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Asked about reaction when he was told he would sit out this game, Harris joked: “I told Jamie (Elizondo, Redblacks offensive co-ordinator) I was going to fight him. He said, ‘We want to do what’s best for us. At this point in time, the best thing for the team is for you to heal up, rest up and be ready to go for the 18th.’ My job this week is to be the best quarterback I can be, support Dom and Danny and the guys who are going to be out there playing.”

Asked about his recent strong play, plus bouncing the Tiger-Cats in two straight games, Harris said: “I’ve always felt like we were building to something great here this season. We have to come in on the 18th, flying fast, and be as good as we’ve been all year.

“When you’re in Games 11, 12, 13, 14, it’s hard to look ahead, but we’re at the point now where it’s like, ‘Hey, there is light at the end of the tunnel.’ We’ve been through the ups and downs, everything we want to accomplish is directly in front of us. We’ve set the table nicely, but that doesn’t mean anything if we don’t follow through.”

Photo by Tony Caldwell / Postmedia

BIG PICTURE FOR WILLY P: Assuming Andrew Harris plays for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers against the Eskimos on Saturday, Powell will lose the CFL rushing title. He goes into the final weekend of regular-season play with a seven-yard edge. “I always want to be on the field, but you have to realize it’s a bigger picture and we want bigger things,” Powell said. Asked if he had been surprised that he wasn’t in the lineup against the Ticats, Powell responded, “I was. It wasn’t easy for me to sit out, but I had to take a step back. They wanted me to come in with fresh legs in the playoffs.” Asked about the numbers he put up over the course of 16 games, he added that he was “happy about the year, but we still have bigger goals in mind, so hopefully I can be even more happy.”