Bert Faibish
Ticats.ca
With last week’s win over the Bombers yielding over 200 yards on 26 penalties, three scuffles and some accusations of “dirty” play, chances are that we’ll see one very spirited game on Friday night in Winnipeg.
The Ticats and Bombers will meet for the fourth and final time this regular season, come Friday fuses will be short as the teams face off for the second game in a row.
“It’s going to be heated, especially going in to their place,” said defensive lineman Garrett McIntyre.
“It was chippy last week and I’m sure it’s going to be the same way at home because they’re feeling good, so we’re ready for it,” he said.
Everyone on the team knows what kind of environment they’re headed into.
“This is one of those games where you’ll just have to buckle your chin-strap up,” said running back Deandra’ Cobb. “We’re both in a position where we need to win this game so it’s just going to be one of those dog fights.”
A win will be crucial as each team tries to stay competitive in what has become a very tight East division. A win by Hamilton would give them the edge in the season series but Winnipeg could get a leg up by defeating them by a touchdown or more.
“If we lose this game we could still lose the tie breaker for the season series so this is a huge game,” said offensive lineman Alexandre Gauthier.
In other circumstances it might be a mental hurdle to try and get motivated to play a team for the fifth time since the preseason, but the game’s importance overshadows who the opponent is.
“If it were different, if we were 5-1, it would be tougher but each game from here on out is so important that it’s easy to get up for it,” said Gauthier. “I think the game’s importance kind of erases the fact that we’ve played them five times.”
With so much familiarity between the two teams the impetus will rest with the coaches to change or disguise the plays enough to catch the other team off guard.
“They’re going to do what they do well and they’re going to keep doing that but I’m sure that they have some tricks up their sleeves,” said McIntyre.
“We haven’t seen that much pressure from them defensively so I’m sure that may be something we see from them this week,” said Gauthier.
Regardless of how many times they’ve played each other, this game is as important as the last for the Ticats, who are in the second game of a five-game stretch of divisional games, including back-to-back tilts with the Argos starting next Friday.
