Kyle Myers
Ticats.ca
There are games in the CFL season in which a team has a chance to define themselves; games where a victory would be seen as a statement not only to their opponent, but to the league as well.
The Ticats rematch with the Argonauts on Thanksgiving Monday is one of those games.
Last weekend Hamilton marched into the Rogers Centre and delivered a sucker-punch to their archrivals, ending Toronto’s four-game winning streak and pulling the Tiger-Cats closer to the East Division lead.
Now the Ticats have an opportunity to close the gap with the Argos even further, while also gaining the tiebreaker in the season series. When you throw in the historical relationship between the two teams, games really don’t get much bigger.
“You should as a player and as a staff feel excited about a rivalry game,” said Coach Kent Austin, in a rare departure from his ‘every game matters’ mantra. “I believe (it’ll be a big crowd), and that’s a good thing. It’s good for both teams. We should want that environment as a football team.”
Adding to the drama on Monday is the return of Ricky Ray to the Argos starting line-up – his first appearance since an injury on August 23rd. Zach Collaros has been solid in his time at the helm of Toronto’s offence, but Ricky Ray is one of the greats, and his impact on the game is undeniable – something Austin is very aware of.
“He’ll throw the ball when the defence is most out of position,” he said. “It forces us defensively to be more sound in our drops, how we’re spacing the football field, how we’re patterned, those types of things.”
Even though he’s only been in the CFL for the better part of a season, CJ Gable too understands the importance of Monday’s game.
“I know it’s a big game, everyone around town tells us that we’ve gotta win these games. Every time we play Toronto we’ve got to beat them,” said the rookie running back.
The rookie tailback – who sits second in the CFL with 10 total touchdowns through 14 games – says he’s mindful of the pressure, but insisted that he and his teammates have been preparing as if every game is the most important.
“This game is big, it’s important to try to get into first place” said Gable, “But we really take it game by game. Each game is just as important.”
Hamilton quarterback Henry Burris spoke previously about the mental edge gained by beating teams like the Argonauts; teams the Ticats will have to face on the road to the Grey Cup. And for that very reason he expects a strong effort from Argos, who have just as much at stake on Monday as the ‘Cats.
“We know Toronto is going to bring it this week,” said Burris. “And if we’re able to go out there, be successful, and get a big win, it‘ll send a message, like ‘man, these guys in Hamilton are good.’ This game is big in many different ways.”
