Adam Gagnon, CFL.ca
HAMILTON — Hamilton Tiger-Cats head coach June Jones stated following his team’s 43-28 loss to the Calgary Stampeders on Saturday that it was not due to a lack of effort.
“Granted we were a little short-handed, we were still able to make plays,” Jones said when addressing media following the Ticats loss. “We just weren’t able to keep up with them.”
The game between the Ticats and Stamps started off as a bit of a chess match, carrying that trend well into the third quarter as there would be six lead changes throughout the game — the most coming in the final few minutes of the second quarter, as each team traded field goals.
“I thought the defence played very well early.”
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Hamilton’s head coach, June Jones remains confident in Jeremiah Masoli, stating the quarterback competes every week. (Adam Gagnon, CFL.ca)
Defensively, Hamilton managed to limit the Stamps advancements upfield early in the game, but as fatigue set in on the Ticats, that was when Bo Levi Mitchell let loose.
“Bo’s the kind of quarterback, to be quite honest, if you bring pressure then the ball come out,” said Jones. “You saw what happens when you can’t bring pressure — he can move around, he takes those shots down field. He’s got some speed and tall guys, and that makes a difference.”
Mitchell finished the game completing 17 of his 30 pass attempts for 270 yards and two touchdowns.
The Black and Gold finished the game failing to register a sack against the Stamps.
“You’ve got to pick your poison when it comes to him,” Jones added.
In a game that was filled with scoring majors on both special teams and defence, Jeremiah Masoli and the Ticats’ offence were blanked by the Calgary defence when it came to scoring touchdowns.
“We’ve got to put it in the end zone on offensively a couple of times and maybe put the pressure back onto them, but we were unable to do that.”
Masoli completed 23 of his 37 passing attempts, as he finished the game with 210 yards and two interceptions.
“I’m not disappointed in Jeremiah,” Jones stated. “He competes every week.”
Halfway through the fourth quarter of Saturday’s game, Jones was faced with a decision that could very well have dictated the pace of the game heading into the final few moments. After Masoli failed to pick up a first down on an option play, in which he elected to keep the ball himself, Jones decided to go for the points and send out Lirim Hajrullahu for a field goal.
“We looked at the clock and with seven and a half minutes to go, as I’ve found out up here [in Canada], a lot can happen in that time,” Jones explained. “So i figured we needed to score and we were needing to get in the end zone anyway the next time.”
Unfortunately for the Ticats there was never a ‘next time’ as the Stamps continued to put the ball in the hands of Romar Morris, who rushed for 98 yards and a touchdown which would turnout to be the dagger on the Tabbies hopes of a come back.
Despite the Stampeders taking the season series and the Ticats coming short in claiming in a win in both of the two meetings this season, Jones remains optimistic.
“We’re in the ballpark with them. We can beat them, we didn’t tonight, but I think both games have said that we can play with them.”
The Tiger-Cats look forward to a road meeting with their feline rival in BC as they travel to take on the Lions next Saturday. Hamilton remains behind the REDBLACKS in the East Division standings with a 6-6 record.
“Our goal is to win the division championship and get a bye that first week (of playoffs), and that’s still in the sights to be able to do that,” says Jones. “It’s a long season.”
