Will the Tiger-Cats get the kick they need?
Riders leave some starters home as Hamilton seeks redemption
For a baseball closer, a soccer penalty-taker, a football place-kicker — anyone who knows they can be suddenly thrust into a game-deciding situation — it’s in the main pocket of their psychological tool belt.
Deliberate amnesia. Remembering just that little bit that will keep you educated and inspired, and casting the rest away to wherever it can land noiselessly.
“In college we had what we called the ‘five-second rule,’ ” explains former Carleton Raven Michael Domagala, who has stepped into the Hamilton Tiger-Cats’ placekicking role after American Taylor Bertolet was released.
“You think about the last kick for five seconds, and then focus on the next one. You have to have that selective memory to be successful. That one’s tucked away.”
That one was Domagala’s convert attempt that caromed, unsuccessfully, off the upright at Toronto’s BMO Field with just 84 seconds left in the Ticats’ 17-16 loss in mid-September, the first of their three successive season-altering defeats at the hands of the Argonauts. Based on balance of play, the Ticats did not deserve to be in a position to tie or win that game, but they were anyway.
Domagala hasn’t attempted a field goal since then, but now he could easily be on the spot in a game which likely determines whether or not Hamilton finishes second and hosts next weekend’s CFL East semifinal or has to travel to Montreal to play it.
As they completed their plans, and their lineup, Friday for Saturday’s home matinee (4 p.m.) against the Saskatchewan Roughriders, the 7-6 Ticats had to assume they need to win to keep pace with the Alouettes, also 7-6, who were playing the woeful Ottawa Redblacks Friday night. Second place gets the semifinal home game and the Ticats hold the tiebreaker edge.
The Roughriders have already secured second place in the west, so they’ve left several key players off Saturday’s roster, including quarterback Cody Fajardo, who was at
the helm when they shellacked the visiting Ticats 30-8 in mid-August.
“We’re not going to take a JV squad over there,” Saskatchewan coach Craig Dickenson said this week. “We’ve got a good team going. And the guys that we’re taking should be hungry and wanting to prove something themselves, so I think it’s going to be a heck of a game.”
Recent numbers say it will be, at least on the scoreboard. Saskatchewan’s last seven games have all been decided by a touchdown or less and they’ve won five of them, a big part of their solid 9-4 record. So, kicking could easily be a factor, and Domagala is not unaware of that but says he’s removed that September elephant from this October room.
“There’s pressure, sure, but I’ll just kick when the game determines that I have to kick, I won’t make more of it than what it is,” said the 26-year-old St. Catharines native.
Using Domagala frees up an American spot on the Ticats’ roster that can be used for fleet returner/ receiver Papi White.
Don Jackson returns after a week away with a groin injury and the Ticats’ offence clearly missed him in their deflating loss in Toronto last weekend.
“It won’t change the approach,” head coach Orlondo Steinauer said. “He just has a different running style. It’s not like we’re going to have 25 carries because Don’s in there. There’s a game plan heading in and there’s in-game adjustments.”
All week, Steinauer emphasized better execution on plays and he’s got to be expecting more of it from the offence. Jeremiah Masoli missed three open deep receivers early in the Toronto game, and a couple later on. If that happens again this game, Dane Evans has to get the call, it says here. Loudly.
Jackson’s quick hitting and second-tier shifts should help keep the Riders hard-charging defence a little more honest. In August, they unleashed six sacks against Hamilton, three by Jonathan Woodard and a pair by fellow defensive end A.C. Leonard. Those two lead the CFL with 10 apiece.
Although the casual fan might not recognize it, Hamilton’s offensive line has been much more effective in recent games, which savvy right tackle Chris Van Zeyl attributes mostly to being more familiar with each other’s style.
Hamilton’s first-quarter defence is among the best in CFL history, surrendering a total of 21 points all year. But, in the fourth quarters of the last six games they’ve allowed a whopping 75 points.
“Throughout the season we play amazing at times and then we’ll have maybe two or three drives when we don’t play like us at all,” says safety Tunde Adeleke, the Ticats’ top Canadian player nominee. “We need to be more consistent, playing the first quarter throughout.”
Steinauer said that no matter what Saturday’s game means, there has to be an immediate mental turnaround to playoff football mentality.
Van Zeyl adds that the Ticats want some sense of redemption: “I think the guys need to get the bad taste out of their mouths from last week. It’s important moving into the playoffs, being on the right foot.”