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The Toronto Argonauts will have to solve the Tim Hortons Field jinx to reach the East Division final.Peter Power/The Canadian Press

The Toronto Argonauts will have to solve the Tim Hortons Field jinx to reach the East Division final.

Toronto visits the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Sunday in the East semifinal, the winner facing the Ottawa Redblacks in the conference final at TD Place on Nov. 22.

Hamilton was just 5-4 at home this year. The Ticats opened with three consecutive wins at Tim Hortons Field to improve to 10-0 there before losing 26-23 to Montreal on Aug. 27.

Since then, Hamilton has gone 2-4 at the facility but is 3-0 there all-time versus Toronto. The Ticats have been especially dominant this year, outscoring the Argos 76-30 in their two home victories against their arch rivals.

Toronto was also 0-2 in relocated games at Tim Hortons Field this year. Overall, the Argos are 0-5 there and have been outscored 150-59.

But the Argos do have some reasons for optimism.

They head into the playoffs on a positive note, snapping a three-game losing streak Friday with a 21-11 home win over Winnipeg in their final game at Rogers Centre. Veteran Ricky Ray looked sharp in just his second start of the season and the three-time Grey Cup winner will be under centre Sunday.

Also, Toronto won't have to face quarterback Zach Collaros. Collaros led Hamilton to all of its home wins against his former team but is recovering from season-ending knee surgery.

Hamilton is coming off two straight losses to Ottawa, including a 44-28 decision at TD Place on Saturday. Redblacks quarterback Henry Burris completed 28-of-37 passes for 368 yards and six touchdowns.

With Hamilton backup Jeff Mathews (head) injured, youngsters Jacory Harris and Jeremiah Masoli were a combined 14-of-27 passing for 199 yards and one score versus Ottawa.

Ottawa rookie William Powell ran for 119 yards and averaged seven yards per carry. Toronto had 155 yards rushing against Winnipeg, with 2012 Grey Cup MVP Chad Kackert posting a game-high 89 yards on 10 carries and Curtis Steele adding 54 yards on 11 carries.

Calgary begins its Grey Cup title defence hosting the B.C. Lions in the West Division semifinal. The Stamps won both meetings, including a 28-7 decision at B.C. Place Stadium last weekend.

Backup Drew Tate threw two TD passes while Anthony Parker had four catches for 122 yards and a touchdown. Rookie Lemar Durant had three catches for 45 yards but two were for TDs.

B.C. also rested some of its starters, including quarterback Jonathon Jennings as veteran Travis Lulay drew his first start since Sept. 3. Running back Andrew Harris, a Winnipeg native, had only eight carries for 42 yards but cracked the 1,000-yard plateau for the second time.

Montreal's Tyrell Sutton won the league rushing title with 1,059 yards, 20 more than Harris. Calgary's Jerome Messam, a Toronto native who grew up in Brampton, Ont., was third with 1,006 yards.

Harris posted league-best 1,523 yards from scrimmage, 20 more than Messam.

It was a record-setting campaign for Burris, who set a new league high for completions (481). The 40-year-old also threw for a league-best 5,693 yards and his six TDs versus Hamilton gave him 26 for the year, further strengthening his case for the CFL's outstanding player award.

Chris Williams was Burris's favourite target with 88 catches for 1,214 yards and eight TDs. Williams, back in Canada after two seasons in the NFL, finished third among league receivers behind Calgary's Eric Rogers (87 catches, 1,448 yards, 10 TDs) and Edmonton's Adarius Bowman (league-high 93 receptions, 1,304 yards, seven TDs).

Once again, a B.C. Lion led the CFL in tackles. Adam Bighill registered 117 after teammate Solomon Elimimian had a record 143 last season in becoming the first pure defensive player to claim league MVP honours.

Montreal's John Bowman had a CFL-best 19 sacks, two more than Winnipeg's Jamaal Westerman. B.C.'s Ryan Phillips, Blue Bomber Johnny Adams and Ottawa's Abdul Kanneh all finished tied with six interceptions.

Kanneh also was tied for the CFL lead in forced fumbles (four) and fumble returns (three).

Hamilton's Justin Medlock was the league scoring leader with 181 points, 25 more than Calgary's Rene Paredes. Edmonton's Sean Whyte was the CFL's most accurate kicker, hitting 24-of-26 field goals (92.3 per cent), just ahead of Montreal rookie Boris Bede (36-of-40, 90 per cent).

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