Johany Jutras/CFL.ca
Looking back at last year’s Eastern Semi-Final, Trevor Harris is in awe of what he was able to do.
At the time while he was on the field, he didn’t notice that he had completed 22 consecutive passes, one away from tying Jeremiah Masoli for the most in a single game (23). He was more worried about helping his team win their first playoff game of 2019.
But now, about seven months later, he’s able to take a step back and appreciate the feat that he was able to accomplish.
“There was 34 for 35 (completions) at one point, which is crazy,” said Harris over the phone from his home in Ohio on Tuesday. “It’s amazing to look back on now and think about that. But for that to happen, it’s Coach Maas calling an outstanding game and them putting together an amazing plan. It’s about the receivers getting to the right depths and the right locations and then making tough catches.
“The o-line, like you said, protecting really well and just the entire team executing as one unit as opposed to going out there and making crazy stuff happen. There was some stuff that was off schedule and some tight windows that our receivers were making some great plays on, but that’s a total team effort in terms of making those sorts of things happen.”
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The pivot, who signed a new three-year deal in January, was key in the Esks’ win over the Montreal Alouettes that sent his team to the Eastern Final. Harris finished the game 36 of 39 for 421 yards and a touchdown.
But has he mentioned, it was a total team effort.
Two receivers had massive performances; Greg Ellingson hauled in 125 yards while Ricky Collins Jr. had 117. His offensive line’s protection was top-notch, allowing him time and space to make the necessary throws. And his running back, C.J. Gable, rumbled into the end zone twice.
“Going into that week, and every week, we wanted to make sure that we could establish a run and we were able to move the chains and get things going through the air and get down in the red zone,” remembered Harris. “C.J. was able to do a great job making some tough runs. There was one of the runs, I remember thinking, ‘okay, what are we going to call on second down?’ And all of a sudden you see him bolt through and make an amazing plan and get in the end zone.”
The entire game was what Harris described as a heavyweight fight.
“I just remember it being such a slugfest,” he said. “It was such a back and forth feel. We threw punch and they’d throw a punch back. As soon as we’d get a two-score lead, all of a sudden they’d return a kick, they had a few big returns. Then they’d have a timely interception and made it close. Then we thought we’d closed the door and all of a sudden, they had another opportunity.”
Just like the offence was important to the victory, the defence was as well. One of the standout performances for the green and gold was that of Josh Johnson, who had three interceptions in the contest. His last two picks were timely, coming on the final two Montreal possessions of the ball game, stopping any momentum that the Als may have tried to utilize.
“JJ is one of the more underrated DBs in the entire league, in my opinion, and he was able to step up and make some big plays,” Harris said. “It’s just an accumulation of the things he’s been through in his career, the ups and downs and landing on his feet with us and being able to show what kind of a player he was in a big moment.”
You can re-watch this epic playoff matchup in a condensed 40-minute version on Thursday night at 8:00 p.m. ET on CFL.ca.
