Ticats chase 1st win of the season against Eskimos

The struggle doesn’t get any easier for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

Hamilton (0-5) is the CFL’s only winless team following an embarrassing 60-1 loss to the Calgary Stampeders. On Saturday, the Ticats continue their western road trip visiting the Edmonton Eskimos (50).

But Edmonton won’t be taking Hamilton for granted. The Eskimos needed Mike Reilly to engineer a 75yard drive — capped by a 15-yard TD strike to Vidal Hazelton with 23 seconds remaining — to secure a 3128 road win at Tim Hortons Field on July 20.

Reilly threw for 412 yards and two touchdowns while running for two others in leading Edmonton to a 37-26 win over the B.C. Lions on Friday night in a battle of the West Division leaders. What’s impressive is the Eskimos continue to roll despite injuries.

Adarius Bowman, the CFL’s top receiver last year, is currently on the six-game injured list and has missed Edmonton’s last two games. But Brandon Zylstra has recorded consecutive 100-yard games for the Eskimos and against B.C. on Friday night Reilly and Hazelton combined on a 108-yard TD pass, the longest in club history.

Hazelton, Zylstra and D’haquille Williams all had 100 yards receiving against the Lions. And when running back Travon Van was injured, veteran Canadian Calvin McCarty stepped in and ran for 45 yards on 11 carries.

Defensively, Edmonton had four sacks, two interceptions and forced two fumbles. Odell Willis had two sacks while rookie Kwaku Boateng added a sack and forced fumble.

Linebacker Simoni Lawrence, Hamilton’s defensive catalyst, is expected to face Edmonton after missing the Calgary loss with a lower-body injury.

Offensively, Hamilton showed an ability to run against Edmonton, averaging 5.4 yards on 14 carries. Trouble was, Ticats’ quarterback Zach Collaros was 22-of-36 passing for 249 yards with a TD but also two interceptions.

Collaros was 14-of-21 passing against Calgary for just 102 yards and an interception before giving way to backup Jeremiah Masoli.

This could certainly be a trap game for Edmonton, facing an winless team following such an emotional victory against a division rival. But given what was required to earn the win two weeks ago at Tim Hortons Field, don’t expect the Ticats to have the element of surprise when they face the Eskimos this week.

Prediction: Edmonton