Six Pack: Top performers from the Ticats East Semi-Final win

Medlock on the money all day
The Ticats veteran kicker was on his game Sunday, accounting for 11 of the Ticats 25 points in the game with a perfect kicking record. Medlock connected on three field goals– all of which were longer than 40 yards– while going two-for-two on extra point attempts. On top of a 55-yard connection and a 46-yard attempt to clinch the game for the Black and Gold, Medlock was consistent in the punting game Sunday. Medlock averaged 41.9 yards on seven punts in the game, pinning the Argos deep in their own territory on a number of occasions. The veteran kicker and punter’s standout performance goes down as one of the best kicking performances in recent Ticats history.

Banks does job on special teams
Banks was not able to duplicate his incredible East Final performance from last season, but his return efforts were instrumental on Sunday. The shifty returner averaged 14.5 yards per return in the game, racking up 87 yards on six returns, while adding another 111 yards on just four kickoff returns (27.8 yard average). Although they were unable to take advantage of it on every occasion, Banks consistently did his job and gave the Ticats offence strong field position to work with.
Defensive line makes Ray’s life difficult
Ricky Ray did not have an easy time in his second start of 2015. The Ticats defensive line made the veteran quarterback’s life difficult all game long, bringing him down for three recorded sacks while adding another two QB hits that were nearly sacks. Canadian defensive tackles Ted Laurent (2) and Michael Atkinson (1) each were credited with sacks, while Justin Hickman brought down the Argos quarterback just past the chains and Bryan Hall dragged him down while forcing a fumble. Ray was uncomfortable all day, consistently under duress and forced out of the pocket by the pass rush
Masoli starts slow, comes on strong late
Jeremiah Masoli had a rough start to Sunday’s game, completing under 50% of his passes for just 26 passing yards in the first half. Masoli was removed from the game briefly to re-compose himself, only to return and lead the offence to 19 second-half points, including 16 straight to erase a 19-6 deficit. The Ticats quarterback did not light up the box score, but he came up big down the stretch when it mattered. The offence needs to find a way to get off to a quicker start in the East Final, but their come-from-behind effort on Sunday was admirable.

Gable puts together best performance of season
CJ Gable has had a difficult 2015 season, missing the first three games of the season due to injury only to be sidelined again two games later. Gable missed the majority of the season to injury, and since returning he’s been slowly working his way back up to form; however, his performance on Sunday afternoon was the best he’s put together. While the stat-line was not as gaudy as his explosion against the Roughriders earlier this season, his 89 yards on the ground and 19 receiving were big yards for the offence and his pass protection was a big factor as well. Gable stepping in and picking up the blitz allowed Masoli the time to find Bakari Grant deep down the field on a double-move, notching the first of two second-half touchdowns in the comeback effort. The Ticats will need another strong game from Gable in next week’s East Final as the square off with the Redblacks for the third time in four weeks.
Stephen bounces back with strong effort in open field
Courtney Stephen had a rough game in Ottawa last weekend, allowing a couple of touchdown receptions against the Redblacks; however, he bounced back on Sunday with a big performance against the Argos. Stephen was rock solid in the open field against the Argos, recording a team-high six tackles in the game, the majority of which were one-on-one with plenty of room for the ball-carrier to maneuver. The Ticats secondary as a whole played well on Sunday, but Stephen’s comeback after last week was notable.