VANCOUVER — The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are walking the playoff tightrope.
And they’ll take their next step when they visit the BC Lions on Friday Night Football.
Hamilton has won three straight, including a walk-off 33-31 win over rival Toronto in Week 16, and are just four points behind the Argonauts in the East Division standings.
BC comes into the contest off a bye and sit second in the West Division thanks to winning two of their last three.
The two teams have squared off once already this season back in Week 5 at Tim Hortons Field when the Lions walked away with a 44-28 victory.
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Hamilton’s offence has been rolling during their current winning streak, having scored an average of 33.6 points per game over that span. Much of it has had to do with the strong play of quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell as he leads the league in passing yards with 4,044 and touchdowns with 24.
Mitchell hasn’t been shy about sharing the football, either, with Shemar Bridges, Kiondré Smith and Steven Dunbar Jr. all serving as reliable targets. Bridges caught six passes for 87 yards the last time they faced the Lions.
Defensive back Garry Peters has shown a strong ability to jump routes and has nine pass knockdowns on the year. But as a team, BC has just eight interceptions, which should give Mitchell confidence in putting the ball in the air.
Greg Bell is likely to assume the rushing duties in Scott Milanovich’s offence after missing last week with an injury. He’s listed as a game-time decision. Bell is averaging 5.8 yards over 61 carries.
Defensive linemen Sione Teuhema and Mathieu Betts draw the assignment of shutting down the run. Teuhema has posted seven sacks and five tackles for a loss so far this season, while Betts can make a difference against the run game and as a pass rusher.
Watch live. Hamilton Tiger-Cats @ BC Lions, Sept. 28, 04:30 CET (4:30 am, 10:co pm Sept. 27 EDT)
Despite having two starter quality quarterbacks at his disposal, there’s no controversy in BC for Rick Campbell’s team.
It’s Nathan Rourke’s pocket.
Battling a bout of inconsistency, Rourke takes aim at a secondary that’s allowing a fourth-best 278.2 yards per game.
Thanks to a plethora of quality receivers, he has more than enough weapons to get it done even without Alexander Hollins who’s out with a shoulder injury. Justin McInnis is one of only two wideouts to surpass 1,000 yards on the season and pulled down 144 the first time the teams met. Jevon Cottoy, Keon Hatcher and Ayden Eberhardt help complete the receiving corps on Friday night.
Ticats defensive backs Stavros Katsantonis, Richard Leonard and Will Sunderland have all showed their ability to impact opposing pass games. Katsantonis is looking to build off his first interception against the Argos.
Rourke says he appreciates the vote of confidence as the starter but understands it’s all about getting it done when it matters.
“The reality is that we have to have a sense of urgency here, myself included, of the importance of these last four games,” Rourke told reporters. “We have to get going and we have a great chance to do it starting on Friday. I think at the end of the day, it just comes down to being able to play a complete game.”
In the run game, William Stanback is just 41 yards shy of reaching 1,000 for the third time in his career. As Rourke tries to steady the air attack, Stanback will aim to do damage against a defensive front giving up 108.5 yards per contest.
The Ticats front seven needs to work as a collective to slow Stanback. Defensive lineman Casey Sayles returns from injury and Kyle Wilson continues to lock it down at linebacker with 80 defensive tackles.
With every game seeming like a must-win, Milanovich wants his team to believe.
“More confidence, more faith in what we’re doing, more faith in each other,” Milanovich told reporters about the mindset his team is playing with right now. “Belief that we can do what we’re setting out to do. I said last week that the momentum is a powerful force and it’s building. We have it right now and we need to keep it going.”
Hamilton can climb within two points of third place in the division with a win.
A victory for BC moves them back above .500.