A close call and a hard fought battle may have been just what the Hamilton Tiger-Cats needed.
The Ticats picked up their eighth win of the season on Friday night with a victory over the Argos, sweeping the season series and extending their lead over the CFL East Division to two games.
Unlike their other seven wins though, this one came right down to the wire. And after a strong 60-minute effort, the Ticats survived a high-scoring affair at the Rogers Centre against an Argo team that just wouldn’t give up.
“We played a really good football team tonight, they came ready to play,” said Head Coach and General Manager Kent Austin. “They played really hard. Give them a lot of credit – we had to play 60 minutes to beat these guys.”
The Ticats ran the Argos out of town four days earlier to the tune of a 42-12 victory at Tim Hortons Field on Labour Day, a game they led 30-1 at one point in the third quarter. This time though the Argos put up a much better fight.
Zach Collaros threw a pair of first-half touchdown passes and the Ticats built a 19-7 halftime lead. But in the second half, Argos pivot Trevor Harris lit up the scoreboard, generating three Argo touchdowns including two through the air.
Frustratingly enough for the home team, however, every time the Argos scored a touchdown, the Ticats responded.
“We responded well offensively a couple of times, and they were doing a good job offensively in the second half,” said Austin. “They put the ball in the end zone, they stayed on the field and I was glad the offence was able to respond.”
Collaros’ performance, while not quite last week’s sterling 400-yard, four-touchdown gem vs. the Argos, played a huge role in the Ticats’ victory on Friday night. He threw a pair of touchdown passes and in the face of a steady pass rush kept the Ticat offence moving all night.
In sustaining drives offensively, the Ticats never let the Argos swing momentum far enough in their favour to take the lead.
“We did a good job,” said Collaros following the game. “We kept battling.”
Admittedly an emotional player when the lights are on, Collaros played with plenty of energy, often pumping his fists after a big play and even once giving the Argo bench a stare down after a key first down late in the game.
The Ticats clearly fed off their quarterback’s energy, which may have played an underlying role in a strong performance for a team coming off just three days’ rest.
“I was excited,” said Collaros. “I am an emotional guy. I enjoy winning, especially against the team I used to play for.
“With one day of prep you have to really lock in and take care of your body and I thought we did a good job all week,” he added. “Guys came in on the off day after the game, got in the cold tubs, worked out – did the necessary things we had to do and that just shows the professionalism the guys have on this team.”
In short, the Ticats seem to have learned something about themselves on Friday night. They entered a game on little rest and without key players due to injury, and they survived a second-half surge by a hungry home team.
Yet despite being two up on the Argos and three up on the REDBLACKS, there’s still work to be done against the highly-competitive East. The Ticats also know they haven’t likely seen the last of the Argos, even though they won’t see them again this regular season.
“They’re going to win a lot of football games and we’ve got a tough race on our side,” said Austin. “There are some good football teams. We feel like it’s going to go down to the wire.
“Everything can turn on a dime and there’s still a lot of football left,” he added. “We’re by far not in a position to feel comfortable at all, not with this football team or anybody in the East – Ottawa, Montreal.
“We’ve got our work cut out for us. We saw that tonight.”
