game, but Russ Jackson only tossed four of them. What Harris did in the Eastern Final — just his second career playoff start — was an individual feat that has not been matched by any of the greats.
Harris said his family told him about the record during on-field celebrations. He also pointed out the irony of the accomplishment.
“I couldn’t throw a touchdown to save my life this year,” Harris quipped, referring to the fact he had just 22 scoring strikes in 17 games during the season.
“It’s seriously about the team — this game is no different,” he added. “I think when we flip the game film on, we’re going to say wow, the O-line was amazing. We’re going to say the receivers were in the right splits, they ran the right depth. When we do that and we’re in rhythm, we can keep it moving, it’s fun to watch.”
Harris’s only other playoff start was Nov. 12, 2017, in a 31-20, Eastern semifinal loss at TD Place to the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Harris completed 37 of 60 passes for 457 yards that day, but he threw two interceptions to go along with a pair of touchdowns.
On Sunday, Harris picked apart the Ticats with precision.
He had three more TD passes than incompletions, connecting on 29 of 32 (an incredible 90.6 per cent completion rate) for 367 yards. For the fourth time this season, he was not picked off by the Ticats. And for the fourth time this season, he beat and completely outplayed Jeremiah Masoli, who is the division’s nominee for Most Outstanding Player.
Masoli is now 0-8 against the league’s three best teams during the regular season — Calgary, Saskatchewan and Ottawa.
“I think it put all the haters to rest a little bit, hushed them a little bit,” Greg Ellingson, who caught eight passes for 144 yards, said when asked what message the Ottawa offence sent to the award voters. “We’re not really worried about the outside world. We believe in ourselves. We knew what we were capable of. Today we kind of showed everybody else, the doubters, that we are a force to be reckoned with.”
Diontae Spencer used the word “unstoppable” to describe Harris.
“He was putting the ball where it needed to be,” said Spencer, who caught six passes for 41 yards and two touchdowns. “He was getting the ball into his playmakers’ hands.”
Head coach Rick Campbell: “I said before the game I was glad he’s on our side, that he’s our quarterback, and I’ll stick to my story on that one.”
Harris was asked if his experience of being to Canada’s championship game will help him next week in Edmonton, to which he said, yes, because he knows how “bananas” it gets with all the media covering the event.
“If you say, ‘Oh, it’s just a normal game, that’s going to be a distraction,” said Harris, who has never won a Grey Cup game.
Of course, he’s never actually played in one either — Harris was going to be the Redblacks’ starter in 2015 before Henry Burris recovered from a warm-up injury to take over the controls, but what does that matter?
Harris is now a proven playoff performer and next week, he’ll be coming off the game of his life.
THE TURNING POINT: Just after the Redblacks had scored to make it 14-3, the Ticats put together an impressive 89-yard drive to the Ottawa 11. On second down, Masoli one-hopped a throw to a wide open Marquay McDaniel, and Hamilton had to settle for a field goal. At that point, it started to snow. And not long after, it rained hard on the Ticats parade ... In case nobody else has pointed it out, Masoli was 28-of-41 and threw three interceptions along with one TD pass. MOP? How about MOPE? OFF THE TEE: Remember how everybody — yours truly included — said it’s near impossible to beat a team four times in one season? Apparently we forgot the Ticats did just that to the Argos in 2015, before coming to Ottawa to lose the final. Oh yeah ... Having just scored a TD to make it 47-26 with 7:35 to go, Ticats coach June Jones elected for an on-side kick. We figure after all his years in the NFL and NCAA, he forgot just how long 7:35 is in the Canadian game ... Ellingson was asked if he had a sense of déjà vu when he dashed 60 yards for a touchdown with Ticats chasing him in an Eastern Final. You know, like 2015 all over again? “Before he says anything, he was wearing the moon boots,” Harris interrupted. “I was like, just don’t get caught.” Said Ellingson: “At first I was surprised there was nobody there. Then I could tell the defender who was guarding me had really bit on the out. When I rolled back in, he put a ball right on me and I was able to turn up field. After that, the first 10 yards, I was like, sheesh, these shoes are heavier than I thought they were. I’m just trying to run as fast as I can to get to the end zone.”