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“Right now, this loss hurts and it’s gonna hurt for awhile,” said Zach Collaros, standing in the middle of the Hamilton Ticats’ locker room.
The third year CFL veteran had, moments before, wrapped up his first full season as a starting quarterback, walking off the field after his team’s 20-16 loss in the 102nd Grey Cup.
He, like the rest of his Hamilton teammates, were trying to come to grips with what seemed a win becoming a loss when punt returner Brandon Banks’ last minute, 90 yard race to the Calgary end zone was called back on a blocking infraction.
In what has become fairly well known as typical Collaros fashion, the 26-year-old pronounced that, while the lingering sting would colour the lives of he and his teammates for a time, it was full steam ahead on facing the future instead of lamenting the past.
“It’s not gonna be on our minds,” he said. “We’re football players. We’re gonna train, we’re gonna try to improve upon our craft every single day.”
In his maiden year as a number one pivot, Collaros has shown he’s pure nails behind centre, recovering from an early season concussion to will the
Tiger-Cats back into form and back into the Grey Cup. His performance in the championship game was much more than solid, after a slow start. With a quarterback rating of 118.5, Collaros’ Grey Cup numbers included 342 passing yards on 25 completions (33 attempts).
The one blight on his night? Red zone finish. “You gotta score touchdowns in this league,” he said.
With just one touchdown strike, the Ticats’ were forced to stop short and settle for field goals (3 of them) for a good portion of the game. Stampeders’ defensive coordinator Rich Stubler likes to force opponents into lengthy drives, hoping for mistakes along the way by the offence. “Hats off to Calgary,” said Collaros,
As a first year Ticat, Collaros knows his disappointment is a different sort than that felt by teammates who lost the Grey Cup game for a second straight year.
“For the guys who were here last year as well… two of these in a row, it’s tough.” But even that kind of sympathy only goes so far with Collaros, who sees the road ahead, not the one behind. “Gotta find a way to get over that hump,” he said.
Not that Collaros doesn’t harbour disappointment over the loss and the way it came down. He’s a big fan of Banks and the abilities the diminutive speedster contributes to the Ticats.
“It’d have been a cool way to end it for Speedy B, Collaros said. “Everything he’s done for us all season long.”
“I hope to keep him around because he’s a dynamic player, offensive and special teams wise.”
Keeping Banks in the Ticat fold would be a rather large goal of the organization during this off-season.
Another, according to Collaros, would be to emotionally, psychologically, put the memories of what could have been behind them.
“I would hope that people aren’t waking up every day thinking about referees and of penalty flags,” he said of his teammates. “Now it’s on the players, in the off-season to do their jobs and the ones that do it the right way are the ones that get back here.”
“I always thought this was a championship team, like I’ve said before. We are a championship team and every day in the off-season while we’re working, that’s got to be our goal.”
What’s done is done. For Collaros, it seems it’s always eyes forward.
