Five things to watch in Grey Cup contest

Reilly’s three-yard pass to Akeem Shavers for the two-point convert erased a 20-18 advantage.

Price, now 30, was the first veteran CFL receiver acquired during the offseason in a bid to spice up the offence led by Burris and also the first Redblacks player to publicly guarantee a playoff spot.

In the first quarter, the Redblacks took an early 13-0 lead with touchdowns on their first two possessions before momentum shifted in Edmonton’s favour.

An Ottawa CFL team hadn’t been to the CFL title game since 1981, when the Rough Riders lost 26-23 to the Eskimos.

“It’s been nothing but an Ottawa love-fest for four days straight and the Eskimos are getting no respect”, said Matthew Machado, 28. And while the Grey Cup will always be dwarfed by the Super Bowl, we Canadians should remember that our game was into proper halftime spectacles before the NFL. Ottawa Redblacks fans gathered for a photo, booing a heavily painted Edmonton Eskimos fan who photobombed the group.

The game didn’t start well for Edmonton. The only thing left is to actually play the big game on Sunday.

Edmonton responded with a 25-yard Sean Whyte field goal, then got a Burris interception on a awful under-throw and turned that into points as well, with Mike Reilly connecting with Adarius Bowman for the score.

The game was a disappointment for Redblacks fans who thought their team might be crowned champions at the end of their second season.

The 2012 Grey Cup Festival generated $133 million in economic activity in Ontario and $94.7 million in Toronto, according to research from the Canadian Sports Tourism Alliance.

The heralded Edmonton defence is influenced by head coach and defensive guru Chris Jones and led up front by one of the most outgoing characters in the league, defensive end Odell Willis. “You know what, they’re good players and I’m sure whatever ball the CFL deems to put out there that we’ll be able to handle it. If you think about it, they all have to kick the same balls”.

Ottawa went ahead 19-17 in the third on another Milo field goal.

Ottawa capped off a 72 yard opening drive of the game with a 3 yard Henry Burris pass to Patrick Lavoie. One of the Stampeders touchdown horses was allowed on the sidelines at the Rogers Centre but wasn’t permitted to gallop along the sidelines when Calgary scored due to safety concerns and a lack of space.

The six-point lead after the touchdown was enough for Edmonton in what had been an offensively challenging second half for both teams.

On the season, Lynch was 3 for 4 passing with 14 yards and a touchdown and had 40 rushes for 156 yards and five touchdowns.