Adam Gagnon/CFL.ca
TORONTO — The Toronto Argonauts have owned the Ottawa REDBLACKS in seven head-to-head clashes while Trevor Harris has never lost.
That’s the paradox one of the CFL’s fastest-emerging rivalries is facing heading into Friday’s clash, because in Week 14 one of those things will have to give way.
The Argos are 5-2 in their seven matchups against the REDBLACKS since Ottawa’s return to the league in 2014. Yet since then, Harris has played for both teams at quarterback and has never lost to either Toronto or Ottawa.
In what is essentially a battle for first place (or at least a share of first place) in the East, can the REDBLACKS buck a trend that’s seen them drop five of their last six against the Argos? Or will the Argos hand their former quarterback his first loss in the all-time series?
One thing’s certain: Few teams match up better than the REDBLACKS or Argos. These two teams bring the best out of everyone when they meet, sometimes producing instant CFL classics.
The Argos will always go down in history as the first team ever beaten by the current rendition of the Ottawa CFL franchise, falling 18-17 in a thriller at TD Place back in 2014.
Later that year, Harris made his first career start in the season finale, a must-win game for the Argos, and guided Toronto to a 23-5 victory to move to 1-0 in his lifetime as a professional starting quarterback.
Last year it was Chad Owens leaving one of the rivalry’s greatest marks, making the play that will be etched in history with a remarkable one-handed catch to put the Argos ahead in the game’s final seconds — in what was considered an Argos home game in Ottawa, no less.
Fast forward to 2016 and you’ll see Harris winning his first game against his former team at BMO Field early in the summer. A little later on, Harris would miss some time due to injury and the Argo defence would rally behind Logan Kilgore’s first career start at quarterback.
There are plenty of great games headed our way over the final seven weeks of the 2016 season, including this week a record-breaking clash between the Stamps and Bombers in which both Western foes have won a combined 16 straight games. But don’t forget about the Ottawa-Toronto matchup because whenever these teams meet, something big always happens.
Something is bound to happen on Friday in the nation’s capital.
