The Canadian Press
OTTAWA — Trailing by double-digits at halftime, Ottawa REDBLACKS head coach Rick Campbell knew just what his team needed.
The REDBLACKS would come back to defeat the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Friday night, erasing a 16-point deficit on the way to a 35-31 victory, in the process claiming the tie-breaker with the Ticats along with a stranglehold in the CFL East Division.
Before that happened, however, there were some tense moments, as the REDBLACKS trailed 25-14 through 30 minutes.
“They were in a bad mood,” Campbell said of the team’s locker-room at halftime. “Our effort’s always good, I just wanted to have a little bit of nasty and a little bit of edge to us.
“I told the guys, those guys aren’t our friends. When we’re in between the lines it’s a knock-down, drag-down competition. When we play with that edge we can do some pretty good things.”
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In the first half of a home-and-home, a battle that will ultimately decide the East Division title and a ticket to the Eastern Final on Nov. 18, the Ticats led by 10 or more points for the eighth consecutive game.
Quarterback Jeremiah Masoli threw three touchdown passes and accumulated nearly 200 passing yards in the first half alone, guiding Hamilton to a 16-point lead while silencing a TD Place gathering of 23,534 on a chilly, windy night in the nation’s capital.
REDBLACKS kicker Lewis Ward etched his name in the history books again, passing Adam Vinatieri to set a pro football record with his 45th consecutive field goal, including a career-high 52-yarder.
But in the end it was a dominant second half by Trevor Harris that included 211 passing yards and a touchdown to Diontae Spencer that made the difference. Harris finished his night with 341 yards on 24-of-32 passing in what was arguably his best game of the season.
Short-yardage quarterback Dominique Davis scored three times from the one-yard-line, including the game-winner part way through the fourth quarter.
“They’re a good football team,” Campbell said of the Ticats. “They came in here on a high. I think highly of them — a lot of people around the league think highly of them. They’re not an easy team to beat.
“I just wanted our guys to go and compete and put our best foot forward and scrap and find a way to get it done. Credit to our players, they did. Winning’s really hard, especially when it comes down to games like this.”
It took every possible ounce from the REDBLACKS to come up with the victory, including two key Ticats injuries in receiver Brandon Banks and Delvin Breaux, which likely swayed the game in Ottawa’s favour.
But it’s not to take anything away from a valiant effort from Campbell’s team. In the end they don’t ask how, and there were plenty of impressive aspects to the REDBLACKS’ comeback victory, one that down the road could well be viewed as season-defining.
In what’s been such an up-and-down season for this team, which has lacked week-to-week consistency all the way through, one more win is all that’s needed to host the Eastern Final.
“I would like to give ourselves some credit and our players some credit because sometimes they don’t always get that,” said Campbell. “But it doesn’t really matter, all that matters is winning football games and that’s why that’s the good part, settling it on the field.
“People do second-guess us,” he added. “We do have work to do, but all I know is the other team in the East is behind us.”
With the rematch coming on Oct. 27, Campbell says his team will watch the film within 24 hours and then move on. With the tie-breaker in hand, there are no tricky playoff scenarios or crazy mathematical equations for the East Division’s leading team. One more ‘W’ is all that’s needed.
“Every game’s a new game. We’re going to watch this tomorrow and put this game to bed, it’s going to be a new game and a new week and we’ve got to go on the road to their place, which is a tough place to play. If we can beat them three times in a row in the regular season that would be pretty special.”
