Rogerio Barbosa/Montreal Alouettes
Ticats.ca
Justin Dunk
It was MMA day at Ivor Wynne and the Ticats didn’t need an octagon – just a football field – to lay a decisive knockout with a 33-3 victory over the Saskatchewan Roughriders. UFC fighters Mark Hominick and Sam Stout were in the house to witness Hamilton’s first win of the season, along with 22,245 of the Black and Gold faithful.
“We owed it to the fans to give them this win at home,” Kevin Glenn said.
When many of the questions heading into the contest were aimed at what was wrong with the Ticats, they turned around and played a complete football game.
“They bought into the process, and they were just real positive and loose,” head coach Marcel Bellefeuille said.
Special teams played a huge part in the dominating win. Coverage teams were spot on, swarming Rider returners all game long – even forcing them backwards at times. Also, Justin Medlock continued his strong start to the 2011 campaign as he made good on all four of his field goal attempts.
On the flip side of the ball, return man Marcus Thigpen continually set up the Ticats offence with short fields throughout the ball game.
“Our return game got going. It doesn’t look like much but when you get a 20-yard vertical return, its two less first downs and now you’re only a few first downs from at least field goal range,” Bellefeuille said. “He caught the ball in the air and he put his foot in the ground and went north.”
“I give them credit because there was a couple times I thought he was going to score.”
Thigpen was able to get into the flow of the game early on offence and that might have led to his explosion in the return game where he averaged 18.6 yards per punt return.
“We gave him the ball early on offence so he had some touches to get him going,” Bellefeuille said.
Speaking of the Tiger-Cats offence, the unit put together an efficient effort with 348 yards from scrimmage. Glenn found his rhythm, and looked like the number five of 2010, routinely delivering catchable footballs on time to his receivers.
“Khari Jones calling plays puts you in that rhythm, where you’re not taking low percentage throws every other play down the field, you’re getting some of those short throws, getting the ball out of your hand, you get into a rhythm,” Glenn said.
The Ticats starting pivot hit on 19 of 31 passes and there were seven different receivers who hauled in footballs against the Riders.
“Those other receivers stepped up, big time. When it was called upon them to make a play they made it,” Glenn said.
Marquay McDaniel, who started in place of an inured Arland Bruce, had four catches for 60 yards before leaving the game due to injury in the third quarter. Meanwhile, Dave Stala, Matt Carter and Bakarai Grant all had solid outings.
Leading the way from the first series, when middle linebacker Renauld Williams came down with a tipped interception, was the defence. The unit came out energized and hungry from the opening snap and they certainly got their fill of Dari-O’s breakfast cereal for the week, terrorizing Roughriders QB Darian Durant all game long.
“Rey, he’s been balling. I’m glad that he’s here, he’s a smart, physical player,“ linebacker Jamall Johnson said, who was all over the field and recorded a game high nine tackles. “We wanted to come out and start with a higher intensity and get an identity as a team because the last couple weeks we’ve been flat and just not making plays.”
The defence pressured the Riders quarterback early and often, forcing him to throw three interceptions and losing a fumble as well, knocking number four in Green and White out of the game to the bench.
“We just wanted to come out and play good Ticat football, what the fans are used to seeing,” Johnson said. “Defence flying around hitting people making plays. It was a great team effort and hopefully we build on what we did today.”
The Ticats were able to bounce back as a team from some early season adversity after suffering two straight losses, maybe it had something to do with Bellefeuille’s 30-minute presentation on pressure and how players can deal with it.
Rookie receiver Chris Williams certainly learned from his coaches preaching as he bounced back, catching five footballs for 38 yards and two six-point receptions, from dropping a key pass and losing a fumble last week in Edmonton.
“That’s just how sports is you can’t write any scripts for it, it just unfolds the way it does,” he said.
“It gives you confidence when the young guys can come in and make plays,” Bellefeuille said.
The speedy, diminutive pass catcher nabbed the first ever CFL touchdown on a five-yard reception early in the second quarter.
“It was just a great play call, drawn up perfectly, I just came underneath and the ball was right there where it needed to be,” Williams said of his first professional major.
Williams found injured teammate Arland Bruce III, who was sitting on the sidelines out with injury, to help celebrate his first of two touchdowns on the day.
“We had the whole crew over there having fun, that’s the name of the game,” Williams said. “Our line played great today, they did an absolutely fantastic job of keeping [pass rushers] off of our quarterback.”
“We had a good game today, we gotta keep it rollin’. It’s an attitude, its a play style we gotta keep that up.”
“You feel a win and now everybody wants to get it,” Glenn said. “This will continue us to be hungry and stay focused.”
