S8 O THEGLOBEANDMAIL| SATURDAY,OCTOBER19,2019
T
he Calgary Stampeders expect the
Winnipeg Blue Bombers to put the
ball in the hands of running back
Andrew Harris a lot Saturday.
The Bombers’ ground game is the bread
and butter of their offence. Harris is the
main man in it with a league-leading 1,261
yards.
Calgary excels at defending the run lim-
iting yards to 4.6 per carry, so the force that
asserts itself is the key to a game with major
playoff implications in the CFL’s West Divi-
sion.
“Swarm tackle,” Stampeder linebacker
Jamar Wall declared on Friday.
“Harris is a huge part of their offence in
many different ways and he’s elusive. He
can not only run, he can receive in the back-
field as well.”
Winnipeg (10-6), Calgary (10-5) and the
Saskatchewan Roughriders (10-5, heading
into Friday’s game against the BC Lions)
jockeying for first place in the West injects a
playoff vibe into Saturday’s meeting at
McMahon Stadium because of its postsea-
son ramifications.
In the event of a tie in the standings with
Saskatchewan, the Stampeders would rank
higher by virtue of taking the season series
2-0.
But a two-point loss to the Blue Bombers
back on Aug. 8 – when Winnipeg’s Matt Ni-
chols and Calgary’s Nick Arbuckle were
starting quarterbacks – puts pressure on
Calgary’s quest for the division’s top rung.
The Blue Bombers play host to the de-
fending Grey Cup champions next Friday in
the second game of the home-and-home
before ending the regular season with a bye
week.
“You want to be able to beat the best
teams and do it the right way,” Harris said.
“I’m thinking about playing our best foot-
ball at the end of the season and peaking at
the right time, and this is an opportunity
for us to get there.”
The Stampeders remain on the road to
conclude the regular season against the Li-
ons.
“To me, this is a team that’s got two
games left and they’ve got a bye week no
matter what,” Stampeders quarterback Bo
Levi Mitchell said.
“They know they can come out here and
physically hit you, and they’ll have a
chance to rest before playoffs whether or
not they get first. We’ve got to be ready tocome out and answer that.”
Calgary’s front four and linebackers
want to contain both Harris and quarter-
back Chris Streveler, who leads all CFL
quarterbacks and ranks second in Blue
Bomber rushing yards with 641.
Harris is coming off a season-high 166
rushing yards and also scored a touchdown
in last week’s win over the Montreal
Alouettes.
“It’s good to kind of get in a rhythm at
this point in the season,” Harris said.
Mitchell says he has a role in assisting
Calgary’s defence.
“Knowing that last game they had an
awesome run game, we’ve got to do a great
job on offence of holding onto the ball and
making it tough on them to have those long
drives,” the quarterback explained.
Mitchell is 5-1 since returning from a
shoulder injury that sidelined him for two
months. Streveler is 3-4 since Nichols hurt
his shoulder and underwent season-end-
ing surgery.
The Bombers acquired quarterback
Zach Collaros from the Toronto Argonauts
at last week’s CFL trade deadline, but head
coach Mike O’Shea isn’t planning on put-
ting Collaros on the field Saturday.
“The plan is for Strev to go out there and
win us a football game,” O’Shea said.THECANADIANPRESSWinnipegBlueBomberChrisStrevelerhandsofftoAndrewHarrisduringtheirgameagainsttheMontrealAlouetteslastSaturday.
Therunningback,withaleague-leading1,261yards,iscrucialtohisteam’soffence.JOHNWOODS/THECANADIANPRESS
Stamps,Bombersand’Ridersfight
forWestDivisionbraggingrights
Raceforfirstplacegives
playoffvibetocominggame
betweenCalgaryandWinnipeg
DONNASPENCER
ALGAR<
T
hey’ve clinched first place and
home field for the East Division fi-
nal. On Saturday, Dane Evans and
the Hamilton Tiger-Cats will look
to secure a spot in the franchise’s record
book.
Hamilton (12-3) plays host to the Ottawa
Redblacks (3-12), needing a win to set a sin-
gle-season club mark. This marks the third
time the Ticats have reached the 12-victory
plateau (1989, 1998). Hamilton lost in the
Grey Cup the previous two occasions.
“It’s super important,” Evans said on Fri-
day regarding a record-setting 13th win.
“We’ve been talking about it all week.
“It’s something that hasn’t been done
here. It wasn’t our main goal when we
started training camp but our goal each
week is to go 1-0 and obviously if you keep
doing that you’re going to reach a point
where we are now. We’ve got a good thing
going so let’s just keep it rolling.”
Hamilton is 7-2 since the 6-foot-1, 218-
pound Evans assumed starting duties after
incumbent Jeremiah Masoli suffered a sea-
son-ending knee injury in a 23-15 win over
Winnipeg on July 26. The Ticats are also the
CFL’s only unbeaten home team, sporting
a 7-0 record at Tim Hortons Field.
But although the Redblacks are riding
an eight-game winless streak, they’ve won
five straight at Tim Hortons Field. In fact,
Ottawa hasn’t lost in Hamilton since 2014.
Regardless of the Redblacks’ losing
streak or where they are in the East stand-
ings – tied for last with the Toronto Argo-
nauts – Evans said the Ticats must focus on
protecting their home turf.
“We owe it to [Ticats fans] to put on a
good show,” he said. “They’ve been sup-
porting us through thick and thin, and
we’ve just got to come out there and get
this win for them.”
It’s been a stellar season for Evans. The
25-year-old native of Sanger, Texas, who
played collegiately at Tulsa, has completed
237-of-336 passes (70.5 per cent) for 2,923
yards with 16 TDs against 11 interceptions
while rushing 34 times for 161 yards (4.7-
yard average) with three touchdowns.
Evans, in his third season with Hamil-
ton, has been especially sharp in his past
five starts, having completed 136-of-174 at-
tempts (78.2 per cent) and averaging 355
yards passing with 11 TD tosses. But with
the Ticats having clinched first place, the
question remains just how much Evans –
and other starters for that matter – will
play down the stretch.
“As far as I know I’m playing every
game, that’s how I’m preparing for it,”
Evans said. “It’s pretty easy for me ... I just
prepare how I always do.
“If they tell me I’m not playing then I’m
not playing, but I’m going to keep prepar-
ing like I am.”
Hamilton rookie coach Orlondo Stei-
nauer said while he wants the Ticats to fin-
ish the regular season strongly, he’ll be
mindful of doing what’s right for his play-
ers.
“It’s a unique situation,” he said. “There
are some challenges but once our roster is
set everybody who’s going out there is ex-
pected to play hard, we’re not holding any-
thing back.
“There will be some strategic decisions
that we’ll make throughout the game and
the last two weeks. But as of right now
things are set and we’re ready to go.”With a win, Hamilton can sweep the sea-
son series versus Ottawa after the Red-
blacks went 4-0 in 2018 against the Ticats.
Despite the drastic turnaround, Steinauer
said his club isn’t looking past Saturday’s
opponent.
“They do have three wins so that means
they’ve beaten three football teams and we
want to make sure it’s not four,” he said.
“Their record is what it is but they’re put-
ting together a game-plan to beat us.
“I’m familiar with their coaching staff,
they’re well coached – you can see that in
all three phases. I feel like they’re physical
and as the saying goes, anybody can beat
anybody. So it hasn’t been a challenge
keeping our guys focused but again talk is
cheap. You have to go out and prove it.”
Quarterback Will Arndt will make his
second straight start for Ottawa. The 26-
year-old rookie from Western Connecticut
State completed 28-of-42 passes for 288
yards with two TDs and three interceptions
in last week’s 28-21 road loss to Toronto.
R.J. Harris was Arndt’s favourite target
with seven catches for 96 yards.THECANADIANPRESSTicatseyefranchiserecordbeforeRedblacksmatchup
DANRALPHHAMILTON
HamiltonTiger-CatsquarterbackDaneEvansthrowsapassagainsttheCalgaryStampeders
atMcMahonStadiuminSeptember.Thisseasonmarksthethirdtimetheteamhasreached
the12-victoryplateau.SERGEIBELSKI/USATODAYSPORTST
here is an understandable
mutual admiration be-
tween Baltimore’s Lamar
Jackson and Seattle’s Russell Wil-
son.
In Jackson, Wilson sees a com-
bination of speed and shiftiness
working in concert with an un-
derrated passing ability that has
the young QB causing headaches
for anyone tasked with slowing
him down.
In Wilson, Jackson sees a veter-
an who has reached the pinnacle
of the NFL, who has figured out a
way to balance his athleticism
and running ability with a dy-
namic right arm that makes him
one of the premier passers in the
league.
“I love everything about his
game,” Jackson said. “He’s a great
quarterback. He makes guys miss.
He breaks the pocket, and there
will be guys chasing him every-
where. He knows what to do with
the ball – dish it out, go to a check-
down. He makes plays. He’s a
playmaker, and that’s what you
need in a guy and at the quarter-
back position. That’s what he is.”
Jackson and Wilson will meet
on the field or the first time on
Sunday when the Seahawks play
host to the Ravens in a showdown
between two of the better teams
in each conference and two of the
early MVP candidates.
Jackson has wowed with his
combination of running and
passing. He’s on pace to rush for
1,200 yards and throw for 4,000.
Last week, he became the first
player in league history to throw
for more than 200 yards and rush
for more than 150 in the same reg-
ular-season game.
Jackson has completed 65 per
cent of his passes, has 13 touch-
downs passing and rushing and is
causing nightmares for opposing
defences.
“People always mention his
speed. That’s obvious. But I think
the mixture of all the different
things he can do – he can throw it
down the field, he’s tough, he
hangs in there, he’s a smart player
too,” Wilson said. “You put all
those things together with his
elusiveness, which is as good as it
gets, probably best you’ve ever
seen kind of speed, he’s really
special.”
Where Wilson has impressed is
his command of Seattle’s offence.
He’s just the fourth QB in league
history to start the season with
six straight games with a passer
rating of 100 or higher. He hasn’t
thrown an interception since
Week 17 last year. Wilson is play-
ing with a confidence and savvy
that’s flashed at times through-
out his career, but perhaps never
for such a prolonged period.
“I know he’s deep in the con-
versation for the MVP already,”
Ravens coach John Harbaugh
said.
“We hope, and we’re going to
do everything we can, to make
sure that we don’t make that ar-
gument any stronger, or help
make that argument any stron-
ger.”
Here’s what else to watch as
the Seahawks and Ravens meet
for the first time since 2015:
“I don’t know what this game
is going to bring, but I definitely
respect and love the organiza-
tion. They gave me my first shot,”
Thomas said.
Backfield in motion:The
Ravens have been forced to shuf-
fle their defensive backfield this
season to cope with injuries to Ta-
von Young, Tony Jefferson, DeSh-
on Elliott and Jimmy Smith. First-
year GM Eric DeCosta refurbished
the secondary this week by trad-
ing for two-time Pro Bowl corner-
back Marcus Peters and signing
safety Bennett Jackson from the
Jets practice squad.
Both newcomers are expected
to play Sunday, so it’s imperative
that they work in unison with
cornerbacks Marlon Humphrey
and Brandon Carr, as well as Tho-
mas. “Communication is going to
be really critical, especially
there,” Harbaugh said.
High volume:The Ravens
cranked up the music at practice
this week to simulate the crowd
noise at CenturyLink Field.
Jackson played in packed stadi-
ums while at Louisville, and he’s
twice started in Kansas City
against the Chiefs. But playing in
Seattle is taking it to another deci-
bel level.
“The coaches have been telling
us it’s very loud,” Jackson said. “I
just have to do a good job of exe-
cuting, calling out the plays and
letting everyone hear me.”THEASSOCIATEDPRESSBaltimore
andSeattleQBs
heappraise
oneachother
TIMBOOTHSEATTLEFOOTBALL