MONTREAL — The Hamilton Tiger-Cats will travel east as they prepare to take on the Montreal Alouettes to kickoff Saturday’s doubleheader from Percival Molson Stadium.
Hamilton and Montreal are currently deadlocked for second place in the East Division standings with identical 3-6 records, and both teams sit just two points behind the first place Toronto Argonauts.
In the first meeting between the two teams it was Hamilton who walked away with 24-17 victory in Week 8.
Entering Week 11, Hamilton is fresh off a 34-27 win over the division rival Argos. While Montreal made headlines in Week 10 as they became the first team to best the previously undefeated Winnipeg Blue Bombers with a 20-17 win in overtime.
The Ticats defeated the Argos without the services of starting quarterback Dane Evans. Against the Argos it was Matthew Shiltz who filled in for the injured Evans, throwing for 176 yards and a touchdown in the contest.
Seeing limited action in the Week 8 meeting with Montreal, Shiltz completed seven of his 10 passes for 44 yards. He also rushed for an average of 10.5 yards on four carries in the win.
With Evans listed as the No. 3 quarterback on the team’s depth chart, Shiltz will be making his first start against his former team. The Hamilton quarterback spent his first four season in the CFL with the Alouettes, appearing in 50 games throwing for 1,866 yards and eight touchdowns.
Speaking to team media about playing against his former team, Shiltz said he’s just trying to treat it as another game.
“We’ve already played them a couple times and got some of those emotions out of the way, you just have to make it another game,” Shiltz told Ticats.ca when asked about starting against his former team. “It’s going to be a big game for us with where both teams are in the standings. Being a divisional game on the road with two points on the line, four points really, it’ll be a good battle.”
Receivers Tim White, Kiondre Smith and Steven Dunbar Jr. combined for 12 targets a week ago and will likely be leaned on again as they prepare for the Alouettes. The Tabbies will also be left without Bralon Addison, who is sidelined with an injury, making the collective play of the Hamilton receiving corps increasingly important.
As his team reaches the midway point of the season, Ticats head coach Orlando Steinauer is doing his best to prepare his team for any circumstance.
“It’s about finding the right mix of preparation schematically and the right preparation for their bodies,” Steinauer told Ticats.ca. “We’ve had a lot of guys push through and that’s what you do. That’s what we sign up for. We’ll be ready to go.”
Hamilton has rushed for just 769 yards through nine games, but are coming off one of their best efforts yet.
Backup quarterback Jamie Newman alongside running backs Don Jackson and Sean Thomas-Erlington combined 129 yards last week. Facing a Montreal defence that allows a second worst 113.2 rushing yards per game should provide some optimism for the Hamilton ground game.
The Ticats have become known for aggressive defensive play, and have held opposing offences to an average of 260.3 passing yards per game and 84.3 yards on the ground, ranking them third in both categories.
Against the Argos, defensive lineman Micah Johnson had a pair of sacks and defensive end Malik Carney had one. Johnson now has four sacks on the season, with his other two coming against the Alouettes.
Defensive back Kameron Kelly leads the team with 3 interceptions, once of which came in the first matchup with the Als. As a unit they have eight on the season, a total that ties them for sixth in the league.
The Alouettes put the league on notice with their overtime win over Winnipeg last week and it was their two quarterbacks who led the charge. Trevor Harris threw for 213 yards and Dominique Davis rushed for a pair of touchdowns.
Montreal’s leading receiver Eugene Lewis caught just two passes for eight yards, which put Montreal’s receiving depth to the test. Jake Wieneke, Kaion Julien-Grant and Reggie White Jr. were up to the task against the Bombers, pulling in 157 combined receiving yards.
With emphasis being placed on Lewis, finding production form other receivers will likely be a key to success against a strong Ticats defence.
On the defensive side of the ball the Alouettes 23 sacks rank them second league-wide and their nine interceptions is good for fifth best.
Defensive lineman Mike Moore and defensive back Wesley Sutton both sacked Bombers quarterback Zach Collaros twice. Defensive lineman Michael Wakefield had one of his own. The three have become key contributors on the defensive side of the ball.
In a team media session, Sutton said that the team felt the win last week reinforced what the Alouettes can do when they play to their potential.
“The coaches continue to believe in me, believe in us,” Sutton told MontrealAlouettes.com. “Every week you have to come back to work and continue to get better. It’s about belief, we believe in each other. We have Hamilton coming up so we have to focus on that.”
The winner of this game will move into a tie for first in the East Division. The Als hope to build momentum after a big win over Winnipeg. The Ticats are attempting to make it back-to-back victories over East Division foes.
