Preview: MTL at HAM – Week 9
The Alouettes will make their first trip to Hamilton in 2024 this week when they take on the Tiger-Cats on Friday night. The Ticats (2-5) are coming off back-to-back wins over Toronto and Edmonton. The Alouettes became the first/only team to win six games this season.
This is the first time the Als will play at Tim Hortons Field since winning the Grey Cup there last November.
Here’s what you need to know about the matchup:
First career start for Davis Alexander:
Third-year quarterback Davis Alexander will make his first career start on Friday night at Tim Hortons Field. The 25-year-old was outstanding coming off the bench against the Saskatchewan Roughriders last week.
Alexander finished 15-for-18 with 178 yards and two passing touchdowns. He also ran twice for 13 yards over the final two quarters of the game.
“I got the ball out fast and on time,” Alexander said of his performance against the Riders. “I got the ball to our playmakers. I was able to show that I can play sandlot football. If a play breaks down or some protection slips in, I can make a play and get our guys the ball fast.”
The former Portland State Viking will now be tasked with doing it all over again but this time he’ll be in the game from the very beginning. That will bring a different challenge to the table, but Alexander showed that he’s talented enough to perform at a high level in this league.
“In this league, you have to be able to play without a lot of reps,” head coach Jason Maas said. “Last week, Davis played without getting a lot of reps the entire season. You’d like to believe that by getting in there for every single rep, you’d get more comfortable with what’s going on, but that’s just one aspect of the preparation of playing. You have to be able to do it on the field. Do I believe it helps? Absolutely, but there are a lot of other things that go into quarterback play that he’s been doing on the side. Every quarterback would tell you that the more reps they get, the more they understand things and feel more comfortable. When a quarterback feels comfortable, it’s a good thing. I expect him to be better every day.”
YAC leaders:
The Alouettes quick passing game has allowed the team to move the ball up and down the field through seven games. It’s no secret that this offence thrives when the ball comes out of their quarterbacks’ hands quickly. They also haven’t been shy about throwing screen passes to their receivers (Tyson Philpot and Kaion Julien-Grant in particular) or their running back Walter Fletcher.
Heading into Week 9, the Als have the number one and two players in the CFL for yards after the catch. Philpot leads the league in that category with 321 YAC yards while Fletcher is second at 269 yards. By the way, Cole Spieker is ninth with 154 yards after the catch.
“You always build around strengths that you have, and you try to hide weaknesses,” Maas said. “You definitely know the strengths of your football team and try to build into that. Both Philpot and Fletcher put a tremendous amount of pressure on opposing defences when they have the ball in their hand, so you’re trying to get them in different spots. With Fletch in space, he’s very difficult to bring down as we’ve seen, and Tyson the same thing. Those targets they get; they’re meant to be had in a certain way because of their ability to run after the catch.”
First of two against the Ticats:
This is the first of back-to-back games against the Ticats. The return matchup will be at Percival Molson Stadium on Sat. Aug. 10.
The last time the Alouettes lost to the Ticats was on July 28, 2022. Including the postseason, the Als have rattled off seven consecutive victories over Hamilton (five regular season, two playoffs).
For Alouettes fans who want to experience the action live at Tim Hortons Field, REDTAG is offering discounts on flights to Hamilton. Check out their offers here.
