Tiger-Cats can tie franchise win mark against Eskimos this Friday night
When it’s still September and you’re already tickling the magic numbers, it has to qualify as a magical season.
Like magic, there has been some element of illusion involved; because it hasn’t always looked like the reality of what this is rapidly becoming for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats: one of the best regular seasons in franchise history.
On Friday night, they won a game decisively for just the second time since late June, showing the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, the then leaders of the CFL’s West Division, just how it’s done without the starting quarterback you’d constructed your entire season around.
A 17-point second quarter, right in Manitoba, and the Ticats, sensing they’re getting even better at a very opportune time, flew home giddy from a 33-13 victory.
Speaking of home, perhaps we should start this by reintroducing the Tiger-Cats, just in case you don’t remember them. They play at Tim Hortons Field, but haven’t had a game there since Labour Day. And it will have been 32 days between home appearances when the Ticats entertain the Edmonton Eskimos this Friday night.
They had a bye week and three road games through the difficult West, and captured wins in two of them (Edmonton and Winnipeg) and coulda/shoulda had a third (Calgary).
They’ve amassed 11 wins for just the third time in 30 years, and have four more games yet to reach and surpass the franchise record of a dozen victories in a season. And they could bag No. 12 on Friday night in front of Wall of Honour inductee Rob Hitchcock and his 1999 Grey Cup champions.
A star on that increasingly legendary team was middle linebacker Calvin Tiggle, who in October of that memorable season set the franchise record of 15 defensive tackles. But weakside linebacker Simoni Lawrence smashed that mark with 17 tackles in Winnipeg on Friday night.
It was also a CFL record, one more than Reggie Hunt’s 16 in 2003.
That ’99 team won 11 regularseason games, and finished second in the East. And the current group could eclipse both those achievements this weekend. Their magic number to finish first and earn a bye directly into the East final has been reduced to three points. Any combination of points gained by the Ticats and/or lost by the Montreal Alouettes, and the Ticats will host the division final on the third Sunday of November.
It’s important to be aware that, back on July 26, after just seven passes against these very Bombers, Hamilton lost starting quarterback Jeremiah Masoli, and all those 300-yard passing games to injury.
But Dane Evans has gone 6-2 in his eight starts since then, and has been improving rapidly since. His 359 passing yards, on 25 completions in 32 attempts, put him over 300 for the fourth straight game, and the fifth time in six games.
For a second consecutive week on the road, he had three touchdown passes against just one interception.
He’s started completing the long ball with some regularity, especially early, as he did to Bralon Addison on Friday night, and that has fattened the play book possibilities the rest of the way.
The Ticats aren’t letting any setbacks derail their determination — even a firstpossession TD they allowed to a Bomber offence directed by Chris Streveler — now that Matt Nichols has joined Masoli on the farewell-until-2020 list.
After that, all the Bombers could muster was a pair of field goals, with no points in the game’s final 27 minutes — in, we repeat, Winnipeg. Meanwhile, Hamilton replied with TD receptions from Addison (90 receiving yards) and Speedy Banks (113), both of whom have amassed over 1,000 yards in receptions. Then there was Tyrell Sutton, who’s also adding a much-needed veteran hardrunning threat, and a rushing TD by short-yardage QB David Watford. Lirim Hajrullahu had a pair of field goals.
The Ticats blockers, who entered the game against the league’s leading pass rush, having surrendered 13 sacks in three games, were outstanding in allowing just one.
Meanwhile, the Ticats racked up five sacks of their own. And Lawrence — who’s been penalized and fined/suspended too many times for roughness this season — continued his otherwise career year. He moved into second in CFL defensive tackles with 78, just one behind leader Cory Greenwood of the Calgary Stampeders. Jumal Rolle and Justin Tuggle also had interceptions.
With their two wins in three usually intimidating locales, the Ticats are 5-3 away from Tim Hortons Field. And they are guaranteed a winning road mark this year, as they play three of their final four regularseason games at home, where they are undefeated in all six outings this year.
Be reminded the Ticats have been without starting defensive end Adrian Tracy (Julian Howsare stepped up with two sacks) and a slew of injured running backs. They have also played a significant number of games without franchise-player types Delvin Breaux and Luke Tasker for significant chunks.
Magic might not be the most accurate description for all of this, but it’ll do until a more thorough one shows up.