Game Summary

It came down to the last weekend of the year, but finally the Ottawa Rough Riders were able to take a win and claim a playoff spot ahead of the Argonauts as they defeated the Tiger-Cats at Ivor Wynne Stadium in Hamilton before 17,032 fans. Hamilton opened the scoring at 6:57 of the first quarter with a 28-yard FG by K Paul Osbaldiston. Bruce Perkins then ran in from the 1-yard line as the gun sounded to end the 1st period to put his team up 10-0. Ottawa managed to put some points on the board when QB Tom Burgess found Rob Crifo for a 15-yard TD catch, which was followed by a missed 2-point convert attempt. The ’Cats came back 3 minutes later as QB Todd Dillon, back with his former team after a one-year layoff, passed a 13-yard TD to Earl Winfield. Down 20-6 (Osbaldiston added another FG before the end of the half and a team safety was added), the Riders began their comeback, scoring 2 touchdowns by SB Jock Climie (24-yard and 17-yard catches). Hamilton kept its lead as Osbaldiston booted another 3-pointer, this one from 39 yards out, but things started to go Ottawa’s way when Dexter Manley and Maurice Henry teamed up to knock the ball out of Dillon’s hands to cause the fumble, which was recovered by Manley. That led to another Rider TD, a 47-yard catch by Wayne Walker to make the count 27-25 with less than 5 minutes to go. Hamilton could have gone ahead again but a 51-yard FG attempt by Osbaldiston went wide, and Ottawa held on to win their fourth game of the season and assure themselves of an additional game against the Tiger-Cats next week in the Eastern Semi-Final.