Ticats work overtime to beat Redblacks
The Ottawa Redblacks had it all right there for them, a cornucopia of opportunity.
They had a three-point lead in the standings and a 15-point lead with one half remaining at TD Place stadium Friday night, but couldn’t finish off the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, who rallied for a 39-36 overtime victory before an announced sellout crowd of 24,210.
Costly penalties and turnovers hurt the Redblacks and helped the Ticats get the job done on a 38-yard kick by Brett Maher.
Yeah, him. The former Redblack whose fourth-quarter miss a week earlier had allowed his former employers to sneak out of Hamilton with a 30-29 victory and on the verge of clinching first place in the CFL East Division and a bye into the division final.
It’s not all doom and gloom, since the Redblacks (7-8-1) remain one point ahead of the Tiger-Cats (7-90), but now those away and home games against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers mean everything, rather than tune-ups for the post-season.
Meanwhile, the Tiger-Cats, having clinched the last remaining post-season berth with the win Friday, return to Tim Hortons Field for games against the Edmonton Eskimos and Montreal Alouettes.
The Redblacks have nobody but themselves to blame for their new predicament. Sure, they had 114 yards rushing and 418 yards passing against the Ticats, but there were also two interceptions by Henry Burris and three fumbles, the most costly being a botched snap at the goal-line in the third quarter and a sack-fumble forced by Hamilton pass rushers in overtime.
“We’re disappointed, but we’re not going to sit and mope about it for too long,” Redblacks head coach Rick Campbell said. “We have a lot to play for still, and it will be on to the next one.”
Ticats quarterback Jeremiah Masoli threw two interceptions, but his team never coughed up a fumble, and the visitors also took just three penalties for 47 yards compared to the Redblacks’ nine infractions for 89 yards.
If that sounds like a recipe for beating yourselves, it was certain- ly that for the Redblacks in a game they let slip through their fingers.
It’s tempting to joke that they should decline home-field advantage for whatever East Division playoff game they host — either the semifinal against a crossover opponent from the West Nov. 13 or the final a week after that — because they’re just 2-5-1 at TD Place Stadium this season.
“We had them basically in the position that we wanted to have them in and we played our butts off, and we just didn’t do it,” said Burris, who finished 31-for-41.
After an exchange of field goals to start the contest, the Redblacks scored their first touchdown off a beautiful catch by Ernest Jackson of a looping throw from Burris.
Another exchange of field goals in the second quarter left Ottawa up 13-6, and safety Antoine Pruneau intercepted an awful throw by Masoli at the goal-line to keep it that way. Eight plays later, the Redblacks got a touchdown catch from Juron Criner.
Redblacks returner Tristan Jackson dropped the ball on the game’s first punt and the Ticats needed just three plays for Kevin Elliott to score an unconverted touchdown, and a Mossis Madu touchdown run made it 27-12 going into halftime.
Jeff Mathews pushed across on his second QB sneak attempt from the one-yard line for a third-quarter touchdown, but a two-point convert attempt failed.
The Redblacks missed an opportunity to pad their lead when the snap by centre Jon Gott never got into the hands of Burris. Fumble and a recovery by Hamilton’s Larry Dean. A rouge by Maher on a miss from 37 yards left Ottawa up by eight with one quarter to go.
The Ticats quickly reached the end zone in the fourth quarter, with a coverage breakdown by the Redblacks leaving John Chiles wide open. After a successful one-point convert, it was 27-26.
Another nice touchdown catch by Jackson added six for the home side, but Milo missed the convert and, worse, right tackle Jake Silas hurt his right arm on the play.
The Ticats then drove 81 yards for a touchdown catch by C.J. Gable, a convert by Maher and a 33-33 tie.
Hamilton had the ball first in the overtime mini-game, and a long drive led to an 18-yarder by Maher. Ottawa lost ground on its possession, but Milo made a 45-yarder.
Then things fell apart for the Redblacks against the Ticats’ pass rush. Burris was sacked on first down and hit on the second, forcing a fumble the Ticats recovered.
After two plays for minimal gain, Maher split the uprights with his game-winning kick.