Burris leads Redblacks into Grey Cup game

The Ottawa RedBlacks defeated the Hamilton Tiger Cats 35-28, and the Edmonton Eskimos were 45-31 winners over the Calgary Stampeders in Sunday’s CFL Division Finals.

“The way I’m looking at this is these guys have been the East champions the last two years, so until someone knocks them out, they’re the champions”, said Campbell.

Masoli, who began the season fourth on Hamilton’s depth chart, was much sharper against Ottawa than he was in last weekend’s victory over Toronto. Hamilton released the 14-year veteran Burris prior to the 2014 season (he played in Hamilton in 2012 and 2013) and was signed by the expansion Redblacks in 2014 while Ellingson was not re-signed by Hamilton after the 2014 season (he played in Hamilton in 2013 and 2014) and was signed by the Redblacks as Campbell continued to “put together the missing pieces”.

“The hit was what it was, we knew exactly what he was trying to do”, Burris said. “You just field the best team that you can, which we’re going to do and they’re going to do their thing, and away you go”.

Lawrence engaged in a war of words with Burris following the incident but wasn’t biting Saturday. “This has become the real deal here; there’s a genuine energy here, really good vibes, and I was so proud of the city and the fans”.

“I was only 10 and I’ll be rooting for the Ottawa team this time. I’m not anxious about what that man says”. The Redblacks took the first two games – including a 44-28 home win November 7, en route to posting a 12-6 record to finish atop the East Division.

Will Powell and Burris had Ottawa’s other touchdowns. They won two straight against Hamilton to end the season, officially claiming their first East Division title since re-entering the league. (The original Ottawa Rough Riders franchise folded in 1996, and the revamped Ottawa Renegades never made the playoffs in their brief 2002-2005 history, so the Redblacks are heading down a long-dusty trail here.) Interestingly enough, that 1981 game saw the Eskimos (coached by Hugh Campbell, and quarterbacked by Warren Moon) barely edge the 22.5-point underdog Rough Riders (who were just 5-11 that year!) 26-23.

“What we went through a year ago, there’s a lot of hunger in this locker room”, said Burris. “For me to have a chance to be a part of building a team from the ground up would be truly special because it’s something that not many people in their career ever have the chance to accomplish”.

The Grey Cup is next Sunday at Investors Group Field in Winnipeg.

While the REDBLACKS look to continue their storybook season, the Ticats hope to flip the script. They were the class of the CFL through the first half of the season but a season-ending ACL injury to Zach Collaros provided a challenging setback. “We’re going to soak it all up”, Ellingson said.

“And at the end of the day being successful is the best way you can get back at people”.

“He said don’t leave any bullets (in your gun)”, Edmonton head coach Chris Jones said about his conversation with Parcells last week.

“They brought a few good receivers into this offence – that was key – and the defence has been getting better and better for the last two years”, he said. “We realize it’s a bigger stage and a bigger game but the recipe for winning doesn’t change… that recipe for us is playing fast, playing smart and keeping our money in our pocket”.