It may not be the way the Hamilton Tiger-Cats envisioned their roster looking like in Week 3 of the Canadian Football League season but the goal remains the same: to win.
As Bo Levi Mitchell deals with an abductor injury, Matthew Shiltz will take over as the Ticats’ starting quarterback Friday night when Hamilton plays its home opener against the Montreal Alouettes.
When these two teams last met it was in the 2022 East Division Semifinal, a game in which the Als won 28-17 to march on to the CFL’s final four.
You can listen to the game on CHML radio, starting with the pregame show at 6:30 p.m. Eastern. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. Fans can catch The 5th Quarter postgame show 30 minutes after the final whistle.
Shiltz has a career won-loss record that stands at 4-4 and is 0-1 against the Alouettes, the team he broke into the league with in 2017.
The 30-year-old will have a reworked offensive line in front of him as 39-year-old Chris Van Zeyl returns from the injured list and lines up at his usual right tackle spot.
Hamilton will also have a change at left tackle after Joel Figueroa hit the injured list with a banged-up foot. He will be replaced with Brandon Kemp while rookie Dayton Black subs in for right guard Colter Woodmansey (ribs).
The Alouettes roll into Tim Hortons Field following a bye week and a season-opening victory in Week 1 over the Ottawa Redblacks.
Friday’s game marks the first time Cody Fajardo will play against the Tiger-Cats as a member of Montreal.
He signed with the Als during the off-season and is looking to improve on his 3-1 record against Hamilton. Fajardo is 28-17 all-time in the league, with all but one of those games in a Saskatchewan Roughriders uniform.
The Alouettes lead the all-time regular season series 98-92-7.