THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ticats.ca
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats will board a flight on Saturday morning to Regina, a day ahead of their battle with the Saskatchewan Roughriders at Mosaic Stadium.
The Roughriders will face a Ticats team that launched an impressive late rally last week to beat Edmonton 28-21. Quarterback Quinton Porter’s one-yard TD run with 46 seconds remaining provided the winning margin and was set up by rookie tailback DeAndra’ Cobb’s sparkling 40-yard scamper.
The win was a monumental one for Hamilton, which heads into this week with the CFL’s second-best record after consecutive 3-15 campaigns.
“I see a strong offence that has great skill players at quarterback and running back,” Riders DE Stevie Baggs said of the Ticats. “Then you look at those receivers and offensive line, those guys fight.
“The main thing for us is to continue to do what we’re supposed to. We jump out on folks and some how, some way we start getting into a little lull. We just have to continue to stay persistent and consistent in our pursuit of excellence.”
Marwan Hage, Hamilton’s veteran centre, said it’s important for the youthful Ticats to keep everything in proper perspective and not get carried away with their early success. Having said that, Hage added it’s fun to go to work these days.
“Each win you get is like a building block and it gives us confidence and lets us kind of concentrate more on working hard for the next one,” he said. “In past years we were unable to get those wins early so we were playing catchup football instead of building.
“It’s exciting to be able to come to a positive environment every day and work to get better instead of coming to a negative environment and try to get better.”
Not only will the Ticats have to deal with a strong Riders team, there’s also the matter of playing before the rabid Mosaic Stadium gathering, a fact not lost upon Hamilton linebacker Jamall Johnson, who spent four seasons with the B.C. Lions before joining the Ticats this season.
“Saskatchewan is always ready to play,” he said. “Playing with B.C., we had some really close and tough battles in Regina and Vancouver.
“They usually have sellout crowds and their fans are really, really loud so we’re not just facing the guys on the field, we’re also facing the 13th man. We know we’re going into a battle and we’re not taking it lightly.”
Saskatchewan slotback Andy Fantuz is expected to miss a third straight game with a hamstring injury. But Johnson said the Riders quarterback tandem of Darian Durant and Stephen Jyles does present the Ticats with a challenge.
“They’re different from the quarterbacks we’ve faced like Montreal’s Anthony Calvillo, Edmonton’s Ricky Ray and even B.C.’s Buck Pierce,” he said. “Those guys are more pocket passers.
“But the guys in Saskatchewan are athletic. They get their read and if nothing is there they take off so you’ve always got to account for them and be aware of what’s going on.”
As for Hage, he won’t have to worry about tangling with Scott Schultz. The Riders’ rugged defensive tackle retired earlier this month to work full-time in an insurance business he and some partners purchased.
“I’m really disappointed because I enjoyed playing against Scott,” Hage said. “He was a great player and someone I always thought of as the face of the Saskatchewan defence.
“You’ve got to be happy for him because he was able to leave on his own terms. But it’s going to be sad not to see him.”
