As crunch time arrives, Ticats can’t afford to look back

CFL.ca Staff

HAMILTON — Just two days after dropping their second game to their hated division rival in three weeks, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats were back at practice on Monday and focused on the Ottawa REDBLACKS.

Saturday’s 26-24 loss to the Toronto Argonauts was one the Ticats feel could have easily been avoided, but they understand that on a short week with a pivotal two-game stretch on the horizon, there’s no time to dwell on what could have been.

“We deal with the cards that are dealt right now,” Head Coach and General Manager Kent Austin told Ticats.ca following Monday’s practice.

A Montreal win on Friday night meant the Ticats would have clinched the playoffs with a win over the Boatmen on Saturday, but the Argos came from behind in the fourth quarter to win the game on a Mitchell Gale one-yard touchdown run.

Momentum swung vigorously throughout a game that in its entirety was virtually even, but in the end was claimed by an Argo team able to make the extra play.

“They made plays. That’s football. You make plays,” said veteran linebacker Simoni Lawrence. “One team makes a play and another team doesn’t. That’s just football – they did what they were supposed to do.”

The Argos paddled out to a 15-0 lead in the first quarter, setting the tone from the game’s opening drive when the defence blitzed and got to quarterback Zach Collaros for a safety. Toronto’s defence continued to hold, forcing two-and-outs all throughout the first quarter.

Running back Steve Slaton finally scored the Argos’ first touchdown, giving them a two-score lead out of the gate. Slaton was the game’s top offensive star, contributing 157 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown, plus 50 some-odd yards nullified by Toronto blocking penalties.

“Slaton’s a good back,” said Lawrence. “We figured that’s what they were going to do, just watching game plan and game film.”

“They caught us with some plays and we had some missed tackles, or we would have been fine and off the field.”

That seemed to awaken the Ticats though, who responded to the Argos’ first-quarter surge by owning the second and third quarters. Hamilton’s defence didn’t allow a single point between the first and fourth quarters, while the offence generated scoring drives of 80 and 109 yards respectively.

The momentum turned in the fourth, though, after Collaros was intercepted off a deflection by linebacker James Yurichuk. The Argos turned that into seven points on Gale’s short touchdown, while Hamilton’s offence couldn’t reclaim the lead.

“There are always things we wish we had done better and executed better at certain times on both sides of the ball and on special teams,” said Austin on Monday. “But we did a lot of good things, too. We battled back, being down 15-0, and we were able to put two really long drives together.”

“And we had momentum and another great drive going, when unfortunately the ball went through our receiver’s hands for the turnover, which typically won’t happen in those situations very often.”

“It comes down to a handful of plays in a close game that determine the game, and we didn’t make enough plays.”

Now the Ticats must quickly turn their attention to Friday night’s contest against the REDBLACKS, a game they consider to be a must-win if they’re going to reach the post-season. The Ticats finish their regular season slate at Ottawa and then at home against Montreal, with only a game separating them, the Alouettes, and the Argonauts.

“We all know how important this game is,” said Collaros, who threw for 335 yards and three touchdowns on 24-of-36 passing, besting counterpart Ricky Ray in everything but the win column. “Every game’s been important for us, and every game should be important for us. Obviously it’s magnified more than ever for us.”

“I thought we had a good day one,” he added when asked about Monday’s return to practice. “We need to have a good day two and three obviously, and we need to play well to get a win in a new stadium for them. It’s going to be a great atmosphere and it’s a great opportunity.”

The top three teams in the East are in a tight race over the next two weeks, with one winning the division and getting a bye and another going home. All three teams have dug themselves out of holes this season, including the Ticats, who started their season 1-6.

After getting back on track and leading the division for over a month, now they’ve lost two of their last three and find themselves in a familiar situation.

“They’ve been here a few times, and they know how to handle it,” said Austin. “What’s in front of us is the next game to win, and we know we have to win out and focus on preparing as hard as we can this week, and stick with the same process that we’ve always stuck with that we believe in.”

“I think the guys are re-focused. They know what’s in front of them. They’re ready to play. We’ve been like that most of the year, I think.”