108th Grey Cup Playoffs: Division Semifinals Recap

After 16 wild weeks, the 108th Grey Cup Playoffs finally kicked off on Sunday. Six teams playing for a chance to capture the Grey Cup, with four of the six beginning the journey in the Division Semifinals. Five games in three weeks, and it began with the East Semifinal between the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and the Montréal Alouettes in Hamilton, Ontario.

It was a quiet start to the East Semifinal. Hamilton's opening drive fell flat, but the Alouettes managed to get to field goal range, with the successful kick giving the Als a 3-0 lead. That score stood for the remainder of the first quarter, as Hamilton's offense was stifled for the opening fifteen minutes. The 2nd quarter, however, was a different story. The TiCats' offense grew its claws and pounced all over the Birds--20 points in the 2nd quarter! The Als' defense crumbled in the 2nd quarter, resulting a 20-3 halftime lead for Hamilton. That was all the TiCats needed. The 2nd half was quite in comparison to the 2nd quarter, but the damage was already done. Final score: Tiger-Cats 23, Alouettes 12. The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are off to Toronto for a fifth and pivotal meeting with the Argonauts.

The East game may have been decisive, but the West Semifinal was a nail-biter. In Regina, Saskatchewan, the Saskatchewan Roughriders took on the Calgary Stampeders, and it was the Horsemen who struck first late in the 1st quarter with a touchdown that followed an interception from Cody Fajardo. Stamps led 7-0 after 15 minutes, but ended up trailing 10-8 at the half. The second half was back and forth mayhem; though it seemed like the Riders would take care of it in regulation after Fajardo's one-yard score. However, Rene Paredes' FG with 37 seconds left tied it at 27, and the game ended up going to overtime. Calgary won the toss, but elected to go second, but both teams were held to FGs after the first mini-game. The 2nd mini-game saw Calgary with the ball first, but Paredes' 44-yarder went wide left and was returned out of the end zone. This meant that the Riders were in winning position off the bad, and Brett Lauther's successful kick earned them a trip to Winnipeg.

The Division Finals are set, and it will start with the East Final between the Toronto Argonauts and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in Toronto, Ontario. The provincial rivals will be meeting in their ninth East Final; it's 4-4 overall. For the Boatmen, the last time they hosted the East Final was 2017, a win over the crossover Saskatchewan Roughriders en route to winning the Grey Cup that following week. For the TiCats, this is their sixth East Final appearance in eight seasons, and their third straight--losing in 2018 but winning in 2019. The Tiger-Cats are one win away from playing in the Grey Cup on their home field, while the Argonauts are looking to reach the Grey Cup for the first time since 2017. These two teams met four times in the regular season, with the Argos winning three of the four.

The West Final is another close rivalry, as the Winnipeg Blue Bombers will host the Saskatchewan Roughriders in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Bombers, of course, are the defending Grey Cup Champions; in fact, they defeated the Riders in the last West Final in 2019 as part of their championship run. For the Riders, this is their 3rd Division Final appearance in four seasons, which includes reaching the East Final as a crossover team in 2017. The two teams faced each other twice this year, with the Bombers winning both times. In those two wins, the Bombers outscored the Riders by a combined score of 56-17.

The Division Finals will take place on Sunday, December 5, and the 108th Grey Cup will emanate from Hamilton, Ontario on Sunday, December 12.

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