Adam Gagnon
A tough stretch is now behind the Tictas, after playing three games in 11 days.
Hamilton fought back after being down 24-6 at half time to outscore Edmonton 17-13 in the second half, although it was not enough as the Ticats dropped a 38-23 decision to the Eskimos.
“We’ll go back and evaluate the tape again,” head coach Marcel Bellefeuille said. “We’ll look at where our breakdowns are and we will make the corrections, schematically and personnel, we’ll look at every area to continue to get it fixed.”
The birthday boy, Chris Williams, who turned 24 on Friday, woke up his team and the crowd coming out of the locker room in the second half. The diminutive receiver took the third quarter kickoff and raced 94 yards to the end zone for Hamilton’s first major of the evening.
It seemed as though the Tabbies were on the come back prowl.
“We figured that they were going to try some funny things on the kick, they kicked it to me and I followed [Marcus] Thigpen, he got a great block, and I saw a little seam and I tried to hit it and once I got there nobody else was there and I kept running,” Williams said of his first career return for a touchdown.
“It put us down 12 and it was early enough in the half where we had a good chance to keep building on it.”
Williams was Hamilton’s leading receiver on the night catching five balls for 74 yards.
“Chris has been solid, he has gotten better every game and every week,” Bellefeuille said. “He’s been such a good performer and a steady performer, he’s shown up and made plays, that’s a big plus for us.”
Kicker Justin Medlock has been just as reliable as Williams, who hit on all three of his field goal attempts, with a long of 45 yards.
But their second half charge, powered by Williams’ speed and Medlock’s powerful leg, fell short. Although, the players in the Ticats locker room were all proud of the way they battled right to the end.
“I’m really proud of the way we fought, everybody tooth and nail, we fought,” Williams said.
“We fought, we just didn’t get the job done,” defensive end Stevie Baggs said. “We’ll go back to the drawing board, but I don’t want people to lose faith in us just because it’s easier to pull somebody down than it is to lift them up.”
“We have enough character in this locker room and on our coaching staff to get the job done.”
Looking forward Hamilton will have lots of time, with nine days, before their next game.
The Tiger-Cats will head to the East Coast and will welcome the Calgary Stampeders in the second annual Touchdown Atlantic game.
Even with the loss to Edmonton, Hamilton still reps a 4-2 record as the ‘home’ team and they will look to carry that home field advantage with them to the Moncton.
