A trip to the 106th Grey Cup is on the line when the Hamilton Tiger-Cats battle the Ottawa Redblacks Sunday afternoon in the Canadian Football League’s East Division Final.
Kickoff at TD Place Stadium in Ottawa is at 1 p.m. Listeners can tune in to The 5th Quarter‘s post-game show at 5 p.m. on Global News Radio 900 CHML, head online to listen at 900chml.com or log on to the Radioplayer Canada app. Fans can also watch the show on CHML’s Facebook page.
The Redblacks enter the game as clear favourites after finishing in first place in the East, thanks in large part to sweeping their three-game regular season series against Hamilton.
Ottawa beat the Ticats 21-15 on July 28, and completed the sweep by taking a home-and-home series on Oct. 19 and 27 by scores of 35-31 and 30-13. Rookie of the year and special teams player of the year candidate Lewis Ward led the Redblacks by converting all 10 of his field goal attempts against Hamilton, including a 7-for-7 game in their first meeting.
Redblacks quarterback Trevor Harris will try to lead his team back to the Grey Cup for the first time since they won it all in 2016 with Henry Burris at QB. Harris will rely heavily on receiver and Most Outstanding Canadian nominee Brad Sinopoli, as well as receivers Greg Ellingson and Diontae Spencer, to break down Hamilton’s No. 2 defence.
The Ticats, led by Most Outstanding Player nominee Jeremiah Masoli, had the No. 1 offence in the CFL by averaging 405 yards per game and was one of only three teams to score more than 500 points in 2018. Winnipeg and Calgary, the two teams meeting in Sunday’s West Final, were the others.
Masoli had a career year in his first full season as Hamilton’s starting pivot, throwing for 5,209 yards (second in the CFL) and 28 touchdowns (third).
After blasting the B.C. Lions 48-8 in last week’s Eastern Semifinal, the Cats travel to Ottawa on a high note and will be looking to book their first trip to the Grey Cup since 2014. Hamilton last won the title in 1999.
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