Battle for First: Ticats Begin Home-And-Home Series With Redblacks

First place in the East Division will be on the line Friday night when the Hamilton Tiger-Cats take on the Ottawa Redbalcks at Tim Hortons Field.
The Ticats sit second in the standings just one point behind the Redblacks for top spot in the East heading into Week 17. Friday’s game will be the first in a home-and-home series against Ottawa with huge playoff implications and four valuable points up for grabs.
“Those are playoff games for us,” said Ticats head coach Kent Austin. “The guys know that. We typically don’t try to over emphasize a game but we can’t lose sight of the fact that these games are going to go a long way in determining whether we even make the playoffs and, if we do, where we finish.”
The Ticats are coming off of a bye week after falling 36-17 to the surging Calgary Stampeders back on Oct. 1. Andy Fantuz had a stellar performance with 15 receptions, just one catch short of the Canadian Football League single game record, for a game high 130 yards. Brett Maher was a perfect 3-for-3 on field goal attempts and set a new Ticats record for longest field goal with a 58-yard strike.
Jeremiah Masoli will once again be handed the reigns to the Ticats offence after Zach Collaros sustained an upper body injury in the loss to Calgary and has been ruled out of Friday’s game. Masoli is no stranger to the starting role, leading the Ticats to a 3-3 record at the start the season. He set a new CFL straight completion record back in Week 5 against the Edmonton Eskimos by throwing 23-straight passes, making up a 25-point deficit in the process and leading the Ticats to one of the greatest comebacks in franchise history.
“We trust Jeremiah,” said Austin. “He’s won football games. He’s a guy that prepares really well and cares about his teammates. He wants to do well and he’s a talented player, so we expect him to play well.”
The Black and Gold wasted no time after returning from the bye week, acquiring 10 new players on Monday. One of the new additions is veteran Keon Raymond who was picked up as a free agent and will start at strong side linebacker for the Ticats against Ottawa. The Tabbies also added national defensive lineman Justin Capicciotti and international offensive lineman Xavier Fulton to their roster in a trade with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Both are expected to make an immediate impact with Fulton getting the start at left tackle while Capicciotti will back up defensive end Adrian Tracy.
The Redblacks are looking for a bounce back performance after losing a close 32-30 overtime contest to the Roughriders in Week 16. Greg Ellingson had two touchdowns for Ottawa and led all receivers with 97 yards on 6 catches while Mossis Madu added 75 yards on the ground.
Quarterback Henry Burris replaced Trevor Harris in the final quarter of the game and strung together a valiant comeback effort as the Redblacks put up 22 points in the final 15 minutes.
Burris will get the start at quarterback for Ottawa against the Ticats.
“Henry’s been here from the very beginning,” said Redblacks head coach Rick Campbell. “Trevor does a great job too, but Henry’s been a leader on this team for an extended amount of time and that leadership helps.”
The Ticats and Redblacks have yet to play each other in the 2016 regular season. The last time Hamilton and Ottawa faced off in a meaningful game was the 2015 East Division final. The match was tied in the dying minutes of the fourth quarter before Burris connected with Ellingson for a 93-yard touchdown to secure a 35-28 win for the Redblacks.
“That’s been a topic throughout the week; the way we left last year versus Ottawa,” said Ticats centre Mike Filer. “We’ve got some unfinished business and we’re looking forward to a good match.”