HAMILTON, Ont. — Darian Durant is going to see a very familiar face Saturday when he lines up under centre and looks across the field.
Defensive end Steve Baggs will make his Hamilton debut when the Tiger-Cats host Durant and the Saskatchewan Roughriders at Ivor Wynne Stadium.
Baggs spent two seasons in Regina (2008-’09) before signing in Steeltown after being released by the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals.
“I’m looking forward to playing against Stevie,” said Durant. “I went against him every day in practice and he’d run by you and tap you on the side and say, `Sack.’
“So we’ll see when it’s live if that holds true.”
For his part, Baggs isn’t being overly sentimental about facing his former teammates. He says will be all business on the field.
So, should Durant be worried?
“Is a pig pork?” Baggs said with a grin. “We’ve just got to do on defence what coach (Greg) Marshall asks us to do, and that’s one of the main things: Keep (Durant) in the pocket and try to hopefully contain what they try to do.”
This is the second meeting of the season between Saskatchewan (7-4) and Hamilton (6-5). The Riders won the first contest 37-24 on July 31 in Regina.
The game will feature two of the CFL’s top quarterbacks who are both coming off impressive victories.
Durant threw for 500 yards and two TD strikes in rallying the Riders to a thrilling 43-37 overtime victory over the Calgary Stampeders. Durant leads the CFL in passing with 3,443 yards but has more interceptions (15) than touchdowns (13).
More impressively, Saskatchewan rallied from an 11-point, fourth-quarter deficit to force overtime against Calgary, that is after head coach Ken Miller’s decision to punt from the Calgary 28-yard line for the single instead of trying the 35-yard game-winning field goal backfired. But in the extra session, Wes Cates scored from five yards out for the second of his rushing TDs to lead the Riders to the win.
Slotback Andy Fantuz, a native of Chatham, Ont., is Durant’s favourite target. Fantuz is third overall in CFL receiving with 57 catches for 875 yards and four TDs but was named the league’s offensive and Canadian player of the week after registering 10 catches for 255 yards and a TD against Calgary.
“We’ve got to limit the big plays when (Fantuz) does touch the football,” said Hamilton head coach Marcel Bellefeuille. “And try to limit him to the shorter catches.”
Hamilton counters with veteran Kevin Glenn, who threw for 292 yards and three touchdowns in rallying the Ticats to a 35-31 road win over B.C. Overall, Glenn is third in passing with 3,175 yards and has thrown 18 TD strikes against 10 interceptions.
Ticats’ slotback Arland Bruce III is currently the league’s top receiver with 65 catches for 985 yards and has six TD receptions.
“They’ve got big-play opportunities or they can grind it out with their running game,” Glenn said of the Riders’ offence. “Our biggest thing is just to control the game, minimize our turnovers and penalties, and we should be all right.”
Last week, Hamilton took advantage of five B.C. turnovers to overcome a 12-point deficit. Running back DeAndra’ Cobb broke out of a season-long funk with 151 yards on 23 carries while receiver Maurice Mann had five catches for 113 yards.
But all eyes will be on Hamilton’s defence after its impressive performance against B.C.
“The main thing is their explosiveness,” said Durant. “They all can run, they’re all explosive players.
“You definitely have to look out for that. It’s a very good defence and it’s hot right now and we definitely will have our hands full with these guys.”
Hamilton’s Markeith Knowlton was the CFL’s defensive player for the week with one forced fumble, a fumble recovery, an interception, and a sack against B.C. Cornerback Bo Smith returns to the Ticats’ secondary after being released by the NFL’s New York Jets, and then there’s also the debut of Baggs.
“It’s going to be a little odd him but you know, it’s a small league and guys tend to move around a lot,” Cates said of Baggs, adding he expects his former teammate will need a little time to adjust to his new surroundings. “We definitely wish him a lot of success.
“Just not against us.”
