THREE THINGS TO WATCH IN HAMILTON
ROUGH RIDE AHEAD
The special-ops forces that comprise the Lions’ reworked offensive line had a mixed bag of results in the season opener against Calgary. With rookies and first-timers at every position, they allowed three sacks — Jon Jennings’ escapability was called into action — but in the fourth quarter they were at their best in a clock-killing drive that sealed the victory. “Unsteady early,” O-line coach Dan Dorazio said. “Not untypical. You’re going to have hiccups. But everyone stayed determined. They stayed with their jobs. And, in the end, they figured it out.” Up next is a tenacious Ticat defence led by Simoni Lawrence and John Chick, the latter a player Dorazio respects greatly. “John brings his hard hat to the field every day.”
WHEN IN DOUBT, PUNT?
During his 10-year playing career as a linebacker and punter with the Montreal Alouettes, Wally Buono can remember having only a single kick blocked. Last Saturday, in the Lions’ season opener, he watched in horror as punter Richie Leone had three offerings either blocked or deflected — in the first 30 minutes. “You have to have your eyes on the right person (to block),” Buono said. “The sad part about it: (The Stampeders) didn’t scheme to do it. That’s what was annoying.” The Lions tightened up in the second half and spent the week working on their X’s and O’s to make sure it doesn’t happen again in Hamilton. “They were momentum-shifters, but we withstood the storm,” special teams coach Marcello Simmons said.
ONE TEAM, SIX QUARTERBACKS
In the spring of 2013, quarterback Everett Golson, who led the Notre Dame Fighting Irish to an undefeated 2012 regular season before they were thumped 42-14 by Alabama in the national championship game, was dismissed from school when he was caught cheating on a test. He transferred to Florida State and finished his college career with an impressive 30-9 record as a starter. On Monday, he became the sixth quarterback on the Ticats, coached by a former quarterback, Kent Austin, who believes you can never have enough. “We’d have nine, if we could,” Austin said. Two of Hamilton’s QBs, starter Zach Collaros and Jacory Harris, are injured, so stockpiling QBs is perhaps not such a crazy obsession after all.