Game Preview: Ticats @ Alouettes

The 13-3 Hamilton Tiger-Cats are getting set for their final road game of the season—save for a possible Grey Cup appearance. The Ticats will be in Montreal on Saturday afternoon in what could be a possible East Final preview.
Montreal currently sits in second place in the east and is already locked into an Eastern Semi-final matchup with the Edmonton Eskimos. The winner, of course, makes the trip to Hamilton to face the Ticats at Tim Hortons Field.
This will be the third meeting between the two teams. So far, the two teams have split the season series with the home team winning both matchups.
Hamilton will have two Top Performers looking to defend their titles this week, with both Tyrell Sutton and Dane Evans taking home last week’s honours. Evans was named the CFL’s Top Performer, throwing for 452 yards with a touchdown and an interception last week against the Redblacks. Sutton was also named a Top Performer, rushing for 85 yards and adding another 64 receiving yards for a total of 149 scrimmage yards.
In the first meeting between these two teams, the Ticats accomplished a rare feat of having three 100 yard receivers. Brandon Banks led the way with 152 yards while Bralon Addison 121 and running back Sean Thomas Erlington had 102.
Defensively, Ja’Gared Davis led the way with three sacks, while Cariel Brooks picked off Vernon Adams’ for the Ticats’ lone interception of the game.

The Ticats ultimately went home with a 41-10 win.
It was a bit of a different story when Hamilton went to Montreal just a week later. On the positive side, this was Jaelon Acklin’s breakout game. The rookie had 120 yards, including an incredibly acrobatic toe-tap touchdown.
Defensively, both Adrian Tracy and Chris Frey recorded a sack, while Richard Leonard led the way with six tackles. Ja’Gared Davis also forced and recovered a fumble. Unfortunately for the Ticats, their comeback effort fell just short and Montreal picked up the 36-29 win.
Heading into Saturday’s contest, this is a drastically different Ticats team than the one we saw back in July. Dane Evans stepped in after Jeremiah Masoli went down with an injury and is proving to be one of the top quarterbacks in the league. Bralon Addison has emerged as one of the top receivers in the league, giving the Ticats a lethal one-two punch at the top of their receiving depth chart.
Defensively, this team has solidified themselves as one of the top defensive teams in the CFL, with talent all over the field. Simoni Lawrence leads the league in tackles, while Ja’Gared Davis is second in sacks and Jumal Rolle ranks fourth in interceptions.
When it comes to their opponents, the Alouettes have some key offensive weapons to worry about. Vernon Adams Jr. has had a breakout year as the starting pivot in Montreal. A true dual-threat quarterback, he always makes for difficult game planning. William Stanback is also one of the top running backs in the CFL and currently sits second in the league in rushing yards.
On the defensive end, Bo Lokombo is one of the hardest hitters in the league, while Henoc Muamba is one of the top linebackers in the CFL, trailing only Simoni Lawrence in tackles.
Kick off from Percival Molson Memorial Stadium is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Saturday and can be seen on the TSN network.