ON THE LINE
The Storyline
All the Redblacks need from this one is a tie, and they can prepare their rosters and practice schedule for a meaningless game against Toronto next Friday and the East final 16 days later.
The Ticats, of course, need to beat Ottawa and, a week from Saturday, Montreal and hope that the Argos can upset the Redblacks the night before. Otherwise they’ll finish second, and have to beat a western team in the crossover playoff at Tim Hortons Field on Sunday, Nov. 11, to get another shot at the Redblacks in the East Final.
Ottawa has beaten Hamilton seven of the last 12 times they’ve met, including three straight, and has lost only once in five lifetime visits to Tim Hortons Field.
Some electors view this game as the final audition for the East MOP among Ottawa’s Trevor Harris and William Powell (who likely won’t play) and Hamilton’s Jeremiah Masoli.
Although some voters argue that he is 0-5 against the league’s top three teams, this corner says that nomination should already be Masoli’s: he’s cut down significantly on his interceptions, amped up on his touchdown passes, continues to use his feet to get first downs and has managed to prevail over the loss of four starting receivers, which reached five when Brandon Banks went out for the year with the broken clavicle he suffered in Friday’s loss to Ottawa.
How both teams react to Banks’ absence is the primary subplot of this game. The MasoliBanks combination has been far the CFL’s most prolific since Sept 1, 2017, with 2,341 yards, a distant second-best is Masoli to Luke Tasker with 1,777. Hamilton struggled, and lost, when Banks missed September games against Calgary and B.C., which compacted their defences.
The Ticats have to find a way to stretch the Ottawa defence to help open rushing lanes for Alex Green, hope that Banks’ replacement Terrell Sinkfield can make some big plays and that a lowerprofile receiver such as Marquay McDaniel comes up with some pivotal catches. And the defence has to rattle Harris, who was magnificent in the final half last week, and do a better job of mapping the strong route-work of the Ottawa receiving corps.
Key Hamilton roster notes
Terrell Sinkfield dresses for the first time as the replacement for game-breaker Brandon Banks who had surgery on his broken clavicle Tuesday. WR Rashad Lawrence comes off the active roster. Defensive ends Adrian Tracy and Justin Capicciotti are game-day decisions, but defensive tackle Jason Neill will play for the first time in four games.
Key Ottawa roster notes
The Redblacks may not use rushing star William Powell, with former Ticat Mossis Madu apparently getting the start. They get back starting linebackers Avery Williams and Kevin Brown, who both missed last week’s game in Ottawa, and hard-hitting Anthony Cioffi moves back to SAM linebacker. He was at safety last week, and took a roughness penalty against Luke Tasker which the Ticats felt should have resulted in a CFL suspension or fine, but didn’t. Ottawa has great depth at linebacker with last week’s starters Chris Ackie and Kyries Hebert in the rotation. Rookie Justin Howell, out of Carleton, takes over at safety.
Nifty numbers worth knowing
2 — Number of times in Monday’s Ticat column which mistakenly
referred to the Redblacks as “Renegades.” The Redblacks franchise has restored lustre to Ottawa football and should never, ever, be interchanged with the 2002-05 ’Gades.
3 — Number of consecutive games in which Jeremiah Masoli has thrown three or more touchdown passes. The last CFL quarterback to do that was Mike Reilly in 2013.
4 — Seasons in a row the firstplace team in the East has made it to the Grey Cup Game. The 2013 Ticats were the last second-place East team to reach the national championship.
6 —Tackles needed by Ticat middle linebacker Larry Dean for the fifth-ever 100-tackle season by a Ticat.
45 — Straight field goals made by the Redblacks’ Lewis Ward, who established the all-pro record last week against Hamilton.
151 — Number of passing yards needed by Redblacks quarterback Trevor Harris to reach 5,000 for the first time.