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Tiger-Cats’ surprise season ends with disappointing Grey Cup loss to Roughriders
REGINA – It didn’t end with a Grey Cup title as they hoped, but the Hamilton Tiger-Cats certainly gave their fans a memorable season.
It was a strange year with their home games being played in Guelph, Ont., saw a strong finish to the regular season, a somewhat surprising playoff run, and finally, a disappointing 45-23 loss to the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the 101st Grey Cup. Though few pundits picked the Tiger-Cats to beat the Riders on their home field, most expected a closer game. The Riders set a Grey Cup record by scoring 31 first-half points and never really let the Tiger-Cats back in.
“We didn’t execute very well,” Ticats head coach Kent Austin said. “For the most part the protection was decent, against a strong team like that they’re eventually going to get to the quarterback. We just didn’t throw and catch the ball very well today like we have.”
The loss is another interesting turn in Austin’s history with the Roughriders. Austin was the quarterback of the 1989 Grey Cup champion Roughriders team. He was the head coach of the 2007 championship team. The man’s picture hangs on a banner on the wall outside Mosaic Stadium. This homecoming didn’t work out the way he planned. But he still acknowledged the importance of the Riders’ win.
It’s great for the team, it’s great for the province, it’s good for the league,” Austin said. “We want every team to be strong and successful. Saskatchewan certainly is a shining light.”
Both Austin and quarterback Henry Burris said the team wasn’t able to execute consistently. The Ticats only had 57 yards rushing. Their net offence was only 284 yards compared to the Riders’ 497. They turned the ball over three times.
“We had a great feeling coming into this game that we could get it done,” Burris, another former Rider, said. “We had a lot of opportunities but they made plays and we didn’t make plays.
“They kicked our butts today. They’re Grey Cup champions for a reason.”
The Ticats knew that playing in front of a pumped up and raucous Mosaic Stadium crowd would be a challenge. But the noise and hostility wasn’t a factor in the game.
“The crowd didn’t really play anything into it,” Burris said. “We did have the one miscommunication with the snap. Besides that, it was just our execution. They executed and we didn’t.”
Burris, at 38 years old, is a veteran on an otherwise young, up and coming team. Austin said the team can learn from this loss.
“The most important thing is we evaluate where we’re at, how we got here, where the deficiencies are,” Austin said. “How can we get those shored up and get better as a football team, and build toward a championship-quality football team.”
“Our team battled our butts off this year,” Burris added. “For me, how many more years do I have? It doesn’t feel easy, with each game you lose. It’s very disappointing.”
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