The Ticats will attempt to wrangle the the surging Calgary Stampeders when they pay a visit Tim Hortons Field on Saturday; a feat no team has achieved since back in Week 1.
The Stamps gallop into Hamilton with a league best record of 11-1-1 and are currently riding a 10 game win streak. They are also the only team that has clinched a playoff birth thus far.
The Ticats fell just short of a win last week to the Saskatchewan Roughriders as Tyler Crapigna kicked a walk-off field goal for the Riders to secure a 20-18 victory. Andy Fantuz topped all receivers with 113 yards on 9 catches while Adrian Tracy led the way on defence for the Ticats with seven tackles and one quarterback sack. The injury riddled Tabbies were missing starting receivers Terrence Toliver, Luke Tasker, and Chad Owens in the loss.
Toliver will return in Week 15, but Tasker and Owens will still be watching from the sidelines.
Ticats quarterback Zach Collars says that the key to victory against the Stamps is to play a “very clean game.”
“Obviously their record speaks for itself,” said Collaros. “They’ve been a great team for a long time. We’re going to have to execute at a high level, offensively score some points, and hopefully get a win.”
Ticats head coach Kent Austin will be noticeably absent from the bench on Saturday night. A ruling from CFL Commissioner Jeffrey Orridge earlier this week stated that Austin will be removed from the sidelines for the Week 15 game after making contact with an official in the loss to Saskatchewan. He will be watching the game on sight in a booth and still have contact with the rest of the coaching staff via headset.
Austin has stated confidence in his coaching staff and remains focused on the game ahead.
“The team’s going to be fine. The sidelines are going to be great with Orlondo [Steinauer]. I don’t have any worries there at all. Zero… We’ll get through it, get over it, and be better for it.”
The Stampeders are coming off of a close 36-34 victory over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers after holding off a late surge from the opposition. Shaw CFL Top Performer of the Month Bo Levi Mitchell completed 29-of-43 passes for 361 yards while throwing two touchdowns. Receiver Kamar Jorden finished the game with 126 yards on 9 receptions and one major while Deron Mayo racked up seven tackles.
The Stamps boast a league best 294 points against while also scoring a CFL high 441 points heading into Week 15. Mitchell also leads the league with 24 passing touchdowns while Jarome Messam currently sits on top of the CFL stats sheet in rushing yards (810 yards) and rushing touchdowns with nine. Messam left in the fourth quarter of Calgary’s Week 14 win but has been cleared to play against the Ticats.
The Stampeders will be playing with heavy hearts at Tim Hortons Field. It will be the team’s first game since the death of teammate Mylan Hicks who was shot dead last week.
“It’s been a tough week,” Messam told Stampeders.com. “Just to battle back from the head injury and then everything that happened Sunday morning. It’s tough; just trying to stay mentally locked in and kind of use this as fuel to go into Saturday.”
The Ticats will look for redemption after falling 30-24 to the Stamps in Week 10. Collaros was dominant in his third game back from injury, completing 34-of-53 passes for 439 and three touchdowns while Terrence Toliver put on show by racking up 183 yards on nine receptions. Mitchell was 27-of-37 passing for 323 yards and one touchdown.
Quick Facts:
- Collaros has averaged 344 passing yards per game since returning from injury, a pace equivalent to a 6,200-yard full season.
- The Ticats have been resilient this season and have an excellent 4-2 record when coming off a loss in 2016.
- Calgary has led at the end of the 1st quarter in seven of their last eight games and 10 times in 13 games.
- The Stamps have just three turnovers in their last six games.
