The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are heading to the East Division final, thanks in part to head coach Marcel Bellefeuille playing a couple of hunches.
Bellefeuille drew criticism the final month of the regular season for rotating his quarterbacks to give backup Quinton Porter playing time. That prompted suggestions of a quarterback controversy in Hamilton and questions regarding starter Kevin Glenn’s confidence as the team made its late-season playoff push.
Then last weekend, Bellefeuille raised eyebrows when he made popular defensive end Stevie Baggs a healthy scratch in order to get linebacker Jamall Johnson back into the lineup.
But both moves paid off handsomely in Hamilton’s 52-44 overtime win over the defending Grey Cup-champion Montreal Alouettes in the East Division semifinal Sunday.
Glenn left in the fourth quarter after being hit hard by two Montreal defensive linemen. But the offence didn’t miss a beat with Porter, who had a key completion to Chris Williams before capping the drive with a one-yard TD run that put Hamilton ahead 37-30.
More importantly, Porter’s touchdown answered a potential momentum-swinging 75-yard TD touchdown pass from Anthony Calvillo to Eric Deslauriers that pulled Montreal into a 30-30 tie.
Porter and Glenn were key contributors to Hamilton’s first playoff win since 2001. Glenn, who returned the next series, completed 23-of-32 passes for 275 yards with a touchdown and interception. Porter finished 2-of-2 passing for 34 yards and a TD while adding two rushing scores, including the eventual winner in OT.
Johnson had a crucial fumble recovery and interception that set up 10 Hamilton points. Johnson finished with six tackles, a sack, pick and forced fumble.
But Johnson’s return after missing three games with an ankle injury meant Bellefeuille had to take another American starter off his roster. Essentially, he had to choose between Baggs or fellow defensive end Justin Hickman and considering Hickman finished tied for the CFL lead with 13 sacks – Baggs had five – the decision was a no-brainer from a purely football perspective.
There’s no guarantee Baggs will be play Sunday when Hamilton visits the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the East Division final. Baggs’ status will hinge largely on the health of Canadian-born cornerback Ryan Hinds (ankle).
If Hinds can play, that would free up a spot for another American on Hamilton’s 42-man active roster.
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MESSAM INJURED: All eyes will be on tailback Jerome Messam this week as the Edmonton Eskimos prepare to face the B.C. Lions in the West Division final Sunday.
Messam, the West Division nominee as the CFL’s outstanding Canadian, suffered a knee injury in Edmonton’s 33-19 West Division semifinal win over Calgary.
The six-foot-three, 245-pound Messam finished third in CFL rushing this season with 1,057 yards. The Toronto native, who grew up in Brampton, Ont., became the first Canadian-born player to run for more than 1,000 yards since Sean Millington did it for B.C. in 2000.
Messam played against Calgary despite battling back spasms last week. If Messam can’t face the Lions, the Eskimos would look to either American Hugh Charles or Canadian Calvin McCarty to take his spot.
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OOPS!!!: When the Hamilton Tiger-Cats visit Winnipeg for the East Division final this weekend, Jason Boltus should buy Quinton Porter dinner.
Porter’s TD in overtime led Hamilton past the Montreal Alouettes 52-44 in the conference semifinal and took Boltus off the hook for a serious gaffe.
Hamilton had a glorious chance to win the game in regulation as Justin Medlock lined up a 43-yard field goal on the final play. However, the Ticats were called for a time-count violation, pushing Medlock’s attempt back 10 yards.
Medlock’s 53-yard boot sailed wide and Montreal was able to run the ball out of the end zone and force overtime.
In field-goal situations, monitoring the time clock is usually the job of the holder – in this case Boltus. After all, the longsnapper is settled over the ball with his head down while the kicker’s focus is on lining up the kick and going thorough the entire process in his mind before the snap.
The penalty changed everything.
A 43-yard boot is easily within Medlock’s range and even had he missed, the ball would’ve ended up deep in Montreal’s end zone. Alouettes’ kicker Sean Whyte was back to receive but would’ve had to field the ball cleanly and not let it bounce out of bounds for the winning single.
Then he would’ve had to not only set up and boot the ball so it cleared the end zone but also went out of bounds to prevent Hamilton from either trying to return it for a TD or kick it through the end zone.
But there was no such drama when Medlock missed from 53 yards out because Montreal fielded the ball cleanly about five yards deep in the end zone and easily run it out.
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DOUBLE OOPS!!!: Call it the joy of live television.
TSN caught Hamilton slotback Dave Stala’s F-bomb as he celebrated scoring a touchdown in the East Division final.
Stala caught Quinton Porter’s three-yard TD pass in the second quarter of Hamilton’s 52-44 overtime win over the Montreal Alouettes on Sunday.As he came off the field, Stala looked into a sideline camera and dedicated the touchdown to Jacob Rayner, a 17-year-old Ticats fan who is battling cancer.
An excited Stala then followed it up with the expletive, which clearly slipped out but was still very audible to the television audience.
Colourful touchdown celebrations are nothing new for Stala, who in 2010 garnered plenty of airtime on American television for his offbeat hacky-sack dance after catching a TD pass during a game.
NOTES: Anthony Calvillo’s 513-yard passing performance in the East Division semifinal was the second-best total in CFL playoff history. Hamilton’s Tony Curcillo holds the league playoff record of 518 yards, recorded in a 48-41 loss to Montreal on Nov. 17, 1956, which had stood as the CFL’s highest-scoring playoff game before the Ticats’ 52-44 overtime decision over the Alouettes on Sunday . . . Canadian-born tailback Jon Cornish was a bright spot for Calgary in the West Division semifinal, rushing for 127 yards and a TD on 14 carries. Cornish’s emergence as the Stampeders’ starting tailback doesn’t bode well for the future of veteran Joffrey Reynolds, the club’s all-time rushing leader . . . Offensive lineman Obby Khan was named the winner of the Cal Murphy Heart of A Legend award Monday, given annually to the Winnipeg Blue Bomber who best demonstrates sportsmanship and dedication to the CFL and community. It’s the third time Khan, who has spent six of his eight CFL seasons in Winnipeg, has received the honour . . . The finalists for the CFL’s coach of the year award won’t be announced until after the 2011 season, but it’s hard to think of three more deserving candidates than Winnipeg’s Paul LaPolice, Edmonton’s Kavis Reed and Wally Buono of the B.C. Lions. The Bombers were 4-14 in 2010, LaPolice’s first season as head coach before finishing atop the East Division at 10-8 this year. Reed led the Eskimos to an 11-7 record as a rookie head coach. Buono is a three-time winner of the award but came under fire early this season for the Lions’ 0-5 start. B.C. won 11 of its final 13 regular-season games to finish first in the West Division . . . B.C. won the season series with Edmonton 3-1 while Winnipeg swept Hamilton 3-0.
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