Tre Ford the Difference in Huge Tiger-Cats Win That “Came Down to Want-To”

It might be remembered by some as a game the hated Argos lost — veteran star Lirim Hajrullahu missed a field goal as time expired — but that would be patently unfair to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

Because this was a game they won. And, overall, it was a win they merited too.

“It’s not a fair game, but now and then you get what you deserve and I felt like that’s what happened tonight at the end,” said Ticat head coach Scott Milanovich after his club evened their record at 3-3 with a dramatic Saturday Night Special; a 24-23 victory over the Argos (2-4).

With quarterback Tre Ford starting his first game for the Cats and rising to, and above, the occasion, the Cats prevailed over a week in which they were not afforded a single day of regular practice, and were starting their third quarterback in three games because of Bo Levi Mitchell’s lower-body injury.

Additionally, the Cats lost both of their offensive tackles, Trevor Reid and Quinton Barrow, to injury during the game and ran out of offensive linemen, shifting blockers to different positions and moving rookie tight end Max Mang to offensive guard.

And this part applied to both teams: there was a disconcerting air of uncertainty before the game finally kicked off — just two minutes late after dispensing with the normal pre-game player introductions — because the air quality issues which forced the Ticats to have only walkthrough practices this week, all but one of them in the cramped confines of the Caretaker’s Lounge. The teams had been sent off the field during pre-game warm-ups when the air quality index soared to unacceptable levels after the wind changed from south to smoke-bearing north, but eventually it came back down.

Ford was the key factor in this game, and so was the Ticat defence before they allowed a couple of touchdowns in the fourth quarter to allow the Argos to close to 24-23 (with Hajrullahu, one of the best in the business, missing a convert) and march toward what looked like might be another last-second loss for the Cats.

But the 31-yard field goal was wide and sailed out of the end zone on the fly, so — hello, new rule! — there was no single point.

“We had a few unfortunate injuries, but we got a dub by any means available, despite not having practiced all week,” said Ticat running back Larry Rountree III, who had 20 rugged touches, 13 carries for 43 yards, and seven catches for 36 yards, including a critical 19-yarder.

“The guys locked into the details, and that was the key with the whole air quality issue. We had a great walkthrough the last day and that set up our plays for the game.”

“Our game plan was to go out there and not do too much and not do too little, just win. It came down to want-to. And we wanted it.”

Nobody more than Ford, who, despite multiple layers of push and pull between two ancient rivals, was the main story of this game.

He had shown some zip in replacing Jake Dolegala late in last Sunday’s humbling loss in Saskatchewan and early this week got the nod to start but didn’t get a chance to acclimatize himself with normal practices because of the freakish atmospheric conditions.

But he came up huge, making some careful reads — although there were a couple of mis-directions and one interception — threading a few bullet passes, and compensating for the musical chairs on the line in front of him: centre Liam Dobson moving to guard; Chris Kolankowski, the only reserve lineman in uniform, coming in at centre; right guard Nate Dumoulin-Duguay shifting to right tackle; and left guard Brandon Revenberg sliding over to left tackle. And, of course, Mang slotting into unfamiliar territory at left guard.

Ford completed 21 of 27 passes, including a string of six straight on a long drive, for a 78 percent completion rate, a TD pass (beautiful play call by the head coach, precise read by his quarterback) and one ill-advised interception. He aired it out a few times too, engineering three drives of 65 yards or more.

But it was his running, and threat to run, which kept the Argos off balance much of the game. He rushed for 109 yards on 10 carries, and was particularly effective on long-yardage downs, scrambling like a ride at the Ex and purchasing time for his receivers to find space against a tough Argo defence.

One play early in the game will go unnoticed in the final analysis but deserves a mention. With the Argo ends pinching hard early, he deked outside around a charging Argo lineman for good yardage, which discouraged the pinching, caused future hesitation and may have slightly altered the defensive tactics, setting up his receivers for a little more opportunity over the middle.

Both he and Argo quarterback Chad Kelly (25-for-35, 322 yards, one TD, one pick) were strong on second downs, each going 7-for-12.

“It was obviously nice to go out there and get the win, but I definitely want practice next week,” Ford said, as the Ticats head to Montréal for a key intra-divisional battle with the 5-1 East leaders.

“Being the quarterback I am, and talking to Scott, using my legs is going to be an asset for my team. When you have a week like this when you don’t get a lot of practice, having legs definitely helps. Being able to extend plays, run around and get first downs. It’s tough to get to those third and fourth reads when you don’t practice.”

Milanovich devised an excellent game plan that got the Cats out to a 24-10 lead, which could have been bigger but because of the offensive line injuries; the Cats had to go for a late-third-quarter field goal, rather than a touchdown, at the Toronto three-yard line after Ford had driven them 67 yards.

The head coach praised Ford’s contribution to the win:  “There’s a couple of throws he’s going to want to have back, but I thought, all in all, the young man played amazingly well. He gave us a shot in the arm. He wears out defences; he made some really good throws, obviously made some good runs. I thought it was a great job.”

“It’s pretty big. We needed that; we needed to kind of get a little belief back, and I thought we did that. I thought the guys responded to Tre out there, and I thought we played well defensively most of the game.

“Again, we just found a way to win. We’re trying to figure out who we are with a new quarterback and tonight was a good start.”

The Ticats, who were stung by 27 points off their own turnovers last week, turned cornerback Jamal Peters’ interception into a Dolegala touchdown and a 21-7 lead halfway through the third quarter. Peters, who came to the Ticats from the Argos two seasons ago, jumped a Damonte Coxie middle route and picked off Kelly’s pass. That was a little inside knowledge from daily practices against that throw-and-catch battery.

“I kind of knew once I saw it that the back was kind of leaning towards the flats that (Coxie) runs an under route,” Peters said of his first interception this season. “And I had to trust my ability to just go in. It feels great to finally catch one.”

“That was a big win for us. You know, I feel like it can be the turning point of the season.  We can’t get comfortable. We’ve got Montréal next week, the top dogs in the East. And we’re going to be prepared.”

Mang, who had to switch jersey numbers to be eligible to play in the interior of the offensive line, praised his teammates for coaching him up on every play as he adjusted to a different kind of blocking — and defensive rush — than he normally encounters.

“Whatever we need to win, and the guys helped me figure it out, but obviously it’s a big adjustment being 263 pounds at guard,” he said. “It was a huge win, and I think it shows what kind of brotherhood we have. It doesn’t matter who plays where, we just keep going.”

A sentiment repeated by Dumoulin-Duguay, who’s enjoying a solid season.

“With the injuries,” he said. “To be honest, we just had to go out and grind.”

CATS CLAUSES: Ante Litre and Jake Dolegala had short-yardage touchdowns for the Ticats. Litre also had 2 special teams tackles … Kurleigh Gittens Jr. caught all five passes sent his way for 57 yards and Keric Wheatfall caught the four he was thrown, for 52 yards … Kiondré Smith totalled 32 yards on his 2 grabs, both in important situations … Kenny Lawler drew double, at least, coverage on most plays which freed up 1-on-1s elsewhere but had the Cats’ only receiving touchdown, slipping into a wide-open hole in the end zone for Hamilton’s opening 25-yard score … Marc Liegghio was 1-for-2 on field goals …  Mitch McCarthy averaged 50.8 yards per punt and 41.8 net … Isaiah Wooden had 149 yards in returns, including a 54-yard kickoff return in the fourth quarter … DE Phil Ossai and LB Reggie Stubblefield recorded sacks and Stubblefield continued his All-CFL-kind of start with another 5 tackles … DBs Quavian White and Zamari Walton had pass knockdowns as did DLs Miles Fox and Julian Howsare. Those PKDs accounted for 40 per cent of Chad Kelly’s incompletions … Argo rookie WR Tyler Kahmann led all receivers with 104 yards on 6 catches … Toronto WR Damonte Coxie caught 5  for 75 yards while Kevin Mital (5 receptions) and Makai Polk (3) each had 56 yards … backup QB Nick Arbuckle had 2 short-yardage TDs and former Ticat David Ungerer III had the only Argo touchdown reception … Argo Dymere Miller busted a 72-yard kickoff return and a 43-yard missed field goal return … Jonathan Kongbo and Ralph Holley each sacked Tre Ford … the Argos head to BC next weekend for the Lions’ first game at BC Place then play their own first game at BMO Field Aug 6 against Calgary. Both the Lions and Argos have been shut out of their home fields by the World Cup, and Saturday’s game was technically a Toronto “home” game despite being played in Hamilton … attendance was 21,262.