With Labour Day on the horizon, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats can match their win total for all of 2018 with a victory over the B.C. Lions in Vancouver Saturday night.
Kickoff at B.C. Place Stadium is at 10 p.m. ET. After the game, listen to The 5th Quarter on 900 CHML and watch it on CHML’s Facebook page.
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Hamilton (7-2) finished last season with an 8-10 record before losing in the Canadian Football League’s Eastern Final against the Ottawa Redblacks. But 2019 has been a much different story for the Ticats.
Despite a starting lineup that has been tweaked week-to-week because of injuries and a rookie head coach in Orlondo Steinauer patrolling the sideline the Tiger-Cats have stormed out to their best record since 1998.
This week, even against a Lions team that has just one win in their first nine games and has allowed a CFL-worst 308 points, the Cats will be tested again.
Star receiver Luke Tasker will not suit up for Hamilton after being placed on the one-game injured list with an undisclosed injury. He will be replaced by rookie slotback Jalin Marshall who has appeared in three games this year but has yet to record a reception. On the flip side, first-year fullback Nikola Kalinic has returned from the six-game injured list and is scheduled to start against the Lions.
Vancouver has not been a friendly place for the Ticats in recent years. Hamilton has just one win in their last seven trips to B.C. Place Stadium, a 24-23 victory on Sept. 22, 2017 thanks to a game-winning field goal by kicker Sergio Castillo with 10 seconds left in regulation.
The Lions (1-8) are on a five-game losing streak and have not lost six consecutive games since 2010. And not since 1969 has B.C. started a season with a 1-9 record. The Lions started the ’69 season with just one win in their first 11 games before finishing 5-11.
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