East Meets West: Ticats Ready For Crossover With Esks In Eastern Semi-Final
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats begin their quest for the Grey Cup on Sunday at Tim Hortons Field against the reigning champion Edmonton Eskimos.
The Ticats have history on their side with three straight playoff wins on home turf in 2013, 2014, and 2015. This will also be the fourth consecutive year that the Ticats host a home postseason game. The Black and Gold have an impressive playoff history under head coach Kent Austin since his tenure began in 2013, including two trips to the Grey Cup and one appearance in the Eastern Semi-Final.
Austin says that the team has had a good week of practice and feel prepared to take on the Esks.
“They’ve got a good football team,” said Austin. “They’re talented across the board. We’re going to have to play really well and play a really mistake free game. We have to limit their explosions. They’re a big play football team and we’re going to have to get our share of big play as well to have an opportunity to win.”
The Ticats ended their regular season with a close 32-25 loss to the Montreal Alouettes, choosing to rest a bulk of their starters in preparation for the post season. Zach Collaros amassed 134 yards on 8-of-12 passing in just one quarter of play before being replaced by Jeff Mathews for the remainder of the game. Junior Collins led all receivers with 95 yards on six catches while Brian Tyms scored a touchdown for the Tabbies in his first CFL game.
Austin says that although the amount of work put in from game-to-game remains constant, the team realizes what is on the line.
“The guys have been focused and really fired up,” said Austin. “I think that they practice well but we really don’t approach things differently. Obviously they know it’s one and done right now and you have to play your best football to have a chance to move on, but other than that I think the approach for preparation and how we get the guys focused is the same. We try to keep that consistent.”
The Ticats will also get a boost to their secondary with the return of National Courtney Stephen at safety.
The Eskimos are rolling into TigerTown with five wins in their past six game and also boast the CFL’s top two receivers in regular season receiving yards with Adarius Bowman and Derel Walker. Quarterback Mike Reilly, last year’s Grey Cup MVP, is also enjoying a successful 2016 campaign, topping the league in most passing yards.
The Ticats and Esks have had two close games this year, splitting the season series 1-1. The Ticats picked up their win on the road back in Week 5 by orchestrating the largest comeback in team history and sixth largest comeback in CFL history. The Tabbies trailed by 25 points in the third quarter but fought through the deficit for a 37-31 win. Jeremiah Masoli set a CFL record 23-straight completions in the victory.
The two teams last faced each other two short weeks ago at Tim Hortons Field in Week 19 action. Hamilton went on a 15-point run in the fourth quarter, but came up just short of another impressive comeback, falling to the Esks 29-26. CJ Gable could not be contained with 143 combined yards while John White led the way for Edmonton with 132 yards on the ground.
Reilly says that both of those games are in the past.
“I don’t put any stock in what happened in the regular season,” Reilly told Esks.com. “The playoffs are an entirely new season. None of that matters. Once you get into the playoffs, that’s all that matters, that you’re playing. The end of their season and the end of ours has no bearing on this game. It’s going to be who comes out and plays better on Sunday.
“If we do that than we’ll win, and if they play better than us, obviously they’ll win.”
Quick Facts:
- The Ti-Cats are only 4th team in CFL history to have two players pass for over 2,500 yards in the same year.
- The Ticats have outscored opponents 177 to 89 in the 4th quarter (+88)
- Edmonton is trying to become the first team to defend their Grey Cup title since Montreal won back-to-back in 2010.
- The Eskimos have led after one quarter only once in the last 7 games but gone on to win 5 of them.