From worst to first—for the first time in 34 years, an Ottawa football team is headed to play for the Grey Cup.
“We are a team,” said Redblacks quarterback Henry Burris. “We stick together—no matter when our backs are against the wall, regardless what the scenario, we continue to believe and that’s why we’ve been successful.”
On Nov. 7, the Redblacks faced the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in their final regular season game, winning 44-28, and putting them in the first place spot for the Eastern Division.
This gave them a berth to the semi-final playoff game.
After winning the quarter-final match against the Toronto Argonauts, the Tiger-Cats prepared to again face the Ottawa Redblacks in the semifinal match-up.
The Redblacks hosted the Tiger-Cats on Nov. 22 at TD Place. It was an exciting, sold out game, with over 25,000 fans in attendance.
The first quarter had points all over the board from both teams. The game started off with a 10-yard field goal by Tiger-Cats’ Justin Medlock. A few minutes later, Redblacks receiver Will Powell made a two-yard run for a touchdown. Chris Milo kicked to add the extra point, making it a 7-3 lead for Ottawa.
Jeremiah Masoli answered back with a two-yard touchdown, and Medlock added the extra point, putting the Tiger-Cats in the lead 10-7 at the end of the first.
The second quarter went back-and-forth, starting with a nine-yard touchdown from Ottawa quarterback Henry Burris, and conversion from Milo.
The Tiger-Cats also got a touchdown, keeping it a three-point game with Hamilton taking the lead. Hamilton gave up a safety, and then allowed a field goal by Milo to end the first half of the game.
Ottawa regained the lead 19-17.
The Redblacks took over in the third quarter, with a 34-yard field goal and a 45-yard field goal by Milo. The Tiger-Cats did not manage to put any more points up on the board.
Many people were on edge during the fourth quarter as the Tiger-Cats made a big comeback, getting a field goal, which was matched with another field goal by Milo, a safety, and another touchdown.
The game was tied 28-28 with 1:34 left on the clock.
The power duo of Burris and receiver Greg Ellingson put a plan together. Sitting at second and 25, on their own 17-yard line, Burris threw down the sidelines where Ellingson was waiting along with a Hamilton defender. Ellingson made the catch, and came down with the ball. He stiff-armed the defender who was standing in his way and ran towards the end zone, leaving everyone else behind him.
“I knew that was pretty much it,” Ellingson said, remembering what it felt like to have his teammates running towards the end zone, and tackling him in celebration.
“If you throw a 50/50 ball, all of a sudden it isn’t a 50/50 ball because most of the time [Ellingson] comes down with it,” Redblacks head coach Rick Campbell said. “This game came down to who could make one more play than the other team.”
The game came down to Ellingson’s 93-yard catch and run touchdown. The final score was 35-28 for the Redblacks.
Although the excitement of winning a game like this is hard to contain, the Redblacks now have one more game to focus on—this will be the biggest game the Redblacks have played since joining the CFL in 2014.
“We want to make sure we make the most of the opportunity and try to find a way to win one more football game. Then we will be where we want to be,” Campbell said.
The Redblacks will take on Western Divison champions, the Edmonton Eskimos, with the 103rd Grey Cup on the line. The game will take place on Nov. 28 in Winnipeg.
