TICATS HAVE BIG TASK AHEAD OF THEM
Hamilton must figure out Redblacks after losing all three regular season meetings
Not once during the 2018 regular season did the Hamilton TigerCats emerge from three meetings with the Ottawa Redblacks with a victory.
And in all likelihood, not once this week, in the days leading up to the Eastern Final Sunday afternoon in Ottawa, will you hear a member of the Ticats say they’re concerned about what went down in weeks 7, 19 and 20 when the opponent was the Redblacks.
“It’s not weighing on us,
I would not say that at all,” receiver Luke Tasker said during a phone interview Thursday after the Ticats held a closed practice at Tim Hortons Field.
“The best way to go into an important game is after a game like last week, where we really put some things together. We feel like we’re rolling, like we’re going to be able to get right back to that kind of play in this game.”
The game to which Tasker referred, of course, was the East Division semifinal, during which the Ticats beat the B.C. Lions by 40 points after the Lions earned the right to cross over from the West Division.
As the Redblacks were catching up on some rest and healing after clinching first place in the East to get a bye, the Ticats demolished the Lions 48-8.
A major factor in the Redblacks’ division title were those victories against Hamilton, the last two in a back-to-back set that determined the final standings.
“(Ottawa) has had a good season, they beat us three times and we feel like we didn’t play our best football,” Tasker said. “Definitely (the win against the Lions) is resonating stronger.”
For Tasker, a player as reliable as you will find anywhere in the CFL, inspiration doesn’t come just from what happened last weekend.
The regular season represented further excellence from Tasker, whose 11 receiving touchdowns not only marked a career high, but also tied for the CFL lead with teammate Brandon Banks and D’haquille Williams of the Edmonton Eskimos. Tasker amassed 1,104 receiving yards, the second most in his career and the third time in four seasons he has cracked 1,000 yards.
As much as it’s crucial for players to keep looking ahead, a couple of playoff games from the recent past will help put Tasker in the proper frame of mind Sunday at TD Place stadium.
In particular, the East final in 2015, when the Redblacks got the deciding touchdown from Greg Ellingson with just over a minute to play to beat Hamilton; and a year earlier, when Hamilton beat Montreal at home in the East final only to lose against Calgary in the Grey Cup game.
“I do think back,” Tasker said. “The Eastern Final in Ottawa was really, by all rights, a very good football game. It was two teams both playing well and it came down to the end and that was a heartbreaker. That was a really hard game to lose.
“And I certainly think back to one my favourite games: when we beat Montreal in the East final at Tim Hortons Field the year prior. I’m thinking about all kinds of stuff like that and just about the way I would like to see this way go.
“This is why people love football. This is the best time of the year, is games like this.”
With Banks’ season over because of a broken collarbone, it’s possible Tasker will have to be that much sharper on Sunday. If there was added pressure for Tasker in the semifinal, the 27-year-old sloughed it off as he caught three passes, including two touchdowns, for 70 yards.
Quarterback Jeremiah Masoli, the favourite in the Ticats lockerroom to be named the most outstanding player in the CFL, connected with Bralon Addison as well as Addison caught five passes for 124 yards.
In the next few days, Tasker won’t necessarily look in the mirror and demand more from himself. He has been at the top of his game for a while.
“It might play out that way (that more is placed on his shoulders), you never know, but the only thing guaranteed in football is adversity and this is nothing new,” Tasker said. “It’s not like this is something taking us sidewinding here. I will just do my job as best as I can do it and I don’t think it’s fair to feel an undue pressure for these type of things. We all have our jobs to do.”
(Ottawa) has had a good season, they beat us three times and we feel like we didn’t play our best football. Definitely (a win over B.C.) is resonating stronger.