Tiger-Cats beleaguered entering rematch vs. RedBlacks

Simoni Lawrence was deadpan when asked about the Hamilton-Ottawa CFL rivalry. After all, the RedBlacks have won the last four meetings between the two teams.

"It's consistent," said the star linebacker, whose Tiger-Cats (6-9) need a road win against Ottawa (7-7-1) on Friday to retain a shot at first place in the East Division and the accompanying playoff bye.

"To them it might feel one-sided," Lawrence added. "But we know how we're built. Confidence is always going to be sky-high. I feel like we are in a good position.

"I'm all about perspective. Our record says we suck, but we still have a good chance to get into the playoffs - still have a good chance to get a home field bye. For some reason the East is not playing like the East played against the West last year. Still, everything is front of you. You can't go on what's in the past."

The scenario is practically a 2015 redux. Last fall, Ottawa beat Hamilton three times in 22 days to go to the Grey Cup. The RedBlacks swept a home-and-away set to finish first. The East final was deadlocked until RedBlacks slotback Greg Ellingson scored a 93-yard pass-and-run touchdown in the final 75 seconds - so dubbed the Miracle on Bank Street.

Like last year, Hamilton is relying on No. 2 quarterback Jeremiah Masoli with Zach Collaros sidelined. Spark plug returner Brandon Banks has also been suspended two games for a violation of the league's drug policy. Banks set up two touchdowns last week with big punt returns.

Ottawa's one-point victory on Oct. 14 was contentious. The league acknowledged that a replay ruling of an incomplete pass should have been ruled a catch and fumble by Ellingson, with Hamilton recovering. The RedBlacks finished the drive with a field goal. Of course, the outcome also hinged on Tiger-Cats kicker Brett Maher missing a 47-yard field goal with just over two minutes to play.

In football-think, being due for a break isn't the same as deserving one.

"This is a game of probabilities," Tiger-Cats coach Kent Austin said. "We try to raise the probability of success, down to individual level and through the whole unit. It's easy to pull out a few plays. Another tackle on second down would have won the football game last week. We're trying to figure out how to get each individual on a constant improvement.

"Life, it's not predictable and those things are out of our control. It's not our job to say, 'Wow, look how compromised we are.' That's what losers do. We need to look at the cards that are in front of us and keep our players accountable for playing at a high level."

Ottawa is 2-4-1 at home, even though TD Place is one of the loudest stadiums in the league. RedBlacks wide receiver Chris Williams (knee) - a 1,000-yard man - is out for the season.

Switching to signal-caller Henry Burris has rekindled a spark. Burris - finally over the finger injury he suffered when he struck a defender's helmet on his follow-through four months ago - had 393 passing yards last week in his first full game since August.

"Righting the ship here at home is the biggest step we have to take if we want to host the East final," Burris said. "We could definitely send a message by winning."

Ottawa has found it difficult to recapture its focus from 2015, when the team was a second-year franchise climbing to new heights.

"Last year we had excitement almost throughout the whole year," fullback Patrick Lavoie said. "This year we didn't have that excitement week after week. I feel like we're finding it, like we found it when Hank (Burris) was put back on the field. We're surfing on it right now. We don't want to restrain that."

Winning would give Ottawa first place and make its finishing home-and-away series with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers redundant. Hamilton is not necessarily in a must-win situation, but it needs to break its slide. The Ticats could have another playoff preview next week when they host the Edmonton Eskimos, who presently occupy the cross-over spot.

"We definitely have some things on the line," said Masoli, who threw two interceptions last week but directed Hamilton to 22 second-half points. "The DNA in our team, we're just so competitive right now that we just want to win.

"We just have to play a clean game."

With Banks shelved, each team was tweaked its special teams by adding a Saskatchewan castoff on special teams. The Tiger-Cats are entrusting the return game to Kendial Lawrence, who had a punt-return touchdown for the Roughriders in September. Ottawa is using an international punter, with new signing Ray Early replacing inconsistent rookie Zach Medeiros.