Steve Milton: Ticats earn ‘character win’ over Argos, despite depleted lineup

It was the kind of crisis moment that had already swung so many games in the wrong direction, but this time, it did exactly the opposite.

And that's what the Hamilton Tiger-Cats have been looking for. Perhaps they can grow the discovery into something that can change the season, like it changed Friday night's gutsy, comeback 34-27 win over the Toronto Argonauts at Tim Hortons Field.

With their starting quarterback on the injury shelf for the entire third quarter and very doubtful for the fourth - and remember, Matt Shiltz was in his first Hamilton start replacing No. 1 Dane Evans - the Tiger-Cats' primo returner Lawrence Woods carried a punt back 87 brilliant yards for a touchdown that would have tied the game at 24-24.

But it was called back on a questionable holding penalty to Micah Johnson. You could feel the stadium sag, you could sense the not this again" psychology squeezing the team and its fans like an industrial-grade crimper.

But then Shiltz unexpectedly returned from the infirmary and hit Steve Dunbar for a completion, and two plays later threw a 60-yard touchdown pass to Tim White who made a great physical adjustment for the catch.

And suddenly the Ticats were 10 feet tall and bulletproof, outscoring the Argos 17-3 in the fourth quarter after being outscored 95-29 in the final frames of the previous eight games. They had exuberantly effective work from the entire defence coming home and some terrific special teams contributions.

Whereas they started last week's loss in Toronto with three straight scores, they finished this one with three straight scores: White's touchdown, a 23-yard scoot for a major from Sean Thomas Erlington, set up by a 30 yard run by No. 3 quarterback Jamie Newman, who held the for the Ticats through the third quarter, and Seth Small's fourth field goal of the game. Small has now connected on nine treys in a row.

The (return) call back definitely put us in a little hole and had some guys feeling I'd say uneasy' but, regardless, we had to go out and play," said Woods, who had a stunning 222 total yards on nine combined punt and kickoff returns. It gives everybody a little bit of encouragement and confidence boost and let them know that we can finish regardless."

Without Evans and receptions leader Bralon Addison, and with Shiltz throwing a first-quarter interception that led immediately to an 8-3 Argo lead, this was a game that was there for the losing, but the Ticats won. Most of the season it's been exactly the other way around.

And maybe, as they reach the halfway point, the Cats can build upon all of it for a run toward the playoffs now that they've prevented the bus to first place from leaving the station without them. Had the Ticats lost, they'd have been three back of the Argos, who came back from a 28-3 deficit in Toronto last week to elevate themselves to 4-3, and submerge their archrivals to a reeling 2-6.

Now, the Ticats are just one game back of Toronto (although the Argos have a game in hand) and tied with the Montreal Alouettes for second place at 3-6. Not cute by any means, but a lot prettier than 2-7 at the halfway pole, and heading into Montreal next Saturday.

And they didn't come undone with the loss of Shiltz nor with a bizarre series of penalties late in the first half that kept an Argos scoring drive alive and seemed to be eroding the Ticats' mental discipline.

The coaching staff, justifiably criticized for not making halftime adjustments most of the season, was forced to make a number of them and came through this time, slicing the play book and altering blocking and positioning patterns to allow Newman - who had no prep time with only one full practice this week - to carry the ball successfully and hold the fort in the third quarter, even though the Argos knew he was going to be running it mostly himself. He was the game's leading rusher with 55 yards on seven carries.

Jamie came in and played really well, and handled his situation as good as I've seen anybody handle that," said Shiltz, who completed 14 of his 19 passes for 176 yards.

We thought we had an explosive touchdown on special teams but when it came back, we had the mentality that it didn't go our way but we had to plant our feet."

They planted them instead of getting face-planted, and now the East is a three-horse race again.

Notes: Brandon Speedy" Banks, a Ticat superstar from 2013-2021, was given a standing ovation in the first quarter in his first game back in Hamilton ... There was an absurdly wrong call for pyramiding" late in the second quarter against the Ticats' Kam Kelly on an Argo field goal attempt that gave Toronto a first down and ultimately resulted in a touchdown .... The Ticats had 116 yards in penalties and the Argos 132 ... Argo RB Andrew Harris left the game early with a shoulder injury ... RB Don Jackson averaged 6.6 yards on his seven carries and made some key blocks ... The Argos had 10 players make pass receptions, but no one had more than 49 yards ... Toronto had several injuries which affected, particularly, special teams. Two Ticat DBs, Ciante Evans and Jumal Rolle, suffered injuries ... Ticat DT Micah Johnson had two sacks ... Argo QB McLeod Bethel-Thompson was 24-for-37 for 287 yards and 1 TD (DaVaris Daniels) ... Backup QB Chad Kelly scored the Argos' first rushing touchdown of the season in the first quarter ... Both punters were good with John Haggerty averaging 49.5 yards on his eight hoofs and Hamilton's Michael Domagala 46 on his five ... Ticat WR Bralon Addison will have Achilles tendon surgery Monday ... It was Armed Forces Appreciation Night, featuring a helicopter flyby.

Steve Milton is a Hamilton-based sports columnist at The Spectator. Reach him via email: smilton@thespec.com