Hamilton Tiger-Cats healthy for East semifinal in Alouettes’ nest
Published November 5, 2022 at 2:36 pm
The Dane Evans-quarterbacked Hamilton Tiger-Cats look healthy as they vie to go where no third-place East team has gone in a while — the Grey Cup.
The Tiger-Cats and Montréal Alouettes’ posted lineups show both teams have all hands on deck for a do-or-done CFL East Division semifinal on Sunday (Nov. 6, 1 p.m., TSN/RDS/AM900CHML/Ticats Audio Network). Hamilton will have its first-choice defence — including interior D-lineman Micah Johnson — which has been the backbone of a four-win streak dressed out to face Montréal and veteran QB Trevor Harris, the CFL’s career playoff leader in passing yards per game. Offensively, the Wes Hills-Sean Thomas Erlington combo will lead in the rushing phase to complement Evans and 1,000-yard receivers Tim White and Steven Dunbar Jr.
Johnson (back) was listed on injury reports but is starting in a game where Hamilton will have to try to stymie the Alouettes’ William Stanback-led rushing game and put Harris in obvious second-down passing situations. Veteran offensive tackle Chris Van Zeyl (hip), a 14-season veteran who has been out much of the season, is also listed as a backup to starting right tackle Colin Kelly.
Dunbar Jr., White, and big-bodied slotback Anthony Johnson will have two nationals alongside them in the receiving corps. Lemar Durant is listed at the field-side wideout spot and Hamilton native Tyler Ternowski will work from the three-receiver slotback spot.
The Alouettes, who earned a home playoff game by going 7-3 over their final 10 games and taking the season series (2-1) against Hamilton for the first time since 2015, are nicked-up defensively. Alouettes linebacker Micah Awe (shoulder) and defensive backs Raheem Wilson (knee) and Greg Reid (knee) have all been ruled out for Sunday’s matchup.
The winner moves on to face the Toronto Argonauts in the East final at BMO Field on Nov. 13. The Grey Cup game is in Regina on Nov. 20.
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The home team won in all three Hamilton-Montréal regular-season matchups, and each outcome was in doubt for 59 out of the 60 minutes. Harris, who also faced Hamilton in the 2018, ’19 and ’21 playoffs, directed late go-ahead drives in both Alouettes’ home wins against the Tiger-Cats.
Hamilton edged the Alouettes by a seven-point margin in the lone affray at Tim Hortons Field on July 28. Harris had Montréal driving to potentially tie the game (or win with a touchdown and two-point convert) when he was removed from competition by the CFL injury spotters after a hit. Tiger-Cats’ all-star linebacker Kameron Kelly then intercepted backup QB Dominique Davis to wrap up the win.
History primer
It has been more than a half-century since the last time that a third-place East Division team won two road games to advance to the Grey Cup. But history does not factor in on the field. The Tiger-Cats also won out to get into the playoffs after a 4-10 start where standouts such as wide receivers Bralon Addison and Papi White, defensive tackle Dylan Wynn and centre Alex Fontana were lost to season-ending injuries.
The last third-place team to rep the East in the Grey Cup was the 1970 Alouettes. who defeated the Toronto Argonauts in the semifinal and defeated the Tiger-Cats in a two-game total-point East final. The Alouettes, led by quarterback Sonny Wade, defeated Calgary in what was the final Grey Cup game played on a Saturday.
In the half-century since, eight third-place West teams have road-warriored their way to go to the championship. Only two — the 1997 Saskatchewan Roughriders and 2000 B.C. Lions — also had a losing record, posting 8-10 finishes identical to Hamilton this season.
Five of the eight won the Grey Cup, including the 2019 Winnipeg Blue Bombers, who defeated Hamilton.
Those 2000 Lions were the first of three teams to win the Grey Cup after having a losing record in the regular season. The two most recent teams each enjoyed a home playoff game.
The 2001 Calgary Stampeders also finished 8-10 but finished in second place. Calgary hosted the West semifinal at the start of a Cup run that wasc capped by a Grey Cup upset win against Winnipeg, who was quarterbacked by present-day Tiger-Cats football operations consultant Khari Jones (who started this season as head coach in Montréal).
The 2016 Ottawa Redblacks were 8-9-1, but that was good enough to top the East. Ottawa defeated Edmonton in the East final, then outlasted a 15-2-1 Calgary team in overtime at the Grey Cup.
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