Say what you will about Friday’s Steeltown showdown between the Ottawa REDBLACKS and Hamilton Tiger-Cats, it’s a big game anyway you slice it.
A rematch of last year’s East Division final. A chance for the REDBLACKS to get back on track after a heartbreaking overtime loss last week. A chance for Hamilton to hold off Ottawa’s push for a playoff spot and vault themselves into the division lead.
It may be all of those things, but mostly it’s Game 15 of 18 for both teams. The East playoff picture likely won’t be set until the bitter end and everyone knows that, regardless of opponent, a win is critically important, regardless of storylines.
While Ottawa’s lineup will be similar to the one that lost in overtime to the Saskatchewan Roughriders at TD Place last week, the one big difference will be the man under centre, as Henry Burris will get the ball for Friday’s showdown. Burris, the reigning CFL Most Outstanding Player, came into last week’s game late and provided an immediate spark as he drove his team to overtime but came up just short.
“I’m definitely confident, I’m a confident guy and I feel when I get out there I can do some things to help my team out,” Burris said. “It’s an opportunity for me to go out and execute. I know it’s a big game and everything but for me I focus more on the fact that if we go out and execute and do our jobs, everything is going to take care of itself.”
The Tiger-Cats return to action after losing back-to-back games but are led by quarterback Jeremiah Masoli, who has won both previous games he’s played against Ottawa (Burris is 13-9 all-time against Hamilton). The 28-year-old has completed 178 of 259 passes this year for 2,058 yards and nine touchdowns this season.
In terms of getting after Masoli, the REDBLACKS will have another weapon back in the lineup Friday as defensive lineman Arnaud Gascon-Nadon will return from an extended stay on the injured list. Though he’s only suited up for five games this season, the Montrealer is tied for fourth on his team with three sacks.
A former Tiger-Cat who signed with Ottawa in the off-season, Gascon-Nadon knows what the REDBLACKS can expect.
“I know they’re going to lay it out there and they’ll have a great game plan, guys are going to come out and play, we just have to match that,” he said. “I think we’re all frustrated that we could have won so many of those tights game. We’ve just got to find a way now to the end of the year to have that right mindset at the end of the game and clinch these wins.”
With all of the CFL’s East Division teams still in the running for a playoff spot, the REDBLACKS want to lock up their post-season plans as soon as possible. A win Friday against Hamilton, coupled with Toronto and Montreal losses in their respective games, would do just that.
The REDBLACKS return home next week for the second half of this home-and-home series against Hamilton, with the Tiger-Cats visiting TD Place on October 21.
