Adam Gagnon/CFL
The Hamilton Tiger Cats offence appears ready to take on the league-leading Calgary Stampeders next weekend. After grabbing a share of the lead in the East Division in Saturday’s 36-25 win over Toronto, the Ticats are hoping for a similar result in Week 14 against the class of the west and the CFL at-large.
Jeremiah Masoli turned in his ninth 300-yard passing performance in 11 games this season and threw for four scores to help Hamilton earn the road victory. The 30-year-old made few mistakes on an afternoon where the Argos refused to go down without a fight, but did for the second straight week against Hamilton.
“It’s big man, to get those back to back wins,” Masoli said. “The momentum overall going into this back stretch, keeping them behind us in the standings, it was huge.”
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Wide receiver Brandon Banks has been a favourite target of Masoli all season long, and that did not change on Saturday as the pair connected for 154 yards and two touchdowns. The highlight of the night came on a 78-yard connection between the two where Masoli needled the ball to Banks amongst a swarm of Argos and the receiver sped his way down the length of the field.
“I can’t say enough about him,” Masoli said. “We all know he’s a versatile player, he can do it all. He plays outside of his body like he’s 6’4 out there. He just goes up there with all that heart, he’s fearless.”
The Ticats seem to have formed a hot streak after two straight wins over the rival Argos and a one-point victory over a solid Eskimos team the week before. Prior to this stretch, Hamilton had lost four of five games and could have been in a fight for a playoff spot if they didn’t fare well with the Argos.
“We did the things we had to do to win the game,” head coach June Jones said. “And Jeremiah, what can I say…. I’m happy to see him have this success.”
Now, the Ticats are advancing furiously into the final stretch of the season with their eyes on a playoff bye and they have league-leading Calgary in their sights.
“We’re going to enjoy this win right now, then get back to work and focus on Calgary,” Masoli said.
