HAMILTON – Both teams will see Friday’s ballgame as a must-win affair.
This week won’t be any easier for an Als defence.
“Hamilton’s led by their quarterback Zach Collaros,” Montreal defensive coordinator Noel Thorpe told MontrealAlouettes.com. “He is really back to right where he left off before he got injured last year, doing an excellent job of distributing the ball to his talented receiving corps.”
And what a receiving corps it is.
Playmaker Jovon Johnson and the rest of the Als secondary will have their hands full against the Ticats’ receivers.
“With Luke Tasker, Andy Fantuz, Chad Owens, Terrence Toliver and Brandon Banks, their offensive unit posseses a lot of speed and talent,” admitted Thorpe, whose defence began the year well but has given up 30-plus points in two of its last three outings.
Cato will take the reins under centre for Montreal following the trade of Kevin Glenn to Winnipeg earlier this week; the Marshall product has made two starts and thrown for 520 yards and two touchdowns thus far in 2016.
“Orlando Steinauer, the Ticats defensive coordinator, will give us some real challenges by using different defensive looks — they aren’t the norm,” predicted Als offensive coordinator Anthony Calvillo. “They also have excellent defensive backs and, from my perspective, the core of their defence revolves around their defensive line.”
With noted return men Stefan Logan and Brandon Banks lining up for Montreal and Hamilton respectively, special teams could play a huge factor on Friday night.
“We’re facing one of the best ball returners in league history in Brandon Banks,” said Als special teams coordinator Kavis Reed. “He has three touchdowns already this season, and we’re going to have to do some really good work to keep him contained.”
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are far from happy with their 5-6 record.
Kent Austin’s Tabbies team also knows that this week’s game against the out-of-sorts Montreal Alouettes is far from a gimme.
“If you’re not well-prepared, not ready to play and don’t execute, it’s dangerous,” Austin told Ticats.ca. “It’s pretty simple — the team that makes the most plays and fewest mistakes typically wins.”
As for sitting a point behind the Ottawa REDBLACKS for first in the East Division with an extra game played, Austin knows his team has to be sharp down the stretch.
“Every game’s a must-win — this one really is — because if you’re waiting for later in the season for the must-win games, that means you didn’t (win) the must-wins earlier,” explained the Ticats head coach. “We go out there to win every football game.”
“He’s [Rakeem Cato] a pretty elusive player (who) can move the sticks with his feet and extend plays,” said Austin. “We’re going to have to be really solid in how we rush him (and) not allowing him to extend drives with his feet — it’s a challenge for us up front.”
Hamilton’s defensive backs will be tasked with shutting down Montreal’s dangerous one-two receiving punch of Duron Carter and B.J. Cunningham.
“We’ve got enough guys out there,” said defensive back Cassius Vaughn. “We’ve got leaders like Emanuel Davis and Courtney (Stephen): I’m gonna follow them, we’re gonna lock it down — it’s time for us to go up and show what we can do.”
As for the threat Cato poses, Vaughn — an Ole Miss alum — knows the gameplan will be similar to last week’s.
“Cato’s the complete package. He’s way more athletic (than Dan LeFevour), his arm is a lot livelier — knowing him from his Marshall days, he can’t be taken lightly,” said Vaughn. “Being below .500 (is) not acceptable for Ticat football. We gotta go into this game and take care of business.”
