CFL DIVISION FINAL SUNDAY

WEST FINAL: CALGARY AT WINNIPEG, 3:30 PM, TSN, 620 CKRM

CALGARY - When you win a lot, says Bo Levi Mitchell, there are those who will find reasons why you shouldn't.

The Calgary Stampeders quarterback is aware CFL fans outside of Calgary would celebrate a Stampeder-free Grey Cup game after Calgary's three trips to the championship game in the last four years.

"We hear the tone of voice used when speaking about us in games, 'Finally, Calgary lost a couple games at the end of the season. Finally, they're not the team everybody thinks they are,''' Mitchell said Saturday.

"We'll show you.''

Calgary (13-5) is the host of the West Division final Sunday for the fifth time in six years.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers stand in the way of a record third consecutive trip to a Grey Cup game for Calgary.

The Stampeders lost to underdogs Toronto and Ottawa in the 2017 and 2016 Grey Cups, respectively.

Winnipeg (10-8) is coming off a 23-18 upset of the host Saskatchewan Roughriders in the division semifinal.

"They just went into Sask, which everyone knows is a tough place to play, and won,'' Calgary linebacker Jamar Wall said. "Now they're coming in here to another tough place. It's one of those things that kind of builds them up.

"At the same time, we have been in these stages before. We've gotten a first-round bye several years. We know how to take it, how to prepare for it and we needed the time off. That extra weeks really helps.''

Prior to a division-clinching win over the B.C. Lions in their regular season-finale, the Stampeders had lost three in a row, including a 29-21 decision against Winnipeg on Oct. 26.

"People have been telling us for the last month that we're not the team we used to be,'' Calgary head coach Dave Dickenson said.

"I think a lot of people had us middle of the road. I think they thought the Stamps were going to be down this year.

"Even as an organization we knew we had to build something. We won a lot of close football games. We worked very hard in the off-season and we believe in what we are as a team and an organization. And we put a lot of wins on the board.

"We also know you're always judged by the post-season.''

Because the Blue Bombers spent long stretches of their history in the East Division, Calgary and Winnipeg will play a divisional playoff game for the first time since 1982.

Calgary beat Winnipeg in the 2001 and 1992 Grey Cups.

Winnipeg's last Grey Cup appearance was in 2011, when the Blue Bombers fell 34-23 to the Lions.

The last team to come out of third place in a division and win the Grey Cup - which requires two road wins and usually another neutral-site victory - was the Edmonton Eskimos in 2005.

"When you look at the overall picture of it, it can seems like this big thing, but really it was this week, 'we gotta go into Regina and beat Saskatchewan. That games is over with. Now we have to win one game on the road,'' Winnipeg quarterback Matt Nichols said. "That's my mindset.

"As crazy as it kind of sounds, this game doesn't feel different to me than any other game I've played in. I thought it would.''

The Bombers have won six of their last seven games. Nichols has thrown eight touchdowns and just one interception in that span.

"We've felt like we've been playing playoff games for two months now,'' Nichols said.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers at Calgary Stampeders

Sunday, McMahon Stadium

KEY MATCHUP: Winnipeg running back Andrew Harris, the CFL's rushing leader (1,390 yards) versus Calgary middle linebacker Alex Singleton, the league leader in tackles (123).

AMBLES STAYS IN: Dickenson opted to stick with rookie receiver Markeith Ambles for Sunday's game. The more experienced DaVaris Daniels was back practising after missing six games with a broken collarbone.

EARLY LEAD INDICATOR: Calgary and Winnipeg are a combined 35-6 over 2017 and 2018 when leading after the first quarter, and 9-13 when not.

THE HITMAN COMETH: Bret (The Hitman) Hart addressed the Stampeders on Saturday morning. The Stampeders invited the former professional wrestler to speak after Ric (Nature Boy) Flair supported the Ticats in the East Division semifinal.

"What he represents is what we want to represent,'' Dickenson said. "We want to be tied into this community and want people to rally around the Calgary Stampeders and believe we're an important part of this city. Bret Hart is all of that.''
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EAST FINAL: HAMILTON AT OTTAWA, 12:00 PM, TSN

OTTAWA - The time for talking is over for Simoni Lawrence and Delvin Breaux.

The Hamilton linebacker and cornerback were all business Saturday when discussing the Tiger-Cats' East Division final showdown with Ottawa on Sunday afternoon. There's been much talk of the Redblacks sweeping the season series 3-0 but Breaux had heard enough when he took to the podium at TD Place.

"You know I'm blessed and thankful to have this opportunity,'' said Breaux, who returned to Hamilton this season after three years with the NFL's New Orleans Saints. "It's time to play, man.

"There's been enough talking. It's time to play.''

The usually gregarious Lawrence was also very matter of fact on Saturday.

"Yeah man, I just feel like it's one of those games where everything starts brand new,'' said a straight-faced Lawrence. "We're 1-0, let's just play football.

"I feel like they've still got tendencies. We've got players back there ready to play and I feel like it's about us this week. If we all play to our highest potential of football we won't have any problems.''

But Ottawa quarterback Trevor Harris presented Hamilton with plenty of problems during the regular season. He completed 70-of-97 passes (72.2 per cent) for 836 yards with four TDs and no interceptions against the Ticats and threw for 1,895 passing yards with 11 TDs and two interceptions over his last six starts.

Harris was the CFL's most accurate passer (70.1 per cent) this season and set career highs in completions (431), attempts (615) and passing yards (5,116). He also had 22 touchdown strikes against 11 interceptions.

"Trevor is a very accurate passer and when he has time he can do damage,'' said Ottawa head coach Rick Campbell. "We need to make sure we're dynamic in what we're doing on offence and be able to run the ball, play action and do those things.

"If people want to pressure or blitz, you have to make them pay. I'm a defensive co-ordinator by trade and you love blitzing when you're on defence but at the same time there is some risk to it and so if that's something they choose to do we need to make sure we can hit some deep shots on them.''

Harris has no shortage of capable receivers. Brad Sinopoli (116 catches, 1,376 yards four TDs) anchors a receiving corps that also includes Greg Ellingson (91 catches, 1,086 yards, five TDs) and Diontae Spencer (81 catches, 1,007 yards, seven TDs).

Sinopoli's receptions total was a CFL single-season record for a Canuck and he's a finalist for the league's top Canadian honour for a second straight year. In the 2015 East final, it was Ellingson's late 93-yard TD grab that earned Ottawa a thrilling 35-28 home win over Hamilton.

However, Ottawa's William Powell was the CFL's second-leading rusher with 1,362 yards and six TDs. The five-foot-nine, 207-pound Powell averaged a solid 5.43 yards per carry and added 39 catches for 219 yards and two touchdowns.

"That's been the cool thing about this year that we've been able to produce both ways most of the time,'' Harris said. "We've just to make sure we're able to establish the run and be able to use every phase of our offensive game to our advantage.''

Hamilton linebacker Larry Dean, the East Division's top defensive player nominee with 106 total tackles, said Ottawa's offence forces an opposing defence to be thorough in its approach.

"You have to play a total game,'' he said. "We just have to be disciplined.

"We have a great gameplan and we just have to go out and execute it.''

Hamilton's defence was ranked third against the pass (247.7 yards per game) and in fewest offensive yards allowed (334.4). Breaux remains one of the CFL's top cornerbacks but Jumal Rolle will miss a second straight start after suffering an Achilles injury prior to the Ticats' 48-8 East Division semifinal win over B.C. last weekend.

Freddie Williams, who had a pick-six against B.C., will again start in Rolle's position Sunday

Hamilton's Jeremiah Masoli, the East Division nominee for the CFL's top player award, threw for 259 yards and three TDs against B.C., averaging a season-best 13.6 yards per attempt. Masoli was the CFL's second-leading passer with 5,209 yards this season, his first full campaign as a starter.

Masoli completed 74-of-120 passes (58.3 per cent) for 937 yards with four TDs and four interceptions versus Ottawa. He also was Hamilton's starter in the '15 East final.

"It almost feels like a lifetime ago,'' he said. "Obviously we're a completely different team, they're a very different team to.

"(Sunday) is it's own game. It's a one-game season, it's the East championship.``

Veteran Luke Tasker had two of Masoli's three TD strikes against B.C. but it was youngster Bralon Addison who impressed, registering five catches for 124 yards. Hamilton's receiving corps has lost Shamawd Chambers, Chris Williams, Brandon Banks, Jalen Saunders and Terrence Toliver to injury this season.

Ottawa rookie Lewis Ward will appear in his first CFL playoff game. The Redblacks kicker has made a pro football record 48 straight field goals and 51-of-52 this season (league mark 98.1 per cent), including 16 from beyond 40 yards.

Sunday's forecast is for partly sunny skies with a high of -3 C and 14 kilometre-an-hour winds. Ward, the East nominee for top rookie and special-teams player, said he's ready for the cooler conditions.

"The goal and trick is to stay as warm as possible on the sidelines,'' he said. "But the ball is a little harder, it doesn't quite have that jump.

"But realistically if I keep doing the same thing I've been doing all year then the ball should travel pretty well.''

Ottawa will play its first game since a 24-9 home win over Toronto on Nov. 2. The Redblacks ended their regular season with three straight wins - including two over Hamilton - to finish atop the East Division with an 11-7 record.

Hamilton dropped its final three regular-season contests before dispatching B.C.

Hamilton Tiger-Cats at Ottawa Redblacks

Sunday, TD Place Stadium

KEY MATCH-UP: Ottawa receiving corps vs Hamilton secondary. The Redblacks' receiving corps features three 1,000-yard performers in Brad Sinopoli (116 catches, 1,376 yards, four TDs), Greg Ellingson (91 catches, 1,086 yards, five TDs) and Diontae Spencer (81 catches, 1,007 yards, seven TDs). Hamilton was ranked third against the pass this season (247.7 yards per game) but cornerback Jumal Rolle will miss a second straight start after suffering an Achilles injury prior to the Ticats' 48-8 East Division semifinal win over B.C. Freddie Williams, who had a pick-six versus the Lions, gets the start at cornerback.

THE BIG NUMBER: 3 - Ottawa swept the season series with Hamilton 3-0.

WHO'S HOT: Ottawa quarterback Trevor Harris had a solid regular season with career highs in completions (431), attempts (615) and passing yards (5,116) in 17 games. He also had 22 touchdowns with 11 interceptions. Hamilton receiver Bralon Addison had five catches for 124 yards against B.C., his first-ever CFL playoff game.

WHO'S NOT: Hamilton kicker Lirim Hajrullahu made 46-of-52 field goals (85.2 per cent) but missed a CFL-high five converts (41-of-46, 89.1 per cent). The league average was 93 per cent (304-of-327).

(Canadian Press)

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