Kyle Myers
Ticats,ca
The Tiger-Cats were roaring out of the gate, scoring the first ten points of the contest, but Drew Willy and the Roughriders proved to be too much to handle as they handed the Ticats a 32–20 defeat in Guelph.
Burris and the Ticats offence didn’t wait long to score their first points of the game after being shut out in Regina, with Luca Congi nailing a 15 yard field goal on Hamilton’s first drive of the game. After a quick two-and-out forced by the defence, Burris once again took the reins, and led the Ticats on a 61 yard drive, capped by a 17 yard touchdown pass to running back Lindsey Lamar.
“We came out flying and we had a lead earl,y” said Dave Stala, who played in his first game of the 2013 season on Saturday, catching two passes for 33 yards.
“It felt nice to get out there, get that first catch and that first hit,” said Stala. “But again, we didn’t win the football game.”
“We stalled a few drives with some penalties and some stupid stuff… but that’s behind us now, we have to watch this film, see the mistakes and correct them, and move onto next week.”
Burris’ touchdown pass to Lamar in the first quarter was the 307th of his career, which moved him past Matt Dunigan for fourth on the CFL’s all-time list. The Ticats pivot also threw a touchdown to rookie receiver Greg Ellingson – who finished the game with a team high 114 yards – in the second quarter to bring his career total to 308. Burris’ first completion of the game was also a milestone, as he took sole ownership of the fifth spot on the CFL’s completions list.
Once again, much of the game’s narrative – at least regarding the Ticats – revolved around injuries in key positions. Linebacker Brandon Isaac, who was added to the roster just days prior to the game, left in the second quarter with a leg injury, after tallying a sack and keeping Kory Sheets in check. Delvin Breaux, Marwan Hage, Terrence Moore, Marc Dile, Dahrran Diedrick, and Lindsey Lamar all left the game as well, with Lamar’s injury coming on a scary helmet-to-helmet hit while returning a kickoff.
Regardless of injuries, the Tiger-Cats must now lick their wounds and look forward to their final game before the bye week – a road rematch against the Edmonton Eskimos. The last time the two teams met, Edmonton squeaked out a win in the torrential downpour at Alumni Stadium, and now the Ticats will look to best Mike Reilly and the Eskimos to enter the bye on a high note.
