What do you think of when you hear the “Battle of Ontario”? Maybe the classic Maple Leafs-Senators rivalry that has been stagnate the past few seasons? Or maybe you think of the Toronto Argonauts and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the CFL, with the East Division champion alternating between the two since 2012? Nothing else in the world of Canadian sports? There must be more! Here’s a new Battle of Ontario to think of: the Argonauts and the 2014 CFL expansion team, the Ottawa Redblacks.
Last year, the rivalry wasn’t much of a “battle” but rather a feeling-out process for the two teams, as they split the season series, but the Argos walked away with a +17 point differential. At the end of the season, both teams failed to make the playoffs and were set to start the 2015 season with new faces and a new hope for the season, forgetting about their failures in 2014.
The “Battle of Ontario” would have been wrongly used to describe the games or the position battle in the standings between the two teams last season. The Argonauts and the Redblacks focused on their own position in the division and never cared for what the opposite team did. The situation is different in 2015 as the clubs from the Nation’s Capital and the Provincial Capital are at 16 points each, with the Boatmen holding a game in hand. Not surprisingly, Hamilton also has 16 points to their record, leaving a three-way battle of Ontario for the East, with Quebec’s Alouettes falling way behind in fourth. Maybe the standings are indicative of the strong Ontario economy versus the weak one in Quebec…?
With a 38-35 “home” win for the Argonauts at TD Place along the Rideau Canal last Tuesday, Toronto swept the season series against the Redblacks- but that doesn’t stop this from being a rivalry just because one team is winning. The Argonauts aren’t dominating and have only won games by six, nine and three points, including a final-minute touchdown grab by Chad Owens in their third and final win.
The contrast between the two teams keeps this rivalry alive and fun to watch for any football fan across the country. On one side, Henry Burris is leading his attack with veteran wide receivers in Maurice Price, Greg Ellingson, Brad Sinopoli and Ernest Jackson. Their defence, like the offence, is also loaded with experienced CFLers like Keith Shologan, Jovon Johnson, Moton Hopkins and Shawn Lemon. Being an expansion team, the Redblacks had to build their team from older players that other teams didn’t want to protect in the 2014 Expansion Draft.
The Argonauts have a complete opposite team build in terms off age and experience. In his first season as the team’s starting quarterback in place of the injured Ricky Ray, Trevor Harris has been connecting with his young receivers in Vidal Hazelton, Tori Gurley and Diontae Spencer, who all have been excelling past their expectations this year. This offence is one of the most entertaining, and with Zach Collaros out for the remainder of the season in Hamilton, the Toronto has become the de facto best attack to watch. The young defence has been hurting them a bit this year, with the third most yards per game allowed in the league. The inexperience on the defensive side of the ball is the difference between a landslide lead for first place in the East, versus the three-way tie they are currently in.
Even the coaching battle is intriguing. Scott Milanovich won two Grey Cups as the defensive coordinator in Montreal, followed by his first Grey Cup as head coach with Toronto in 2012, before Rick Campbell even stepped foot on the Ottawa sidelines. Campbell has spent more time in the league than Milanovich and also won two Grey Cups with the Eskimos as a special teams, then defensive coordinator. Being neck and neck in experience, the two men are constantly looking to surpass each other in victories and personal accolades.
When the teams line-up against each other, storylines focused on the age difference between the two teams control the pre-game hype, but the Argonauts are proving that a young kid can still beat an aged man. Compared with any other legitimate rivalry in the CFL, this one is the closest to the David vs. Goliath story, which is a story everybody likes to hear in the form of sports teams. But the question is, who’s David and who’s Goliath? Are the Redblacks Goliath in this situation because of their age and experience, or are they David because they entered the league last season?
With no games left between the Ottawa Redblacks and Toronto Argonauts for the remainder of the regular season, the teams and their fans can only hope and wait until the playoffs to see the new Battle of Ontario rage on. Until then, the three teams from Canada’s most populated province will fight hard to win the Eastern Division and take a bye week en route to the 103rd Grey Cup in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Main Photo.
