CFL Week 12 Recap: Sailing Away

I'm quite late for this recap of Week 12, but one thing that wasn't late: my elation over the Toronto Argonauts' performance against the rival Hamilton Tiger-Cats. The East Division race is over, the Alouettes will definitely finish first. And with the Redblacks being, well, futile, it's the Boatmen and the TiCats battling for second place. That battle became too close when Hamilton picked up a game in Week 11, so this head-to-head battle became must-win for both teams.

The game was delayed by a good bit by rain and thunder, and when it kicked off, it was a close one. Hamilton actually led 17-15 at halftime, but the second half: all Argos. The Boatmen outscored the Tiger-Cats, 24-3, en route to a 39-20 victory that evens the season series. Toronto's hold on second place increases, and the rubber match, of course, will take place on Labour Day in Hamilton.

The mostly French half of the East Division kicked off Week 12, as the Montréal Alouettes hosted the Ottawa Redblacks. A team with only one loss facing a team who hasn't won in a year? Should be a close one, right? Please. Of course it went as well as one expected. 46-16 for the Als, and for the Redblacks, an 0-10 start, and their 16th straight loss dating back to the tail end of last season. Holy schnike. The Western half of the schedule saw the Edmonton Elks win a close one, 22-19, over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Friday Night Football, and in the other battle, it was the BC Lions defeating the Saskatchewan Roughriders, 30-16, in a very stunning upset.

As for how the standings look:

The Edmonton Elks are definitely in the driver's seat in the West Division, with the home stretch getting closer and closer. A 1.5 game lead over the defending champion Saskatchewan Roughriders, whose upset loss to the BC Lions makes things quite interesting out West. BC's win moved them to the third place position via tiebreaker over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, and as for the Calgary Stampeders, they're closing in. The Stamps were idle on Week 12, but they stand just a game out of a playoff position.

As for the East, yeah, it's the Alouettes' to lose. A four game lead over the Argos, but the Argos did get a good and key win over the rival Tiger-Cats to increase their edge over Hamilton. In addition to everything in the East, we now have a crossover situation. The Bombers are now in that exact spot because they have a better record than the Tiger-Cats. So that Eastern battle was more important than advertised, because now, Hamilton is behind the playoff line. Not by too much, but still. There's plenty of time let, though.

Week 13 will kick off with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers hosting the Montréal Alouettes on Friday, August 28. This is followed by a doubleheader on Saturday, August 29: the Calgary Stampeders hosting the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, and the Saskatchewan Roughriders facing the Toronto Argonauts in a battle between the last two Grey Cup Champions. Finally, on Sunday, August 30, the winless Ottawa Redblacks will host the red hot BC Lions. Amazing. It seems like yesterday that I was talking about the heart of the season beginning. Now? We are one week away from the Labour Day Weekend games, and we are two weeks away from the season's home stretch beginning!

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