Backup quarterback Trevor Harris leads Argonauts to win, keeping playoff hopes alive

TORONTO – The Toronto Argonauts have done their part, now their playoff fate is in the hands of their biggest rivals. The Argonauts beat the Ottawa Redblacks 23-5 on Friday to grab the second and final playoff spot in the East Division. But they need the Hamilton Tiger-Cats to lose to the Montreal Alouettes on Saturday in order to maintain that playoff position.

In a must-win game, the Argonauts were forced to give quarterback Trevor Harris his first career CFL start. Harris got the call in place of Ricky Ray who was sidelined with a concussion. Harris, like many quarterbacks before him, took a circuitous route to the CFL. He played collegiately at Edinboro University in Pennsylvania, an NCAA Division II school. He spent the 2010 NFL preseason with the Jacksonville Jaguars. He then spent time with two Arena Football League teams and a team in the short-lived United Football League. He has spent the last three seasons with the Argos but only had 58 career pass attempts before Friday’s start.

He didn’t look out of place however. He completed 26-of-36 passes for 281 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. In his first series he led the Argos on a six-play, 78-yard drive and capped it off with a 12-yard touchdown pass to John Chiles. Less than two minutes later – after Tristan Okpalaugo picked off Henry Burris and returned it to the three-yard line – Harris found Chad Owens for a touchdown and a quick 14-0 lead. The Argos didn’t need much more offence than that as the defence kept Ottawa out of the endzone en route to the win in front of a season-high crowd of 19,687 at the Rogers Centre.

“I thought we played fairly well. I’m proud of the way we played,” Argonauts head coach Scott Milanovich said. “I thought Trevor came out of the gate on fire and overall he played very well. There’s a couple things, when sees them on film he’ll wish he’d done differently.

“For his first start in a game that we had to win I thought Trevor did an outstanding job.”

Now all the pressure is on the Tiger-Cats. They face the Alouettes at home on Saturday (4 p.m. ET, TSN) and must win, or tie, to make the playoffs. A Ticats win and they make the playoffs regardless but they can also still win the East Division if they beat the Alouettes by more than seven points. The first-place team in the East, of course, gets a bye to the East final at home while the second-place team will host a playoff game next week against either the B.C. Lions or Saskatchewan Roughriders.

Milanovich couldn’t remember ever being in a similar situation where his team’s playoff fate was out of their hands. “In 2007 when I was in Montreal we snuck into the playoffs but I don’t believe it came down to a situation like this,” he said. “This will be unique. We’re all obviously cheering hard for Montreal.

“It’ll be on, we have TVs in our offices. Our coaches have to prepare for two opponents right now. As of right now we plan to be preparing for two teams and having it on in the background.”

Milanovich wasn’t prepared to offer any predictions on Saturday’s game.

“Both have excellent defences, both quarterbacks are playing really well. Weather could be a factor, field position could be at a premium, and turnovers. It’s a game that could go either way obviously.”

One of either the Argos or Ticats will see their season end tomorrow and it will be a major disappointment. The Argos suffered some key injuries but an eight-win season is a major letdown. They led the league in fumbles lost and were eighth in turnover ratio. They lost two games by a single point, including a Week 4 loss to the Redblacks. Those games could be the difference between moving on or going home. The Tiger-Cats were coming off a Grey Cup appearance in 2013, their first since 1999, and were thought to have been even better than last year. But they also battled injuries, including to quarterback Zach Collaros. The Ticats have made a late-season playoff push thanks to going 5-0 at Tim Hortons Field.

The Argos have not missed the playoffs since 2011. In 2012, they went 9-9 before a Cinderella run to the 100^th Grey Cup. Last season the Argos won the East Division crown with an 11-7 record then lost to the Tiger-Cats in the East final.

For the Redblacks, it ends a trying season on the field. Their 2-16 record is tied for the second worst record in CFL history. The 1997 Tiger-Cats and 1988 Ottawa Rough Riders both also went 2-16. The 2003 Tiger-Cats own the worst record in history at 1-17. Outside of the standings though, the Redblacks first season was a great success. They sold out all nine home games at the new TD Place stadium and are poised to make football work in Ottawa finally.