Nothing on the line, other than a win
Ticats didn’t need the victory to secure home playoff game, but got a good one anyway
He’s got 360 vision and he’s very articulate so we call upon Orlondo Steinauer to put things in a nutshell.
“Now it’s time to flip the page,” said the Hamilton Tiger-Cats’ head coach after a dominating 24-3 victory over the short-staffed Saskatchewan Roughriders at Tim Hortons Field late Saturday afternoon.
“There is a bigger consequence now. There’s elimination if we don’t execute in a winning fashion.” Exactly.
The Ticats finished an aboveaverage, although not far aboveaverage, 8-6 on the truncated regular season. But, the eight and the six are now both essentially irrelevant numbers. Past tense when only the future, meaning next Sunday’s East semifinal, matters.
Because they stood second, the Ticats play host to the third-place Montreal Alouettes. Win and they advance to Toronto for the division final; lose and they are gone and so is the chance for a real hometown team in the Dec. 12 Grey Cup.
“It’s that time, you can feel it in the air, that atmosphere,” said quarterback Jeremiah Masoli, who was emphatically in control in the first half, the only one he played, completing 17 of his 23 passes for 223 yards and a Don Jackson touchdown.
“It was good to get some momentum going into the playoffs, but now it’s all about this next game.”
That one will have a far different charge to it, partly because of the Als’ premier running back William Stanback and new quarterback Trevor Harris, but mostly because the winner’s 2021 doesn’t end.
By kickoff, Saturday’s game no longer mattered, at least in the standings, but the Ticats clearly took the approach that it mattered deeply, came out roaring and stayed loud most of the way. The Montreal Alouettes’ shocking 19-18 upset loss 20 hours earlier to the last-place Ottawa Redblacks guaranteed Hamilton second place and its welcome-to-our-house semifinal berth. But, unlike the Riders, who are second in the west but could leave several starters including quarterback Cody Fajardo at home, the Ticats had to prepare and dress a roster that was needing, not just wanting, a win.
They also needed, and not just wanted, to cast off the bitter taste of what Masoli called “dropping the ball” in the loss in Toronto last Friday which cost them first place. With Saturday’s victory, they have now won four of their last five. Again, the four don’t matter any longer, other than the confidence a tailwind can provide.
On Saturday, it was important for the Ticats to recalibrate what got knocked off axis in Toronto and they hit most of those targets, although, flagged for 135 yards, they continued their worrisome trend of undisciplined penalties. And within the 451 yards of offence and pair of touchdown passes were four drives that ended in field goal attempts and two Dane Evans interceptions, although both picks were likely the result of a lack of sustained playing time.
“There were some things we needed to improve upon, 100 per cent,” Steinauer said. “And we got more information.”
Most of it positive. Masoli was buoyant, in a hard-nosed groove and stretched the field; Evans played the whole second half and opened it with a 68-yard drive culminating in a Brandon Banks touchdown catch; eight receivers caught passes and were effectively determined after the catch; the defence gave up only three points and for the ninth time this season held an opposing team scoreless in the first quarter; the Ticats made two interceptions; and Papi White had a 46-yard punt return and injected more vigour into the kickoff returns.
Additionally: Michael Domagala made three of his four field goal attempts; the offensive line gave up two sacks, but continued its recent solid play; and Jackson had a bigger impact than his 34 rushing yards indicated.
All of those point in the right direction, but a compass only directs you toward something; it doesn’t do the work once you’re there. The Alouettes, who beat the Ticats last month in overtime for one of Hamilton’s only two home losses, will be a tough out. But so, it appears, will the Ticats.
“They’re a different team than we faced,” Steinauer said. “They’ve evolved, and so have we. They’re going to run the ball, that’s for sure.”
So, people like linebacker Simoni Lawrence are going to be very busy. His five tackles Saturday gave him 609 total tackles as a Ticat, breaking Rob Hitchcock’s long-standing franchise record of 606. In a gesture brimming with class, Hitchcock who works the sidelines for the team’s audio network, immediately embraced the new record-holder.
“Montreal is a really good team,” Lawrence said, looking ahead. “I like the playoffs because you have to play like it’s your last game.”
NOTES: There was a touching tribute to the late Angelo Mosca before the game, with the Ticats’ players sprinting out to meet his family on the field. His iconic No. 68 was painted into both end zones ... Dane Evans was 10 of 16 for 126 yards, a touchdown (Brandon Banks) and two interceptions … Ticats receivers were led by Steven Dunbar Jr. with five receptions and 89 yards, Tim White (6-for- 83), and Jaelon Acklin (6-for-74) … Saskatchewan quarterback Isaac Harker completed 16 of 23 passes, for 150 yards with two interceptions (Jumal Rolle, Tunde Adeleke). Mason Fine was 5-for-9 and 64 yards … Attendance was 22,344