The 2011 regular season – a hard-fought, 19-week campaign that featured unprecedented parity across the league – is in the books and six teams have earned the right to advance into the postseason for a shot at the Grey Cup.
The Ticats finished third in the East and will head to Montreal to face the Alouettes in the Eastern Semi-Final at Olympic Stadium next Sunday, November 13 at 1pm.
The winner of the Eastern Semi-Final will move on to the Eastern Final in Winnipeg with a berth in the 99th Grey Cup on the line.
The Ticats split the season series with Montreal 2-2, including a 44-21 victory over the Als on Labour Day.
The Tiger-Cats will be led into Montreal by several players who performed at all-star levels this season.
Defensive end Justin Hickman was a dominant force on the Tiger-Cats defensive line, tying for the league lead with 13 quarterback sacks while also making 49 defensive tackles, and four forced fumbles. Hickman was deservedly honoured as the team’s Most Outstanding Player and Most Outstanding Defensive Player in recognition of his all-star caliber year.
Despite sitting out the final game of the season, linebacker Renauld Williams finished with 91 tackles – fourth most in the CFL – while fellow linebacker Jamall Johnson also chipped in 77 takedowns in just 15 games. Johnson and Williams also made six and five quarterback sacks respectively, teaming with the league’s 2010 Most Outstanding Defensive Player Markeith Knowlton to form the most feared linebacking corps in the league.
Veteran running back Avon Cobourne proved to be a versatile offensive threat, racking up 961 rushing yards and 459 receiving yards. His 1,420 yards from scrimmage were the third-highest total among CFLers. Cobourne also added eight touchdowns this season.
First-year Ticat Chris Williams is the odds-on favourite to win the CFL’s Most Outstanding Rookie award after hauling in 70 passes for 1,064 yards and six touchdowns this season. Williams was recently voted as the CFL’s fastest player in TSN’s annual Player Poll.
Kicker Justin Medlock put together one of the finest seasons by a kicker in Tiger-Cats history, connecting on 49 of 55 field goals (89.1%), punting 119 times for an average of 41.6 yards per punt and registering 5,602 kickoff yards – second most in team history.
A couple of Cats also enjoyed solid seasons on special teams. Marc Beswick led the CFL with 26 special teams tackles, anchoring the team’s excellent special teams unit. Teammate Jonathan Hood ranked third in the CFL with 22 special teams tackles.
Sunday’s Eastern Semi-Final will be broadcast live on TSN and AM 900 CHML.
