By Mike Hardiman
Special to Stampeders.com

The Pregame

For the second time in three weeks, the Stampeders will take on the Hamilton Tiger-Cats as the Stamps head east for the last time in the 2013 regular season.

The Stamps are looking to get back on the right track after the Argos came into McMahon and snapped Calgary’s four-game win streak by claimining a 33-27 decision. Calgary (9-3) remains in top spot in the West but needs a win this week to keep sole possession of first as both Saskatchewan and BC are only one game back heading into this week’s action.

Hamilton (6-6) beat the Alouettes 28-26 in Moncton in the CFL’s third Touchdown Atlantic game and, since the Ticats were considered the home team, have now won three straight home contests.

This week’s game will be played at Alumni Stadium in Guelph, home of the CIS Guelph Gryphons, as the Tiger-Cats are in the process of constructing a new home stadium in Hamilton.

Calgary beat the Cats 26–22 in Week 12 at McMahon, and won the last game they played at old Ivor Wynne Stadium, 31-20 in 2012. Calgary is 3-3 in its past six games played on the road against Hamilton (2011’s game was played in Moncton) and has alternated wins and losses each year.

Calgary is 4-2 on the road and 5-1 against East teams while Hamilton is 4-2 at home (3-2 at Guelph) and 2-5 against the West. 

The Kickoff

When/Where: Saturday, Sept. 28 at 4 p.m. MDT at Alumni Stadium in Guelph, Ont.
Television: TSN, ESPN3
Radio: News Talk 770, Sirius Satellite Channel 157, XM Satellite Channel 160
Internet: www.newstalk770.com

The Stampeders 

Calgary and Toronto played a pretty even game last week, with the difference being the success the Argos had in the passing game. Toronto passed for 330 yards and four touchdowns, marking the second straight game Calgary has given up 300 or more passing yards and the second time this season the Stamps have allowed four passing touchdowns.

The Stamps have now given up 12 touchdowns in their past three home games compared to just five in their past three road games. The sacks are still coming at a furious pace however, with the Stamps defence adding four more to its league-leading total. The Stamps have 23 sacks in their past four games. That pressure has resulted in 10 opposition turnovers including four interceptions during that span. 

Calgary has just two 300-yard passing games to their credit this season, with one of those coming on the road in Winnipeg back in Week 5 courtesy of Bo Levi Mitchell.

The Stamps continue to look for the right combination at receiver as injuries to the starting group remain a weekly story. The Stampeders have had 17 different players catch passes for them this season with Alric Arnett and Kenny Stafford being the two latest additions.

Calgary is still running the ball effectively, but not in the dominating fashion the Stamps did earlier in the season. The Stamps have 37 carries for 211 yards (a 5.7 yard average) in their past two games, down slightly from their per-game season average, and RB Jon Cornish has only one 100-yard game in his past five contests. 

Who to watch:          

Jon Cornish, RB, #9
2013 stats – 168 carries, 1,093 yards rushing, 6.5 yard average, 8  rushing TDs – second in CFL in rushing; has not scored a rushing TD in his last four games
Last Week – 13 carries, 72 yards rushing, 5.5 yard average, 0 TDs vs Tor.
2013 vs Ham. – 16 carries, 81 yards rushing, 5.1 yard average, 0 TDs in Week 12         

Marquay McDaniel, SB, #16
2013 stats – 52 catches, 643 yards receiving, 12.4 yard average, 5 Tds –  leads team in receiving; 11th in CFL
Last Game – 6 catches, 87 receiving yards, 14.5 yard average 1 TDs vs Tor. – led team in receiving
2013 vs Ham.  – 5 catches, 65 receiving yards, 13.0 yard average, 1 TD in Week 12 – tied for team lead in catches

Jabari Arthur, SB, #81
2013 stats – 30 catches, 342 yards receiving, 11.4 yard average, 1 TD –  set career high in receptions
Last Game – 7 catches, 68 receiving yards, 9.7 yard average, 1 TD, 1 punt, 45 yards vs Tor. – tied career high in single-game receptions
2013 vs Ham.  – 1 catch, 6 receiving yards in Week 12

Juwan Simpson, MLB, #12
2013 stats – 35 tackles, 5 sacks, 3 pass knockdowns, 2 forced fumble, 1 fumble return – has sacks in consecutive games
Last Week  – 3 tackles, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble return vs Tor.
2013 vs Ham. –  3 tackles, 1 sack in Week 12

Keon Raymond, DB, #25
2013 stats – 40 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 3 sacks, 6 pass knockdowns – leads team in pass knockdowns
Last Week – 3 tackles, 1 sack vs Tor.
2013 vs Ham. – 7 tackles, 2 pass knockdowns in Week 12 – tied for team lead in tackles

The Tiger-Cats                                                                     

Hamilton has had a nice bounce-back season in 2013 with six wins in 12 games after winning only six game all of last season.

The Tiger-Cats offence is the main reason for the success and is capable of beating any team on any given day. The Cats lead the CFL in passing with former Stampeder Henry Burris (#1) at the controls of the offence and on pace for his second straight 5,000-yard passing season.

Rookie RB C.J. Gable (#32) is a dual threat in the backfield with 879 yards from scrimmage and nine touchdowns while rookie SB Greg Ellingson (#82) and veteran SB Andy Fantuz (#83) are the main targets in Hamilton’s passing attack.

Hamilton’s defence has been a work in progress after giving up a league-worst 32 points per game in 2012. DT Brian Bulcke (#95), MLB Jamall Johnson (#28) and DB Dee Webb (#5) have been the constants in all the change but newcomers DE Eric Norwood (#40), LB Brandon Isaac (#23) and DB Evan McCollough (#2) have all helped to improve the unit. 

Who to watch:

Henry Burris, QB, #1
2013 stats – 407 attempts, 271 completions, 66.6% completion rate, 3,765 passing yards, 20 TDs, 12 INTs, 100.2 QB rating – leads CFL in passing yards; passed for over 300 yards in a game eight times in 2013
Last Game– 27 attempts, 15 completions, 55.5% completion rate, 176 passing yards, 0 TDs, 1 INT, 60.1 QB rating vs Mtl.
2013 vs Cgy. – 39 attempts, 26 completions, 66.6 % completion rate, 408 passing yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs in Week 12 – highest single game passing yardage total against Calgary this year

Andy Fantuz, SB, #83
2013 stats – 41 catches, 588 yards receiving, 14.3 yard average, 3 TDs – second in CFL among Canadian receivers
Last Game – 5 catches, 60 receiving yards, 12.0 yard average, 0 TDs vs Mtl. – led team in catches
2013 vs Cgy. – 6 catches, 96 receiving yards, 16.0 yard average, 1 TD in Week 12 – tied for team lead in catches

Simoni Lawrence, LB, #21
2013 stats – 29 tackles, 3 special teams tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 1 sack, 1 INT, 4  pass knockdowns, 1 forced fumble
Last Game  – 2 tackles, 1 forced fumble vs Mtl.
2013 vs Cgy. – 6  tackles, 1 sack, 1 INT, 1 pass knockdown in Week 12                                         

Stats

Here are the two teams’ offensive and defensive totals and league rankings after last week’s games

The CFL this Week

Friday, Sept. 27 – 6 p.m. – BC (8-4) at Winnipeg (2-10)
Saturday, Sept. 28 – 7 p.m. – Toronto (8-4) at Edmonton (3-9)
Sunday, Sept. 29  – 11 a.m. – Saskatchewan (8-4) at Montreal (4-8)