Ray and Glenn square off with very different things at stake

Quarterbacks Ricky Ray and Kevin Glenn are the two oldest players in the CFL, pitted against one another in Sunday’s CFL East Final with a shot at the Grey Cup on the line. They’ve both been here before and yet what’s at stake couldn’t be more different.

For the Argonauts, the 38-year-old Ray is looking for at least the chance to retire with one final championship under his belt, a fourth ring to join the others he won as a member of the Edmonton Eskimos (2003 and 2005) and the 2012 championship he won on home soil in Toronto.

Ray has been non-committal about his future beyond this season – he’s due to become a free agent in February – but it’s not hard to envision him following in the footsteps of contemporary Henry Burris, who won a Grey Cup with the Ottawa Redblacks last November and promptly hung ’em up.

“I think that’s what everybody who’s playing the game wishes they could do, to be able to go out on top and ride off into the sunset,” Ray said. “I would love to have that opportunity this year.”

Glenn is also 38 but with a more complex legacy. He’s been a good-sometimes-great player who has bounced around the league while suiting up for six of the nine teams. His career record as a starter hovers around .500 while his playoff resume is littered with some high-profile disappointments: he’s yet to win a Grey Cup championship despite playing 17 seasons.

“The preparation is still the same but if you experience something several times, you tend to take things from it that you feel can help you and maximize it,” Glenn said Saturday. “This game is always about urgency. ‘Seize the moment’ is one of the most cliched lines in sports because of the rarity of these situations.”

Glenn enjoys virtually universal respect around the CFL for his professionalism and leadership. Former Argonaut Chad Owens, who played with Glenn for the first time in Saskatchewan this season, says seeing Glenn up close only heightened his appreciation for the player and the person.

“KG deserves a championship, man. That’s where my mindset is. They say it’s about the man next to you and that’s all I want for him, to get that ring, to get that feeling,” Owens said. “I’m playing for him on Sunday.”

The game will likely have some heightened emotional significance for Owens as well, given that he played seven years of his career with the Argonauts before leaving under somewhat acrimonious circumstances – he wasn’t offered a contract by the club – after the 2015 season.

“This is where my career took off and I’ve made a home in this city, made lifelong friends, won a championship. I’ll be forever grateful for that,” Owens said. “But I’m going to reference Pinball Clemons ‘if what you did yesterday still sounds good to you today, then you haven’t done much today.’ My focus is on the Saskatchewan Roughriders making history and going on to the Grey Cup.”

If Owens already has relationships in Toronto, then Rider receiver Duron Carter was looking to build some on Saturday. The son of former NFL great Cris Carter, Duron used social media to invite Rider fans in the city to join him for a 4 p.m. screening of the movie Justice League at a downtown theatre.

About two dozen showed up – wearing Rider green was a pre-requisite – and Carter shelled out $324 to treat everyone. “Deep Pockets” is hardly a great superhero name but it sounds better than the role Carter envisions for himself in Justice League crew.

“I would be the guy that you don’t see, the communications guy, safe in the ship away from everybody,” Duron said. “I’m just telling them ‘there’s these enemies over here, you have to get them. I’m not part of the fighting, I just want to stay safe and chill. I’ll do the celebrating. The Justice League Party? I’m definitely there.”

Speaking of parties, it looks like the Argonauts are set to throw a pretty good one of their own on Sunday. After a season of mostly dissapointing crowds, there are now reportedly less than 3,000 tickets remaining in the 26,000-seat BMO Field for Sunday’s game.

“I’m excited not just for us but for those core group of fans who’ve been here. We’ve really built an intimate fan base to where you can almost recognize people from where they’re sitting,” said Toronto linebacker Bear Woods. “I’m excited that they get to experience what this place is capable of and they get to lead the way. We’re going to enjoy this experience together and it’s great for the organization.”

•••

Here are five storylines to watch in Sunday’s East Final between the Toronto Argonauts and the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

1. Saskatchewan is trying to become the first West Division team to make the Grey Cup by using the crossover, which allows a team to compete in the opposite division if it has a better record: the first nine teams failed to get there. The Riders were also given a two per cent chance of winning the Grey Cup by a statistical model posted on the CFL’s website when the playoffs began.

“That’s a terrible computer by the way. Two per cent chance? We’ve beaten everybody in the CFL,” said Saskatchewan receiver Duron Carter. “It’s like this computer never watched football at all.”

2. The Argonauts were tied for the league lead in sacks with 50 and can get pressure using just their four defensive linemen – three of whom were all-stars this season. They were successful in harassing Saskatchewan quarterback Kevin Glenn in a tight loss on Oct. 7, so much so that they forced him from the game in the first quarter. In last week’s Eastern Semi-Final win over Ottawa, Glenn had plenty of time in the pocket and was able to get comfortable and establish a rhythm. The Argonauts will look to change that.

3. The Riders trailed in both their wins over Toronto this season, overcoming deficits of 10 and 13 points. Saskatchewan outscored Toronto by a combined 38 to 18 in the second half and won after trailing each game at half-time. Toronto only committed one turnover in the two games but it led to a field goal that was the margin in the 27-24 Rider win in October. For the season, the Riders finished plus-15 in turnover ratio (the Argos finished minus-three) while finishing second in the league in points off opponent giveaways.

4. Saskatchewan head coach and defensive coordinator Chris Jones referred to Toronto quarterback Ricky Ray as a “nightmare” to play against on Saturday while emphasizing his ability to fit the ball into tight windows while staying calm under pressure. Ray, meanwhile, said Jones employs an unorthodox style in which he can drop 10 players into pass coverage on one play then blitz eight on the next. “You have to be ready for everything,” Ray said.

5. With rain overnight and a mixture of light precipitation scheduled for game time Sunday, playing conditions on the natural surface at BMO Field could be an issue. In theory, that could give the Argonauts an advantage as they are the only team in the CFL who play their home games on grass and should have more familiarity with the footwear required for traction. The running game often takes on a larger role in poor conditions – winds could be in the 45 km/h range – and Toronto rushed for 90.2 yards per game this season (seventh in the CFL) while Saskatchewan was last at 82.1. But Argonaut running back James Wilder had 112 and 136 yards in Toronto’s last two games while Marcus Thigpen went off for 169 yards last week against Ottawa.