Without Masoli, Ticats face tougher test out west
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are now Dane Evans’ team.
Evans becomes Hamilton’s starter after incumbent Jeremiah Masoli suffered a seasonending knee injury in the Ticats’ 23-15 home win over the previously unbeaten Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Friday night.
In his third season with Hamilton, Evans doesn’t have the luxury of time to settle into the No. 1 role. The Ticats (5-1) visit the Saskatchewan Roughriders (3-3) on Thursday night (TSN, 9:30 p.m.).
Evans certainly has some big shoes to fill. Masoli was the East Division’s outstanding player last season and this year is second in the CFL in TD passes (nine) and third in completions (125) and passing yards (1,576). Evans was 13-of-25 passing for 94 yards and an interception versus Winnipeg. But he also ran for a touchdown in helping stake Hamilton to an early 14-0 lead.
The loss of Masoli is huge for Hamilton. The Ticats could also be minus receiver Brandon Banks (42 catches, 554 yards, three TDs), offensive lineman Darius Ciraco and defensive lineman Adrian Tracy.
Hamilton’s defence will definitely be without linebacker Simoni Lawrence. He’ll serve the final game of a two-game ban for hitting Saskatchewan starter Zach Collaros in the head in Hamilton’s season-opening home victory. Canadian Nick Shortill filled in admirably for Lawrence with a game-high nine tackles against Winnipeg.
On Monday, the Ticats signed American quarterback David Watford. He appeared in 18 games last season with Saskatchewan.
The Riders are coming off a home-and-home sweep of the B.C. Lions. After earning a 3825 home win July 20, Saskatchewan captured a 45-18 victory at B.C. Place on Saturday night. William Powell ran for 146 yards and three TDs for Saskatchewan, which also didn’t allow a sack in either game.
The Riders defence held Lions quarterback Mike Reilly to 66 passing yards before he left the contest in the fourth quarter. Saskatchewan also finished with four sacks.
About the only blemish for the Riders was allowing two Ryan Lankford return TDs. And that could be telling, given Hamilton’s special-teams prowess.
But Montreal’s William Stanback, the CFL rushing leader, ran for 203 yards and three TDs versus Hamilton earlier this season. Pick: Saskatchewan BLUE BOMBERS at ARGONAUTS (Thursday, 7 p.m.) Winnipeg (5-1) looks to begin another win streak after last week’s loss to Hamilton. Matt Nichols had three interceptions in that game after throwing just one in the Bombers’ first five contests. The Argos (0-6) return home following a 26-0 loss in Edmonton to face an ornery opponent. Pick: Winnipeg REDBLACKS at ALOUETTES (Friday, 7 p.m.) The streaking Alouettes (3-2) come off a bye week chasing a fourth straight win. Vernon Adams Jr. has been under centre for the victories with Stanback also carrying a huge load. So did the defence in the team’s last win, 20-10 over Edmonton. Ottawa (2-4) comes off a tough 17-16 loss to Calgary and has dropped four straight. However, quarterback Dominique Davis could return from injury. Pick: Montreal ESKIMOS at STAMPEDERS (Saturday, 7 p.m.) It’s the first of three matchups between now and Sept. 7 for the Alberta rivals. The Stampeders (4-2) are coming off a narrow win over Ottawa thanks to Rene Paredes’ game-winning field goal on the final play of the contest. Shaquille Cooper ran for 128 yards and a TD while the defence pitched a shutout for Edmonton (4-2) versus Toronto last week. Pick: Edmonton Last week: 3-1 Overall: 18-9