Ottawa Citizen

New local hero

- GORD HOLDER gholder@ottawaciti­zen.com twitter.com/HolderGord

Greg Ellingson admitted Sunday he had no idea who Pat Stoqua was, but he does now.

He also knows they share the spotlight as Canadian Football League playoff heroes.

Ellingson hadn’t even been born yet when Stoqua caught a pass from J.C. Watts and completed a 104-yard scoring play to give the Ottawa Rough Riders a 17-13 victory against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the 1981 East Division final.

The 26-year-old Floridian carved his own notch in Ottawa sports history on Sunday, hauling in a pass from Henry Burris, avoiding two defenders and going the distance for a 93-yard score that lifted the second-year Redblacks franchise to a 35-28 triumph against the Ticats and into the 103rd Grey Cup game at Winnipeg.

“It’s unbelievab­le right now,” Ellingson said. “It’s exciting, and I’m just glad to help my team get there.”

Stoqua, 59, was in the sellout crowd of 25,093 at TD Place stadium on Sunday, sitting in the north-side stands and watching as Ellingson make the play that broke a 28-28 deadlock with 71 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.

“To see the stadium that was packed, standingro­om-only. … There were people outside the stadium on the hill (behind the east end-zone), watching. That was so terrific and amazing. It was a joy to see,” Stoqua said in a telephone interview.

“Thirty years ago, Ivor Wynne Stadium (in Hamilton) was much, much quieter because we were the visiting team, and it was a little different.”

The 1981 Rough Riders lost the Grey Cup game 23-20 to an Edmonton Eskimos squad coached by Hugh Campbell, so Ellingson and his teammates are hoping they can write a different ending for the tale of the 2015 Redblacks, coached by Hugh’s son, Rick.

Kicker Chris Milo, who was a less spectacula­r hero but still a hero for the Redblacks on Sunday by going four-for-four on field goals from 39, 34, 45 and 43 yards, has a Grey Cup ring from the 2013 Saskatchew­an Roughrider­s.

His advice to players who hadn’t yet been to the top of the CFL mountain was to enjoy the moments to come during Grey Cup Week.

“These opportunit­ies don’t come around very often,” said Milo, a 29-yearold with five seasons of CFL experience on his resumé. “Just live in the present, enjoy it, take everything in and basically do your job.

“Everyone has to do their job, and we trust one another. We saw it again (on Sunday). We were tied late and we found a way to win. We have full belief in the guys next to us and everybody in this locker-room, and, if everyone does their job, we’ll have a shot next week.”

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