Isaac Owusu
Ticats.ca
The Tiger-Cats defence did not make anything easy for Saskatchewan’s new starter.
The Ticats buried new Saskatchewan Roughriders quarterback Tino Sunseri with five sacks on route to a 28-3 victory on Sunday, allowing only 170 net offensive yards in the process. Sunseri completed just 9 of 21 pass attempts.
Orlondo Steinauer, defensive coordinator for the Ticats, made sure his group was ready.
“It was a little cat and mouse game. (Saskatchewan offensive coordinator) George (Cortez) had a plan, we had a plan. But it’s never really the plan, it’s more the execution of the players of the plan, and they did a great job today,” Steinauer said.
It was a milestone first quarter for Courtney Stephen. The Canadian cornerback earned his first career interception off a Sunseri pass, intended for Weston Dressler.
“It felt good to make a play when my team needed it,” Stephen said.
“I just wanted to be at the right place at the right time and help these guys get wins. I think as the season goes you always grow together. Everybody finds out a little more about what their role is and I think we’re just growing together as a unit and at the right time,” he added.
Taylor Reed, Brian Bulcke, Eric Norwood, Ted Laurent and Bryan Hall were the five defenders that collected a sack on Sunseri. It was Reed’s first quarter hit on the passer that caused a collective “oooooooh” from the crowd.
“We had a good call,” Reed said. “It was a nice little stunt between me, Simoni (Lawrence) and the defensive end (Sam Scott). Simoni came down and widened out the running back, and when Sam crossed the face of the tackle, I knew it was wide open for myself. So it opened up, parted like the red sea. All I had to do was make the sack.”
Hamilton’s special teams group once again was well, special.
Terrell Sinkfield made his mark in his first game with the team. He finished with 167 total return yards highlighted by a 57 yard scamper that he took in for his first touchdown with the team.
“It felt good, just wanted to go out there and make my presence felt,” he said.
Sinkfield is the third Tiger Cats’ return man to score a punt return touchdown this season. The dominance of the team’s special teams unit in 2014 makes it hard to debate that Hamilton possesses the league’s best return corps.
“We take all phases of the game seriously. Special teams is a big part of it, so we all just go out there and play our roles and play like we’re on defence and offence. Special teams is just as important,” he said.
