The Hamilton Tiger-Cats (1-8) are taking on the Ottawa Redblacks (4-6-1) at TD Place Stadium in Ottawa.
Jeremiah Masoli is 1-0 as a starter this season. While he posted average yardage, he capitalized in the big moments and delivered in the red zone. Despite taking over number one reps for just one week of practice, the gunslinger peered down the barrel into tight windows and made confident throws. His longest completion of the night was a 64-yard touchdown strike that hit Brandon Banks in mid-speedy-stride.
Call it veteran leadership, familiarity, or simply dominant play, the Masoli-Banks connection was electric on a lightning-riddled evening in the Hammer. Banks led the Ticats in receiving yards and added a touchdown on his way to Performance of the Game honours. In a Coach Jones offensive system that rewards speed, Banks is looking to repeat his Labour Day performance in the coming weeks.
“Speed kills,” said Coach Jones during a media scrum after practice on Wednesday, “and he [Brandon Banks] is very fast.”
The Tiger-Cats also looked strong on the defensive side of the ball, holding Toronto quarterback Ricky Ray to almost 200 fewer passing yards than he posted in the season opener. A big part of the turnaround was the play of the defensive backs. Emanuel Davis was sorely missed at the start of the season and his return was a major boost for the Ticats’ defense. On Saturday, look for the ball-hawking Davis to revisit his old stomping grounds – the interception column. Davis has posted five interceptions in each of the least two years, both seasons finishing in the top five across the league. This season he has some welcome competition in teammate Richard Leonard, who has already amassed three interceptions, joining a heap of players in a tie for third in the CFL.
The Tiger-Cat defence will look to continue its improved play against the aerial attack when it takes on Redblack quarterback, Trevor Harris, on Saturday. Harris has the advantage of an additional game over Ricky Ray, but currently leads the league in passing yards and boasts an impressive completion percentage of 71.0 percent. The Ticats will aim to deplete his statistical torrent in front of the TD Place crowd.
So far this season, the Ottawa backfield has been an unsettled place, but with solid back-to-back starts from Mossis Madu, the Redblacks may have found a number one, at least for now. The Ticats run defence, led by tackle-machine Larry Dean, looks to shut down the elusive back. Larry Dean leads the team with 49 tackles, a total which is good for seventh in the league. Perhaps a more impressive stat is that Dean leads the league in forced fumbles, part of a three way tie with Victor Butler and Maurice Leggett.
The Ticats are coming off their first victory of 2017 and will be loading up the train with optimism and positive vibes when they hit the rails on their way to the nation’s capital.
