July 16, 2019

Cauz: Ticats’ latest win a decade in the making

The Canadian Press

Ten years is both a blink in time and an eternity. When I look back at my life I am shocked how quickly the past decade has gone, yet when I take a closer examination it is stunning how much has changed in my own life since 2009.

I bring up 2009 because of a historic moment that happened between the Calgary Stampeders and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Saturday night, and the sporting epic so many sports fans watched on Sunday morning at Wimbledon. I remember being in a Rome sports bar watching Roger Federer defeat Andy Roddick in a Wimbledon Finals that went well over four hours and set a record for most games played. That seemed like just yesterday but now, a decade later, we all were witness to a similar marathon match but with Federer this time succumbing to Novak Djokovic.

On a much smaller level, I couldn’t help but think about another moment from 2009 that suddenly was relevant again: the last time Hamilton actually beat Calgary. I know it may seem like an odd connection, but that’s the kind of thing that happens when you’re flipping between re-watching the Tiger-Cats’ 30-23 victory and Federer vs. Djokovic.

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Think about how much has changed since Week 12 of the 2009 season, the last time Hamilton came up on the winning side against the Stamps at home. Sept. 18, 2009 may seem like a moment ago, but trust me when you put it into context of what was going on in the CFL. It was a very different world.

So come back with me, if you will, to a time when Stephen Harper and Barack Obama were in power, ‘I gotta Feeling’ by the Black Eyed Peas was the No. 1 song, ‘Avatar’ was still two months away from being released and Twitter was still in its infancy. Let’s go back to Ivor Wynne Stadium (not Tim Hortons Field) and the year 2009!

The first eye popping name that jumps out at you when you start combing through the box score is the fact that Quinton Porter completely outplayed Henry Burris. I had forgotten that Porter was on the Tiger-Cats and had split time with Kevin Glenn for some time. This was so long ago that it was only the third franchise that Glenn had played for. I sure hope Glenn had been collecting frequent flyer miles 10 years ago because he would bounce around to six more teams over the next eight years. As for the game, Porter would out-gain Burris 246 to 114 passing yards. Burris had a lousy day, completing just 10 of 25 passes, an unusually low output when you remember Burris would finish 2009 second to Ricky Ray (peak Ray!) in passing yards.

I’m sorry to go full CFL nerd but it was such a novelty to go back and check out this box score. The Stamps totally wasted a 13-carry, 127-yard rushing performance from Reynolds. Even more amazing was the Stamps also had a young running back named Jon Cornish who didn’t get a single carry but was thrown to three times. At the time no one knew who Cornish was, as Reynolds was on his way to his finest CFL season (1,721 total yards and two touchdowns) but wow what a backfield Calgary had back then.

Arland Bruce led the Tiger-Cats with 105 yards through the air and two majors, but the more interesting Hamilton receiver was Marquay McDaniel, who pulled in six catches for 61 yards. Yes, the same McDaniel who put up three 1,000 yard seasons for Calgary got his start in Steeltown.

This trip down CFL memory lane does not stop with the offence. Rookie defensive end Justin Hickman would recover a fumble that day and  go on to have a distinguished CFL career, including making the 2011 CFL All-Star team. What should come as a shock to no one, Charleston Hughes would lead all defenders in tackles, including a couple of sacks. This was Hughes’ first game back with Calgary after a stint with the Philadelphia Eagles and just his second year in the CFL (Hughes is still going strong 112 sacks later). Current Lions head coach DeVone Claybrooks was credited with two tackles and a forced fumble. And finally, to make myself feel really old, I found that linebacker Ray Mariuz was on the field that day for Hamilton. I used to call his games when he was a star linebacker for the McMaster Marauders and I was working for 93.3 CFMU, still finding my way in the world of radio. So now a 10-year memory is getting closer 15 years.

 

Let’s expand this CFL time travel to what else was going on that week. If you’re an Argonauts fan you do not remember 2009 fondly. The team would go 3-15 and on this date, Toronto lost 23-17 to the BC Lions with Cody Pickett completing less than 50 per cent of his passes for 166 yards and two interceptions. At this point every Toronto fan is remembering that time ugly time period after Damon Allen had left and before Ricky Ray had arrived (nightmares of Cleo Lemon!!). Lions receiver Emmanuel Arceneaux was a rookie that year while on defence Ricky Foley collected three sacks. Keeping with the forgetful theme, I had blanked that Justin Medlock was once an Argonaut, but there he was punting eight times and making his only field goal for the Double Blue.

Meanwhile, in Montreal, Anthony Calvillo was doing Anthony Calvillo things, slicing up the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and completing 70 per cent of his passes at a time when that was still a big deal. Jamel Richardson was dominating for the Alouettes, while Michael Bishop was certainly not for the Bombers. Just like Charleston Hughes was getting it done way back then for Calgary, the same can be said for Montreal great John Bowman, with his two sacks as part of a defence that held Winnipeg’s offence to 176 total yards. On the media side of things, former CFL star now turned TSN star Davis Sanchez finished the day with just one tackle.

The final game of Week 12 saw Ricky Ray hook up with Maurice Mann and Fred Stamps 15 times for 247 yards, with both receivers scoring a touchdown in the Edmonton Eskimos’ 31-27 victory over a Saskatchewan team that featured very young versions of Stevie Baggs, Jerrell Freeman and the great John Chick.

I apologize for how self-indulgent this column is, but I get a kick looking back a decade ago and seeing so many recognizable names, many of which were just on the cusp of making a name for themselves. I was going to do a second part where I looked back to the last time a Montreal quarterback threw for over 300 yards, completing over 70 per cent of his passes with multiple touchdowns and no interceptions. It was going to be in honour of Vernon Adams and the Alouettes’ 36-19 win over Ottawa, but apparently it actually had happened as recently as 2016 with Kevin Glenn putting up 382 yards and five touchdowns against these same REDBLACKS!

First, let me apologize to Glenn for forgetting such a crazy game, but also I need to give a shout out to Steve Daniel, CFL Director, Game Information and Statistics. I emailed Steve at 10:41 a.m. ET for the history of Alouettes quarterbacks putting up those kinds of numbers and at 11:05 a.m. ET he had already gotten back to me with the information. I have no idea what sort of wizardry Steve possesses but it’s as impressive as Glenn carving up Ottawa’s secondary.

What will come as a shock to no one, Calvillo holds the record (20) for most times putting up those sorts of passing numbers. Calvillo dominating the record books . . . some things never change.