Toronto Argonauts quarterback Ricky Ray had a simple strategy before leading a game-winning drive against the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the CFL East Final.

The 38-year-old joined Prime Time Sports on Monday to discuss his mindset with a Grey Cup berth on the line.

"When I had to go out there and do one of these drives early in my career, there were a couple of opportunities where I tried to do to much to … you have that big play to have the scoring touchdown to win the game,” Ray said.

“This time around I just had to go out there and execute the plays and take what they give me. We had plenty of time. You know, just get the drive started with a good completion, don’t try go for a home-run ball when it’s not there and that is what we did.”

Ray would engineer a 10-play, 68-yard drive where he had to convert on third-and-five and again on second down before Cody Fajardo finished the drive off with a touchdown at the goal-line.

The Argos looked to be in the driver’s seat leading 17-3 going into halftime, but Saskatchewan came back and took the lead with 2:44 left in the game.

“We weren’t playing well in the second half, just not moving the football,” Ray explained. “I was proud of the way the guys responded and went out in crunch time and were able to execute and make big plays to get down the field and find a way to score."

The Argos had the worst record in the league last season at 5-13 and are now one win away from the Grey Cup, and he was not sure that he would be a part of it.

"Going into last off-season there was a lot up in the air,” Ray said. “Getting injured again missing significant time, and then not knowing what was going to be happen … who was going to be the coach and GM and whether I was a part of the plan. I knew I wanted to come back and play.”

“I didn’t know what role that would be and when Marc [Trestman] gave me that phone call … it gave me a lot of confidence to know that he believed in me and knowing what my role could be and not have all that uncertainty.”

This will be Ray’s fifth trip to the final, the last one was in 2012 against the Calgary Stampeders who the Argos will play on Sunday in Ottawa.

There are always a lot of distractions for players with a week full of festivities, but the team made sure to handle those details prior to leaving on Tuesday. For Ray, he knows it will be a challenge, especially for players who haven’t been there before.

“You have to do a good job with managing your time and making sure that you are getting your rest and are still preparing like you did the whole year. I think that is the toughest challenge for a lot of guys on the team and hopefully we can manage that."