Esks.com
THE CANADIAN PRESS
MISSISSAUGA, Ont. — Hamilton coach Marcel Bellefeuille won’t need to give a stirring pre-game speech to get his Tiger-Cats motivated for Friday’s game against the Toronto Argonauts.
The opportunity to gain a stranglehold on second spot in the East Division should be incentive enough. The archrivals will both take 7-7 records into the game at Rogers Centre (TSN, 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt).
At halftime, Kent Wingert of St. Catharines, ON takes part in the Wendy’s Kick for a Million final where he will have a chance at winning $1 million.
Hamilton could take a huge step towards securing the No. 2 spot — and home field for the conference semifinal — with a win, having already clinched the season series between the two teams.
“If you get the win, it puts you (in a very good spot),” Bellefeuille said. “Not because you have the plus-two points but because you also have the tiebreaker.
“For us, it is a four-point game. That’s just the reality of the situation. It doesn’t guarantee you anything but it certainly gets you a lot closer to where you want to be.”
Hamilton is 2-0 this season against Toronto, winning 16-12 at Rogers Centre on Aug. 20 before registering a 28-13 home Labour Day victory Sept. 6. Of significance to Argos head coach Jim Barker is his club’s first loss to the Ticats followed a 37-22 victory over the Montreal Alouettes.
That’s worth noting because Toronto is coming off a huge 24-19 road win over Saskatchewan, the Riders first home loss of the season.
“For us, it’s about being able to handle the success we had last week in Mosaic and come back and play well,” Barker said. “The last time we played this club (at Rogers Centre) we came off a win against Montreal and we didn’t handle it very well.
“They were very ready to play, just like I know they will be (Friday). They’re very well coached and I know their players understand the importance of this game. It should be a great battle.”
Barker said he hopes Argos fans flock to the Rogers Centre to support the squad against Hamilton. But that could be asking a lot as Toronto has averaged under 22,000 fans per game and in its last home contest — a 27-16 loss to Saskatchewan on Oct. 9 — many of the 23,873 spectators donned Riders green.
“Absolutely, I have,” Barker said when asked if he was disappointed with fan turnout this season. “But I don’t blame the fans.
“I understand there have been issues with this team. We have to produce, this is a production business and hopefully if we produce the CFL fans of Toronto will get behind this team.”
The focal point of Toronto’s offence is tailback Cory Boyd. The first-year Argo has rushed for a CFL-high 1,179 yards and is averaging a stellar six yards a carry.
Boyd at his best is crucial for an Argos offence that’s last in the CFL in passing. Hamilton’s front seven — anchored by the outstanding linebacking trio of Otis Floyd, Markeith Knowlton and Jamall Johnson — is a very solid unit and Barker expects the Ticats to key on making Boyd a non-factor and force Cleo Lemon, Toronto’s first-year quarterback, to try to beat them through the air.
“We want to be a team that can dictate on offence what we do and they’re going to try to take away, obviously, our running game and that’s an interesting battle,” Barker said. “To do it , how much are they willing to give up in the passing game and how much can we take advantage of?
“This is a great chess match game for a true football fan to watch the offence versus the defence.”
Johnson said stopping Boyd is important for the Ticats.
“They have a good running game, Cory Boyd is probably the top back in the league right now,” Johnson said. “He’s not an average back, he’s a hard runner who has good speed and pretty decent moves.
“We have to be able to control the line of scrimmage . . . and attack the ball when its there. If we do that, we should be fine.”
Hamilton quarterback Kevin Glenn threw for 339 yards and three TDs in a 36-11 home win over Edmonton last week. Glenn, a 10-year veteran, is second among CFL passers with 4,140 yards, sports an impressive 66.7 completion percentage and has thrown 25 touchdowns against 13 interceptions.
Slotback Arland Bruce III, whom Toronto dealt to Hamilton last season, comes in as the CFL’s leading receiver with 80 catches for 1,237 yards and seven TDs. The nine-year veteran is on pace to surpass his career highs for receptions (92 in 2008) and yards (1,370 in 2006) in a season.
“I thought last week our defence played its best game all around,” Barker said. “They (Riders) weren’t able to drive the ball from outside our 30 into the 30 so that’s a huge thing for a defence to be able to do.
“Can they build on that? That’s the question. To be a championship team you have to be able to play at a certain level and do it week in and week out and that’s what we’re striving to get to.”
Glenn said he has a lot of respect for Toronto’s defence, which has long been the team’s staple.
“They have a good front seven and a good defence,” Glenn said. “We experienced that the last time we came here to play where we had to pull it out in the end where it was a real defensive battle.
“But we don’t try to worry about opposing teams, we just try to take care of our own business. We need to avoid turnovers and score points and if we do that we should be OK.”
Bruce has always enjoyed facing his former team, especially at Rogers Centre.
“It’s exciting, the atmosphere is great, I love playing at the dome because you know the weather is not a factor and it’s great energy,” Bruce said. “I’m a chess player myself and it doesn’t bother me if my queen is taken because I can still check-mate an opponent so I’m looking forward to the challenge.”
Bellefeuille said every football game becomes a chess match but when facing an opponent repeatedly the ability to make adjustments becomes key.
“Obviously when you play a team three times you need to be able to adjust in the third game,” he said. “Teams get to know each other and have a better feel for what they’re trying to accomplish.
“Going into this game both teams will be in a position where they’ll have to make adjustments along the way.”
NOTES — Barker said Toronto has no interest in veteran quarterback Casey Printers, who was released this week by the B.C. Lions . . . Noel Prefontaine, acquired this week from Edmonton, will handle the punting and kicking duties for Toronto after punter Jamie Boreham (hamstring) went on the nine-game injured list and kicker Justin Medlock was released.
