Johany Jutras/CFL.ca
OTTAWA — DeVier Posey couldn’t stop smiling in the aftermath of the 105th Grey Cup presented by Shaw.
Beyond his MVP performance, and beyond his team’s championship victory, the Cincinnati, Oh. native embraced the pure Canadiana of Sunday’s snow-covered title game.
“I remember watching clips of (Doug) Flutie when he won with the Argonauts and it was snowing,” said Posey following Toronto’s Grey Cup victory at TD Place in the nation’s capital. “And I (wondered) what would it be like to hoist the cup with snow outside — when snow came out after warmups, it was picturesque. One of those things you’ll never forget.”
The Ohio State product hauled in a game-high 175 yards — including a Grey Cup-record 100-yard touchdown reception — en route to the victory.
“Intrinsic joy and extrinsic joy,” exhaled Posey. “Just a dopamine release. Wow. I don’t know what to say…it’s just amazing — I love (that) group of guys, I’m so happy for them (and) so happy to be a part of it.”
Though Calgary’s fourth-quarter drive had the Argos on their heels, Toronto bent but never broke — Cassius Vaughn’s ridiculous 100-plus-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown turned the game on its head, and the rest is history.
“I’ll be honest, I was nervous on the field when Jordan made that catch at the end,” admitted Posey. “But our leader, Coach Trestman, said if we could get that close in the fourth quarter, with our backbone…(and) with Ricky Ray. Who doesn’t want to drive with two minutes left with that guy?”
Posey pointed to his veteran quarterback’s calm demeanour as a key factor down the stretch.
“Coach Trestman calls it a 57-plus-three game, and we talk about those plus-three minutes — you can line up any roster…but I feel like Ricky Ray has to be the leader in game-winning drives this season,” continued Posey. “He’s so calm, his vibrations echo through the whole offence.”
Echo they did on Sunday: From the trusting second-quarter deep bomb that took them from goal line to goal line, to the drive that set up Lirim Hajrullahu’s game-winning field goal with 53 seconds left, Ray — and his offensive teammates — were cool, calm and collected en route to a Grey Cup that seemed unlikely on opening day.
