Inside the CFL: Plenty of Grey Cups have come down to a last-second kick

By Graham Kelly on November 20, 2019.

The Grey Cup sits in the falling snow upon it's arrival during the CFL's Grey Cup week in Calgary, Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Todd Korol

I can see it all now. With seconds left on the clock and Winnipeg leading by two points, the Tiger-Cats are at the Blue Bomber 47 yard line. The field goal team takes the field. There’s a gentle breeze behind kicker Lirim Hajrullahu. The tee is placed on the 54. Long snapper Aaron Crawford fires the ball back to Luke Tasker so the laces face the goal posts.

As the ball is placed, Lirim swings his mighty leg and the ball sails off in the Calgary night. Going, going, going…

If he makes it Hamilton wins the game and sets the record for longest three-pointer in Grey Cup history set by Baltimore Stallion Carlos Huerta against Calgary in the Tornado Bowl in Regina, 1995. Huerta was assisted by an 80 km/h wind. That one didn’t make the difference as the American invaders won 37-20.

The long snapper, holder and kicker have won many Grey Cups. I can’t recall with the exception of the 13th man episode in 2009 and Lui Passaglia of B.C. in 1994 of a kicker failing on a game-winning kick. In both those cases, the kickers got a second chance and made it. In 1975, an attempt by Montreal was blocked, preserving a 9-8 Edmonton victory.

The 1994 opponent was Baltimore, a team made up entirely of American players, coming to Vancouver to challenge for the Grey Cup. Led by quarterbacks Danny McManus and Kent Austin, as well as a great Canadian running back Sean Millington, the Leos were determined to defend their nation’s honour and send the invaders home empty-handed. Even B.C.’s imports got caught up in the nationalist excitement. The home team succeeded, largely due to a brain cramp.

With over a minute left, the combatants were tied at 23. The CFL’s all-time leading scorer Passaglia missed the winning field goal from 37 yards. But the Stallions ran it out to the two rather than concede a single and start at the 35 with time to move into field goal range. Instead, three plays later Baltimore had to punt. The Lions moved to the 31. With no time left, hometown hero Passaglia drilled it through the uprights for a 26-23 win. That win was important because few gave the half-Canadian team a chance against the all-American boys from Baltimore. Our national pride remained intact.

Hamilton was involved in two such dramatic endings. The first came in 1972 with the Ti-Cats hosting Saskatchewan in the 60th Grey Cup. It was a rookie-laden team against the veteran Ron Lancaster-George Reed dynasty. The Riders were down 21-0 in the Western final at Winnipeg and came back to win 27-24. But their luck ran out a week later.

The game featured tough, grind-em-out football for 58 minutes, producing a 10-10 tie. Recalled Reed: “We were controlling the ball and the tempo of the game.” Much of that involved keeping Ti-Cat receiver Tony Gabriel in check. Rider linebacker Wayne Shaw said, “Late in the fourth quarter he had not caught one pass.” But his coach Dave Skrein took him out in favour of an American. Rookie quarterback Chuck Ealey completed three straight to Gabriel and one to Garney Henley, bringing them to the enemy 27. The 18 year-old Ian Sunter kicked the Cats to a 13-10 victory.

Twice Hamilton was on the losing end of a last second field goal. The first was 1989, the greatest Grey Cup ever played, when the Cats and Riders combined for 80 points and a 40-40 tie. Then, Kent Austin marched the westerners from their 36 to the Hamilton 26. With two seconds left, Dave Ridgway kicked the winner, the greatest moment in Saskatchewan sports history.

The second one came in 1998, Hamilton’s second-latest Grey Cup appearance. The game was played in Winnipeg, the coach Ron Lancaster, the dynamic duo quarterback Danny McManus and receiver Darren Flutie. Although Wally Buono’s Stampeders dominated the decade, they had won but a single Grey Cup.

The kickers would score over half the points in the game. The big one was Stampeder Mark McLaughlin’s game winning 35 yarder with no time on the clock. Calgary 26- Hamilton 24.