Adam Gagnon, CFL.ca
HAMILTON — “I just tried to keep the nose down,” said quarterback Trevor Harris regarding his tactics to attacking the Ticats through the air as the REDBLACKS went on to a 30-13 win.
In a cold and damp setting, the REDBLACKS managed to execute a game plan that found success through the air despite windy conditions swirling through the stadium. Harris completed 23 of his 30 pass attempts for the day while passing for 267 yards and three touchdowns.
The REDBLACKS win also marks the season-sweep of the Ticats after Ottawa finishes the season with a 3-0 record against their East Divison-foe.
“It was very significant tonight,” REDBLACKS head coach Rick Campbell said of belittling the impact the weather played on the game. “The thing we talked about this morning at the hotel is this is the CFL, you’ve got to embrace bad weather and not let it get you off of your game. The biggest thing out of today was when they had the wind, we won those quarters points-wise and that is huge.”
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Locking up the East Division’s No. 1 seed gives the REDBLACKS a pocket full of options when it comes time to how they handle next week as they prepare to close out their regular season at home against the Toronto Argonauts.
When asked on the decision of whether they’ll be resting many of their starters next week, Campbell said, “We’ll choose wisely and make sure we’re as healthy as we can for the playoff game.”
Campbell went on to say that it’ll likely be decided on Sunday whether or not the REDBLACKS elect to rest any players, and who if they do. It’ll provide the REDBLACKS an opportunity to utilize the situation they have ahead of them with now earning a first-round bye for the playoffs, awaiting the winner of the Eastern Semi-Final as the REDBLACKS will play host for the Eastern Final.
“It’s big. You can ask any player who’s played 18 games, or 20 games including the pre-season,” Campbell said of just how important that first-round bye is to his team. “It’s a lot of football to be playing”
“It’s huge,” Ottawa quarterback Trevor Harris said following his team’s win. “Just for us to be able to lick our wounds, get some guys back who haven’t been quite as healthy, and being able to self-access and get some time to evaluate.”
The achievement of clinching the division is a testament of the tenacity towards their game plan that the REDBLACKS have been playing with lately, addressing many critics who had Ottawa written off midway through the season as they faced some troubling times.
“I think if you ask any team, they go through these phases of ups and downs,” Campbell said. “Some pretty good teams in this league have all experienced it, and I think a lot of it has to do with parity and the talent level. You really have to be playing at the top of your game to beat anybody in this league. Hamilton came into this back-to-back on a real high, and they’re still a good football team, but I think that’s just the life and the way it is in the CFL with the parity right now.”
“One game from the show,” as Harris put it following the win as the REDBLACKS look forward to hosting the Eastern Final. Having said that, Harris and the REDBLACKS know the season isn’t over, and also address the work that still lies ahead of them.
“By no means is the sentence finished. There’s no period yet. The sentence is still going, we’ve just put a comma in there.”
