The Edmonton Eskimos are in a position to make CFL history on Sunday afternoon, if they reach the Grey Cup game as the crossover team.
The Eskimos are one win away from making history and to do that they will have beat the CFL’s best team in the regular season: the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the East Final on Sunday from Tim Horton’s Field.
This will be the third East Final appearance for the Eskimos, who lost both the 2008 and 2016 Finals.
Last week the Eskimos advanced with a 37-29 win over the Montreal Alouettes in the East Semi-Final from Molson Stadium in Montreal.
Trevor Harris set two playoff records in the win. The first was 22 straight completions eclipsing his own record set in the 2018 East Final of 14. Harris also recorded the highest completion percentage in a playoff game at 92.3 per cent.
Overall Harris completed 36 of 39 passes for 421 yards passing and three for one touchdown pass and one interception.
Running back C.J. Gable scored two touchdowns and has eight touchdowns in six career playoff games.
Fullback Calvin McCarty caught one touchdown pass.
Defensive back Josh Johnson recorded three interceptions, becoming the first player to accomplish the feat in the CFL since the 1986 season.
Listen below
Eskimos head coach Jason Maas on the play of Josh Johnson and a depleted secondary vs. the Montreal Alouettes in the East Semi-Final.
The Eskimos will face a team in the Tiger-Cats that had the best record in the CFL in the regular season at 15-3 and had the best home record in the league at 9-0.
The Tiger-Cats are first in the CFL in average points scored game at 30.8 and average points allowed per game at 19.1.
The Eskimos lost both regular season meetings with the Tiger-Cats in the regular season, a 30-27 loss back on September 20 in Edmonton and a 42-12 loss in Hamilton on October 4.
Quarterback Trevor Harris didn’t play in either game as he was dealing with an injury to his throwing arm. The Tiger-Cats managed to record eight sacks on backup quarterback Logan Kilgore in the two meetings. The Eskimos allowed the fewest sack in the regular season with 25.
Trevor Harris was only sacked eight times in the game he played. The Eskimos finished tied for the league-lead in sacks with 56 while the Tiger-Cats finished second with 54 sacks.
Listen below
Eskimos quarterback Trevor Harris on what he expects from the Tiger-Cats defence.
The Eskimos will make three changes to their roster for Sunday’s game. Receiver Kevin Elliott, offensive lineman Josiah St. John, and linebacker Blair Smith have been added to the active roster. Defensive lineman Stefan Charles, offensive lineman Eric Lofton, and receiver Harry McMaster will come off the roster.
The following is the projected offensive and defensive starters for the Eskimos:
Offence
Quarterback: Trevor Harris
Running back: C.J. Gable (Fullback: Calvin McCarty)
Offensive line: Kyle Saxelid-Jacob Ruby-David Beard-Matt O’Donnell-Colin Kelly
Receivers: DaVaris Daniels-Ricky Collins Jr.-Natey Adjei-Greg Ellingson-Tevaun Smith
Defence
Defensive line: Kwaku Boateng-Almondo Sewell-Mike Moore-Nick Usher
Linebackers: Jovan Santos-Knox-Larry Dean-Don Unamba
Defensive backs: Tyquwan Glass-Josh Johnson-Jordan Hoover-Brian Walker-Godfrey Onyeka
You can catch Sunday’s East Final between the Eskimos and Tiger-Cats on 630 CHED starting with Countdown to Kick-off at 9:30 a.m.
The opening kick-off from Tim Horton’s Field in Hamilton is at 11a.m., with Morley Scott and Dave Campbell calling all of the live action. Plus, hear analysis from former Edmonton Eskimos offensive lineman and two-time Grey Cup champion Blake Dermott.
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