Tiger-Cats put one in the Banks to advance to Grey Cup

The good news for Hamilton is that their Tiger-Cats are getting an opportunity to make amends for their lacklustre performance at last year's Grey Cup game.

The bad news is that they won't be able to do it Tim Hortons Field, where they've been uneatable this season. 

But they will have Brandon Banks, and that might be enough.

The Ticats recorded their seventh straight victory at home on Sunday, beating the Montreal Alouettes 40-24 in the CFL East final to book their second straight Grey Cup appearance. They did it with a good mix of defence, passing and running, but more importantly with a lot of Banks.

The diminutive former Washington Redskin ran, caught passes and most of all returned kicks -- including two for touchdowns and a third negated by penalty -- to lead the Ticats to victory.

He had five punt returns for 226 yards, giving the Cats great field position all day. His second return touchdown put the hammer down on what was beginning to look like an Alouette comeback.

The lead see-sawed all day in a clash between two pretty evenly matched teams that had dismal starts to the season followed by sensational second halves.

The Alouettes struck first midway through the first quarter, using a mix of pass and run to take 
the ball 66 yards for a touchdown.

After two big gains by little-used wide receiver Mardy Gilyard, quarterback Jonathan Crompton hit security blanket S.J. Green for a 22-yard touchdown pass.

The Ticats appeared to have tied things up two series later when Banks used his speed and moves to return a Sean Whyte punt 78 yards for a touchdown. But a holding penalty against linebacker Neil King negated that score.

A 32-yard Justin Medlock field goal put the home team on the scoreboard, which seemed to spark the Ticats. They held Montreal to a two-and-out on the next series and then marched deep into Alouette territory on the strength of their running game.

Nic Grigsby reeled off a 24-yard run up the middle to end the first quarter and Banks opened the second with a 21-yard jaunt around right end.

But that hope ended when Montreal linebacker Max Venable forced quarterback Zach Collaros to fumble and the Als recovered at their own 13.

But that disappointment turned to joy seconds later when Delvin Breaux picked off a Crompton floater intended for Green at the Montreal 27.

The Ticats got a big break when Montreal's Kyries Hebert was flagged for unnecessary roughness on what appeared to be a clean tackle on Collaros at the Alouette 10. Whether or not the officials were thinking of the Hebert tackle that knocked out Collaros earlier this season,  Grigsby ran in from the on the next play and the
Ticats took a 10-7 lead.

But that lead was short-lived thanks to two devastating penalties against the TIcats. The first came after Montreal head coach Tom Higgins successfully challenged a non-call on pass interference that put the ball at the Hamilton 45. A roughing the passer penalty shortly afterward set up Crompton's second touchdown pass to Green, giving the Als a 14-10 lead.

Medlock's 20-yard field goal after a 69-yard Ticat drive appeared to end the first-half scoring, but Banks returned a last-minute punt 93 yards for a touchdown -- this one devoid of penalty flags -- to give Hamilton a 20-14 lead.

They added to that in the third after Eric Harris picked off a Crompton pass, setting up a 38-yard drive capped by Grigsby's three-yard touchdown run for a 27-14 lead.

After Whyte's 33-yard field goal brought Montreal within 10, the Als followed a 14-yard run by Crompton with a 63-yard touchdown pass to Green for a touchdown that brought them within three.

Medlock's 42-yard field goal on the next play helped Hamilton fans breathe a bit easier, but Banks' second punt return touchdown, this one for 88 yards, had them in ecstacy.