B.C. Place — The Hamilton Tiger-Cats were one shove away from making the 102nd Grey Cup one of the best the CFL has ever seen. The drama of a thwarted come-from-behind win will be hard to forget.
In a season defined by defence — B.C. Lions linebacker Solomon Elimimian was named the league’s best player in a historic first — and one that desperately needed an electric finale to round out a slow-burning campaign, Ticat wide receiver Brandon Banks was the man to bring 52,056 to their feet in the final minute of the fourth quarter. The not-quite sell-out crowd stayed standing as Banks crumpled in the end zone with what he thought, just seconds before, was the Grey Cup-winning ball in his hands.
Banks’s 90-yard punt return would have pushed Hamilton ahead of Calgary with 35 seconds remaining on the clock. Instead, the play was flagged at Hamilton’s own 20-yard line for an illegal block that had no impact on the play.
Banks, known to teammates as Speedy, was inconsolable and after showering, he immediately left B.C. Place.
“It’s tough on everyone. I can only imagine how tough it is on him,” said Hamilton lineman Peter Dyakowski, who missed the entire regular season because of knee surgery. He returned in time for the East final.
READ MORE: Dyakowski back in a 'pressure' situation
“I was really looking forward to lining up on a game-winning field goal or [convert] after a go-ahead touchdown. I was about to get that chance,” said the Vancouver College alum.
“It was tough. Just at the moment I thought he was going to go for it, I saw that flag up in the air and I kind of knew. When you see that flag on a kick, it’s almost always coming back. But in the back of my mind and probably everyone else on the sideline, you’re hoping against hope that it’s something else.”
Hamilton started the season 1-6 after losing the 101st Grey Cup to Saskatchewan.
“You come off a game like this after a season like we had… We fought back to get here, then in the game we were down and we fought back and were one play away from winning it all. We came away with nothing,” said Dyakowski. “This year it wasn’t about getting to the Grey Cup, it was about winning it. There are a lot of guys who were disappointed but the general tone is we have to get back to work and do this all again.”
