Eskimos come calling on Tiger-Cats

Sep 17, 2014 - 3:24 PM Hamilton, ON (SportsNetwork.com) - The top team in the East Division shoots for back-to-back wins for the first time this season when the Hamilton Tiger- Cats entertain the Edmonton Eskimos at Tim Hortons Field on Saturday night.

Hamilton has won a total of just three games in 10 opportunities this season, failing to deliver consecutive victories at any point, and yet the club is currently first in the division standings. The Tiger-Cats actually have the same number of points earned as both Montreal and Toronto, but Hamilton has a game in-hand after shocking Saskatchewan last weekend at home, 28-3.

Enjoying their best defensive effort of the season by far, the Ticats also have to keep in mind that they were going up against a backup quarterback in Tino Sunseri, after Darian Durant went down with an injury the week prior. The Hamilton defense saw an opportunity and went on the attack, limiting the backup signal caller to a mere 9-of-21 passing for 88 yards and an interception. The unit sacked Sunseri five times and limited the Roughriders to only 201 yards of total offense.

One of those sacks was credited to linebacker Taylor Reed who finished with a total of seven stops, on his way to being named the CFL Defensive Player of the Week on Monday.

Zach Collaros was in charge of the Hamilton offense yet again, converting 29- of-36 passes for 287 yards and a pair of TDs, both of them going to Luke Tasker who had just three total receptions.

Special teams played a prominent role in the win as well for the Ticats, with kicker Justin Medlock accounting for nine points and returner Terrell Sinkfield bringing back a punt 57 yards for a major. Sinkfield, who fielded 12 punts and generated 151 yards on those returns, as well as another 16 on a kickoff return, was named the CFL Special Teams Player of the Week for his efforts.

While the Tiger-Cats were charging toward a lopsided win, putting an end to a two-game slide, Edmonton was also halting a two-game losing streak as it topped Montreal at home in a 33-16 final last Friday night. Edmonton, which is tied for second place in the West Division standings with Saskatchewan, started off the meeting slow, but came on in the fourth quarter by scoring 21 points.

Quarterback Mike Reilly was back in the saddle and recorded a pair of rushing touchdowns in the final period to push his team back into the win column. Reilly, who finished second on the team with 56 net rushing yards, also connected on 22-of-32 passes for 271 yards. Although he was held out of the end zone, Adarius Bowman caught 10 passes for 131 yards, both of which were game highs for the receiver.

The Edmonton offense produced 458 yards, just slightly more than double that of the Alouettes who tallied 228 yards on 63 snaps.

Bowman has become the premier pass catcher in the CFL this season, his 75 receptions and 997 yards easily distancing himself from the pack. Bowman may be tied with British Columbia's Emmanuel Arceneaux for the league lead in receiving TDs with six, but he has more than twice as many catches and close to 400 more yards than his counterpart for the Lions.

Because of the efforts of Bowman and his teammates, Edmonton is currently ranked second in the league in scoring after 12 weeks of action with 26.7 ppg, while the 'Cats are in the bottom third of that list with 22.1 ppg. Although it may not be a clear indication of how well a team performs, the fact that the Eskimos are at the top of the chart in time of possession (30:59 per game) and Hamilton is bringing up the rear (24:11), could have an influence on this week's meeting.

Edmonton won the first meeting of the season between the clubs with a 28-24 victory in Week 2 at home. In that contest, the Esks survived 11 penalties, for 102 yards, by intercepting three passes and recovering three fumbles. It also helped greatly that kicker Grant Shaw converted four of his six field goal tries and finished with 16 points overall.

The Tiger-Cats used a trio of quarterbacks as Jeremiah Masoli, Dan LeFevour and Collaros combined to hit just 17-of-34 passes for 241 yards and a single touchdown, while being sacked four times

In terms of the all-time series, taking into consideration only regular-season meetings dating back to 1961, Edmonton now leads by a count of 55-30-1 with three wins in the last four matchups.