Steve Milton: Ticats must stop Stanback, hurry Harris in CFL East semifinal
Game 19 East semifinal
Hamilton Tiger-Cats (8-10)
vs. Montreal Alouettes (9-9)
Sunday, Nov. 6, 1 p.m.
Percival Molson Stadium, Montreal
The storyline
All that jumping on, then off, then on the Tiger-Cats bandwagon has given CFL pundits stress fractures. The Tiger-Cats have some believers again with four straight wins heading into the playoffs and their only loss in the final six of the regular season was 23-16 to the Als in Montreal on Sept. 23. With rain possible, if not probable, the running game will be important and Montreal has hard-crashing William Stanback in the lineup for the first time against Hamilton this season as part of what will likely be a varied three-pronged - Stanback, Walter Fletcher and Jeshrun Antwi - rushing strategy. Hamilton counters with their own one-two punch of power back Wes Hills and off-tackle counter runner Sean Thomas Erlington, who averages a stunning seven yards per carry. Both teams are among the league leaders in stopping the run, although Hamilton is without excellent rush-deterring defensive tackle Dylan Wynn. It's imperative for the Ticats to pressure Als quarterback Trevor Harris all game, and particularly in the fourth quarter: Montreal has outscored Hamilton 33-6 in the final frame in their three meetings. Harris, who can get on a roll and stay there if he gets early positive reinforcement, has had some big games against the Ticats over the years, and has averaged 304 passing yards in the three Als-Ticats games. He's thrown for four touchdowns against Hamilton, been picked off only once and required just 19 seconds to dissect the Hamilton defence and set up David Cote's last-play game-winning field goal in August. Hamilton will have to closely monitor possession receiver Geno Lewis, the East's most outstanding player, multi-purpose rookie Tyson Philpot and Jake Wieneke. Conversely, the Als will be threatened by 1,000-yard Ticat receivers Tim White and Steve Dunbar, the likes of underrated Tyler Ternowski and, if he finds his rhythm, a more self-assured Dane Evans. This game will go to whichever team limits their turnovers - a Ticat weak spot all year, although they've been better of late - and wins the physical war in the trenches. The Ticats won last year's semifinal over the Als in Hamilton. The Als rallied with a 6-3 second half to earn the right to host this semifinal, which could be a factor although they're only 4-5 at home. Hamilton, though, has only two road wins; the final two of the season.
They said it
He's a seasoned veteran. He's a very good rhythm quarterback; if you let him get a little rhythm and get three or four completions, he's just going to feed off that and keep going. So you have to disrupt him and disrupt that offence. But that's the same for almost every quarterback." - Ticat safety Tunde Adeleke on Montreal quarterback Trevor Harris.
Both teams have a little momentum coming into the playoffs. All three of the games this year have come right down to the wire, so it should be an interesting game on Sunday." - Montreal head coach and general manager Danny Maciocia.
The game is always going to come down to execution and our preparation." - Ticat head coach Orlondo Steinauer.
We have other weapons here but William is going to have to play a significant role in what we are trying to establish on offence. But we do have some other players, whether it's Geno Lewis, (Tyson) Philpot, (Walter) Fletcher, these are all guys who are going to have to step it up. There's no doubt if you can establish the running game, physically impose your will, it's only going to help." - Maciocia on power running back William Stanback who is returning to form after breaking his ankle in the season-opener.
The Numbers Game
0 Number of times until this season that the Ticats have ever started 0-4 and still made the playoffs. This was the ninth time they've opened at 0-4.
1 The total point differential (in Montreal's favour) in the three games the Als and Ticats have played this year.
1 Of the Als' nine coach's challenges that have been successful. Hamilton led the league at seven for 10.
9 CFL rank of the Ticats in turnover ratio. They've committed 22 more turnovers than they've created. Montreal is midpack at plus-1.
9 Big-play differential for the Ticats, second in the league. They gave up 36 big plays by opponents' offences and returns teams, while making 45.
10 Two-point convert attempts by Als, most in the league. They've been successful on six, also a league high.
13 Rushing touchdowns by Als short-yardage quarterback Dominique Davis.
52 Number of points by which the Ticats have been outscored by opponents this year, the only negative differential among the six playoff teams.
65 Knockdowns by Ticats defence are the most in the league.
92 Two-and-outs for the Ticat offence, second-worst in the league and 25 more than Montreal.
93 Two-and-outs forced by the Ticat defence, best in the league and 22 more than Montreal.
141 Fourth-quarter points scored by Montreal in the regular season, 46 more than Hamilton.
186 Fourth-quarter points scored against Hamilton, 32 more than any other team allowed and 56 more than the Als.
1970 The last year a third-place team in the CFL East reached the Grey Cup game.
1574 Penalty yards assessed to Montreal, most in the league. Hamilton was third lowest at 1,222
TV: TSN, ESPN+
Audio: Listen.ticats.ca and the Ticats all-access app, plus simulcast on 900 CHML, 1460 in Guelph, 570 in Kitchener and 'Sauga 960.
Steve Milton is a Hamilton-based sports columnist at The Spectator. Reach him via email: smilton@thespec.com