Kyle Myers
Ticats.ca
It’s only fitting that in a season where they played every home game on an adopted field – Alumni Stadium at the University of Guelph – the Tiger-Cats would find a way to make one more stadium their home.
A crowd of over 35,000 watched the Tiger-Cats defeat the Toronto Argonauts at the Rogers Centre, the majority of whom, it seemed, were cheering on the black and gold. From the audible chants of ‘Oskee Wee Wee,’ to the Ticats defence imploring the crowd to make noise on Toronto possessions, The Eastern Final was a home game for the Argonauts in venue alone.
“It was unbelievable our fan support,” said Head Coach Kent Austin, who will make his second Grey Cup appearance as a Coach in Regina. “I thought we were playing at home when we had the ball in the fourth quarter. It was quite a turnout by TigerTown.”
Linebacker Brandon Isaac, who played in his fair share of games at the Rogers Centre as a member of the Argonauts, was also blown away by the Hamilton faithful.
“Last time I saw it this loud was last year during the championship,” said Isaac. “It was electric. The fans came out and showed their support, and we needed it. I just want to give them our thanks for sticking with us the whole season.”
The Ticats looked to be in trouble early, trailing by fourteen points with just under three minutes left in the first half. But the team never quit, and Burris drove his team on a 75 yard, nine play drive to close the Argos lead to just a touchdown.
“It was huge to have that momentum going into halftime, I think psychologically,” said Austin. “Henry just found a way to move the sticks. He has the knack to put the game on his shoulders when he needs to.”
“Talking to the guys at halftime, talking to the staff, I looked at the group and it just seemed like we had a group of guys that didn’t waver, didn’t flinch,” he continued. “It’s what they’ve done all year long. We just had a second half where we executed against a really good football team.”
The touchdown before halftime proved to be just the shot of adrenaline that the Tiger-Cats needed, as they proved unstoppable on both offence and defence in the second half. Burris started the third quarter with another touchdown drive to tie the game at 24, and the Ticat defence shored up their efforts against Ray, allowing just two first downs and 56 yards of net offence in the entire second half.
“We started blitzing him more, making him move around more,” said Isaac. “Shout out to the defensive coordinator for making some good adjustments at halftime, we just came out and made some plays.”
For defensive captain Jamall Johnson, his team’s ability to come out in the second half and get the come from behind win seemed like an inevitability.
“We’ve been here before,” Johnson said. “We started the season 1–4, the first game of the season we had a chance to beat these guys in the last second. We knew we had to come out and play better ball in the second half. I don’t think there was anyone on the sideline who doubted that we’d win this game even though we were down.”
With the win, the Tiger-Cats have clinched their first Grey Cup appearance since 1999, and did so against their most bitter rival. Now they’ll head into Regina, a city that several Tiger-Cats know very well, to take on either the Roughriders or the Stampeders at Mosaic Stadium.
“Can’t wait,” said Austin with a smile, on heading back to the city where he’s won Grey Cups as both a player and a coach. “It’s a football town, and the show they’ll put on for the Cup will be outstanding.”
“Grey Cup in Regina is what this league’s all about,” said receiver Andy Fantuz, who won a Grey Cup in 2007 with Austin as a Rider. “It’s going to be special. It’ll be hostile, but it epitomizes the CFL.”
