HAMILTON — The Hamilton Tiger-Cats have an opportunity to earn the final playoff spot in the East Division as they get set to host the Ottawa REDBLACKS Friday.
According to the CFL Playoff Scenarios, a win over the REDBLACKS from Tim Hortons Field, combined with a loss by the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Saturday would mean that the Ticats clinch third place in the division and would play in the Eastern Semi-Final on November 6.
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Friday’s contest will mark the second of three meetings between the East Division rivals and the first game of a home-and-home to close out the regular season for Ottawa and Hamilton.
Hamilton edged Ottawa, 25-23 in a Week 6 game which saw quarterback Dane Evans enjoy plenty of success. Evans threw for 342 yards and a pair of touchdowns, including a game-winning score to Tim White with just 30 seconds remaining.
White leads all Ticats receivers with 1,152 yards on the season after pulling down six passes for 106 yards in his team’s win in Calgary. In eerily similar fashion to Week 6, White scored the game-winning touchdown on a beautifully placed ball from Evans with just under 30 seconds to play.
With two games remaining on the schedule, White narrowly leads the league with 87 receptions, just two more than Montreal’s Eugene Lewis and finds himself just 205 yards behind league leader Dalton Schoen.
Ahead of Friday’s contest Ticats running back Wes Hills has been ruled out with an injury. Hills has been impactful in the Hamilton run-game and has totalled 245 yards on the ground over his last three appearances.
Without Hills in the lineup, the team will be reliant upon Don Jackson to help create offensive momentum with his legs. Jackson has appeared in nine games for the Black and Gold this season, carrying the ball 73 times for 272 yards and a touchdown .
Watch the game live here PP. Ottawa REDBLACKS @ Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Oct. 22 01:00 CET (1 am, 7 pm ET Oct. 21)
Despite giving up 32 points to the Stamps in Week 19, the Ticats defence played a significant role in their win over Calgary. Defensive back Richard Leonard had a pair of interceptions, one of which he returned 64-yards for a score. While defensive lineman Julian Howsare was equally impressive, earning his second interception of the year while adding and a sack.
Speaking to team media earlier this week, Howsare emphasized the importance of applying defensive pressure and creating turnovers.
“Getting pressure on the quarterback does so many things,” Howsare told Ticats.ca. “It makes him uncomfortable, it helps the guys in the back make their plays, you force bad passes and we always preach taking the ball away and forcing turnovers.”
Being disruptive to the design of the offence will prove especially important against a REDBLACKS teams that has shown to be one of the best at protecting the quarterback.
Ottawa has given up just 30 sacks this season, the third fewest in the league and their quarterbacks have thrown for a combined 15 interceptions, tying them with the third fewest. Nick Arbuckle has thrown 80 consecutive passes without an interception and has been sacked just four times over his last three starts.
The play of the secondary will be critical on Friday night as the REDBLACKS are averaging 284.6 yards through the air, the second highest mark behind only the high-flying BC Lions.
Along with Leonard, the Ticats will look for big games from interceptions leader Kameron Kelly and Jumal Rolle. The pair combine for seven of their team’s 16 interceptions.
Entering the current week after earning an important win over the Stampeders in Week 19, head coach Orlondo Steinauer maintains the same philosophy he’s had all year.
“We haven’t done enough to get to what our ultimate goal is, what every team’s goal is” Steinauer told Ticats.ca. “We have to handle business this week so all the focus is ahead and not what we’ve done in the past, but what we’re going to do moving forward.”
Despite Friday noting the second matchup between the two division opponents, it will mark the first time that the Hamilton defence will be tasked with containing Arbuckle. The REDBLACKS turned to Arbuckle to lead the offence in Week 12 and he has been impressive for Ottawa since.
Arbuckle helped the REDBLACKS put up 30 points in their Week 19 loss to Montreal, completing 28 of 36 passes for 271 yards and two passing touchdowns in the first quarter. Including an electrifying trick-play to Siaosi Mariner for his first CFL touchdown reception.
The Ottawa passing attack will be without leading receiver Jaelon Acklin for a second week as he continues to work his way back from injury. In the absence of Acklin, Arbuckle will once again be reliant on playmaker Justin Hardy to help move the ball through the air.
Hardy was Arbuckle’s top target a week ago, catching eight passes for 93 yards. He’s had standout performances surpassing 75 receiving yards in each of his past three games, while accumulating 266 yards on 24 receptions.
In the backfield for Ottawa, William Powell has been listed out entering Friday, according to the team’s depth chart Jackson Bennett has been listed as the No.1 back and will handle ball-carrying duties for a second consecutive game. Against Montreal, Bennett rushed eight times for 55 yards and caught four passes for 11 yards.
If given the opportunity, Ottawa’s Caleb Evans has excelled at turning goal line chances into scores, converting at a historic rate. Evans’ 13 rushing touchdowns in 2022 currently tie him for second all-time in single-season rushing scores in Ottawa franchise history. The Ottawa pivot has found the end zone three times over his last two games.
However, finding an advantage on the ground won’t be an easy task. The Ticats rank as the best run-defence in the league and have held opponents to an average of 84.1 yards per game and a league-low average of 4.7 yards per carry.
The REDBLACKS boast an aggressive defensive unit of their own, in their Week 6 loss to the Ticats they managed five sacks and an interception. Defensive lineman Lorenzo Mauldin had two of the five sacks in Week 6 and currently holds the league-lead with 15.
A win over the REDBLACKS would move Evans to a perfect 4-0 in games against the division opponent and would go a long way in giving the Ticats an opportunity to lock up the final playoff spot in the East.
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