Head To Head: Tiger-Cats vs Eskimos

Hamilton Tiger-Cats (5-5) vs Edmonton Eskimos (6-4)
Game 11 | Friday, September 16 @ 7:30 p.m., EST
Ivor Wynne Stadium – Hamilton, Ontario

BROADCAST INFORMATION

TV BROADCAST:  TSN featuring Chris Cuthbert (play-by-play) and Glen Suitor (analyst)
RADIO BROADCAST:  AM 900 CHML featuring Rick Zamperin (play-by-play) and John Salavantis (analyst)

THE MATCH-UP

Friday’s contest will be the second of two regular season meetings between the Tiger-Cats and Eskimos in 2011. The match-up will be the 81st meeting between the two teams since 1950 with Edmonton holding a 51-28-1 edge in the all-time series. The Cats and Eskes played back in week two of the season at Commonwealth Stadium, with the Ticats dropping a rainy and windy afair to the home team. Edmonton has not won at Ivor Wynne Stadium since 2008. 

The Eskimos come in to Friday’s game sitting second in the West behind Calgary, a standing not many analysts predicted at the start of the season. Edmonton began 2011 with a 5-0 start, but has cooled off considerably since. Injuries along the offensive line and the loss of all-star receiver Fred Stamps have contributed to the team’s recent struggles. Regardless, with the second half of the season underway, Edmonton appears primed for a playoff appearance. 

The 5-5 Tiger-Cats have had an up and down start to September. Two weeks ago on Labour Day, the Cats pummeled the defending Grey Cup champs at Ivor Wynne, not allowing the Alouettes to score an offensive touchdown on the way to a 44-21 demolition. Last Sunday however, the Als turned the tables, dropping 43 points on Hamilton. The Ticats will look to get back in the win column and improve on their stellar 4-1 record at home this season.

This will be the second meeting between Tiger-Cats head coach Marcel Bellefeuille and Eskimos head coach Kavis Reed. Bellefeuille has a career record of 24-30 as a CFL head coach in the regular season and holds a 2-3 record against the Eskimos. Reed has a career record of 6-4 as a CFL head coach in the regular season and holds a 1-0 record against the Ticats.        

2011 STATISTICAL RANKINGS

Total Offence Per Game	345.3 (5th)	339.1 (6th)
Rushing Offence Per Game	90.9 (7th)	90.7 (8th)
Passing Offence Per Game	266.1 (6th)	271.6 (5th)
Total Defence Per Game	385.5 (7th)	369.4 (6th)
Rushing Defence Per Game	92.9 (4th)	108.3 (6th)
Passing Defence Per Game	309.7 (8th)	247.7 (5th)
Points Per Game	27.3 (2nd)	22.9 (7th)
Opponents Points Per Game	27.0 (6th)	22.7 (2nd)

2011 INDIVIDUAL STATISTIC LEADERS

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Dave Stala #88 / WR / Hamilton
Stala, who at one point this season led the CFL in touchdowns, has cooled off statistically over the past three games, as opposing teams key-in on the nine-year veteran. Sticky Stala, who is known around the league for his dependable hands, is quarterback Kevin Glenn’s favourite target when the Ticats get into the red zone, a fact the Eskimos are aware of after Stala’s performance in week two — Super Dave caught a season high six balls, for sixty yards and a six-yard, shoestring touchdown grab. Look for Stala to get back in the end zone this week in front of the home crowd, snapping his three game scoreless streak. 

Stevie Baggs #55 / DE / Hamilton
Stevie Baggs is back. The high-energy pass rusher who fuels the Ticats defence has been playing like an all-star since the bye week, something he’s attributed to more opportunities in the defensive scheme. Baggs has eight tackles, two sacks and one fumble recovery over the past three games, causing serious of trouble for opposing teams’ offensive lines, along with fellow Ticats end Justin Hickman. Shakespeare, who always shines in front of the Ivor Wynne crowd, brought down Ricky Ray earlier in the season and will be gunning for the Eskimos pivot again in Act II of the season series. 

Fred Stamps #2 / WR / Edmonton
Stamps was tearing up the Canadian Football League through the first six weeks of the 2011 season, leading the league in receiving yards and touchdowns as the primary beneficiary of Ricky Ray’s and the Eskimos passing attack. That was until he suffered an abdominal injury in Winnipeg that resulted in emergency surgery after the game. Stamps missed three games but was back on the field for the first time last week. What better opportunity for him to regain his early season form than against Hamilton this week, the team Stamps had seven catches for 178 yards and a touchdown against in week two, seemingly having his way with the Ticats secondary. Ray has some dangerous pass catchers at his disposal, but Stamps is a player the Ticats will need to keep under wraps on Friday if they want to get the ‘W’. 

Jykine Bradley #9 / DB / Edmonton
The former Ticats defensive back, who signed with the Eskimos in the off-season, will make his return to Ivor Wynne Stadium for the first time on Friday evening. Bradley had himself a game against Hamilton in the teams’ first meeting highlighted by an interception against his former teammate, Kevin Glenn. Bradley and the rest of the Eskimos secondary will be facing off against a different, more experienced Ticats receiving corps this time around though. Keep an eye on Bradley on Friday as it will be interesting to note if a return to Ivor Wynne Stadium affects the seven-year veteran. 

KEY MATCH-UP

Renauld Williams vs. Jerome Messam
Burn us once? Shame on us. Burn us twice? ‘No chance’ is the attitude Ticats middle linebacker Rey Williams will be playing with on Friday. Eskimos running back, Toronto native Jerome Messam, was t
he thorn in the side of Hamilton’s defence in week two, gashing Williams and the Ticats for 104 yards and two touchdowns — his only scores of the season to date. The 6’3″, 245 lbs runner is an imposing figure in the Eskimos backfield and he used his power-running style to his advantage against Hamilton, busting some big runs between the tackles, including a career long 32 yarder. Messam was especially effective down around the goal line, proving he has a nose for the end zone. Number 23, who has experienced some struggles since, has most likely had the rematch against Hamilton circled on his calendar, as he will no doubt be looking for a successful repeat of week two this Friday against the Cats. But Renauld Williams and the Ticats linebacking corps have other ideas. Rey will be given the task of stuffing Messam and the Eskes running attack, forcing Edmonton’s offence to be one-dimensional, an opportunity he’s surely been wanting a second crack at. Williams’ intensity level on the field is matched by few in the CFL and the 6’0″, 238 lbs backer has the rare combination of speed and strength to chase down running backs like Messam and deliver a pop when he gets there. Any time the Eskimos hand the ball off to Messam on Friday evening, locate number 9 in Black and Gold and watch this key match up unfold.