The Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Montreal Alouettes wrap up their 2023 Canadian Football League preseason Friday night in Montreal.
The Alouettes edged the Ottawa REDBLACKS 22-21 in their first outing on May 27 while Hamilton defeated the Toronto Argonauts 27-22 in Hamilton.
Hamilton has three Global players battling for a spot on the roster including starting linebacker Penei Pavihini from Tafuna, American Samoa and Australian punters Bailey Flint and Blake Hayes, who is in his second season.
For the Alouettes, Australian punter/kicker Joseph Zema as well as Global kicker Rhys Byrns who Montreal selected in the second round of the 2023 Global Draft are hoping to stay in Monteal. Jose Maltos from Mexico City is the third Global kicker on the Alouettes roster. Finally, French wide receiver Kevin Kaya is entering his third season with the team.
Alouettes quarterback Cody Fajardo will be looking to cement his spot as the starter when he makes his preseason debut against Hamilton. He lost his starting job in Saskatchewan last season, so he’ll want to make his time on the field count on Friday.
Backup Taylor Powell took most of the snaps in the Tiger-Cats win over Toronto last weekend while starter Bo Levi Mitchell had limited minutes. For tonight’s game, Matthew Schiltz gets the nod with Powell backing him up.
The Tiger-Cats open their regular season on June 9 when they pay a visit to Winnipeg to face the Blue Bombers while Montreal is at home to the Ottawa REDBLACKS on June 10.