Kyle Myers
Ticats.ca
If there was real grass on the field, it would have been the Mudbowl 2.0.
Instead it was the turf at Alumni Stadium in Guelph that weathered the onslaught of rain, which began halfway through the first quarter and continued in various degrees of severity throughout the game.
In an ugly game full of weather-induced errors by both teams, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats dropped to 0 – 2 on the season with a 30 – 20 loss to the Edmonton Eskimos.
After a slow start in which the Eskimos took an early 16–0 lead, the Ticats battled back to within three before halftime.
But another slow start plagued the Ticats in the second half, as they surrendered another 14 unanswered before getting on the board.
On the team’s struggle to produce early in each half, Head Coach Kent Austin was plain and short.
“We can’t continue to take undisciplined penalties and continue to back up our offence,” he said. “We have to be a disciplined football team.”
The Ticats mounted another comeback in the fourth quarter, this time sparked by rookie receiver Ed Gant’s first career touchdown on a forty-yard bomb from Henry Burris. But in the end it was too little too late, and the Ticats comeback fell just short as the rain, which had settled somewhat in the second half, once again began a downpour.
“As an offence we have to get better, regardless of what conditions we play in,” said Burris after the game. He admitted that the weather played a role in the team’s struggle to put points on the board, but was sure to emphasize the importance of staying disciplined and avoiding penalties.
“(The Eskimos) made plays, they didn’t shoot themselves in the foot with costly penalties, and we did just that,” he said.
Running back C.J. Gable scored his team-leading third touchdown of the season on a one-yard plunge in the second quarter, and Luca Congi added two field goals to round out the scoring for Hamilton.
Star return man Lindsey Lamar had trouble with the rain, losing a fumble in the third quarter but also showed glimpses of the magic fans are used to, setting up the Tiger-Cats first touchdown of the game with a 68 yard kickoff return.
The notoriously humble Lamar made no excuses for his struggles, and downplayed the effect that the weather had on his ability to return the ball.
“I mean it was tough, but I have to make those plays,” he said. “It was the same conditions for both teams. I just have to work on my fundamentals, and see the ball all the way into my hands.”
Players and coaches remain upbeat about the team’s chances in 2013.
“We focus on what we can control, and I have a job to piece a football team together that can win championships and be competitive,” said Austin. “We’ve got a good group of guys, I think they’re pretty close, and I think they’ll get back to work. We’ll get it turned around.”
The Tiger-Cats will return to the practice field this week in preparation for another home game this coming Saturday against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
