After both teams broke into the win column last week, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and host Toronto Argonauts will try to keep the momentum going on Friday night.
The Tiger-Cats (1-2) handed the Montreal Alouettes their first loss of the season, 35-17, last Friday. The defending Grey Cup champion Argonauts (1-3) posted a 29-16 road win against the Ottawa Redblacks on Sunday.
It’s early in the season, but neither club wants to fall any farther behind the East Division-leading Alouettes (3-1).
“Coming off a win any time, no matter what, feels great, but first win of the season — that’s a momentum starter,” Hamilton wide receiver Tyler Ternowski said, per the team website. “So now the ball’s just rolling. The locker room knows what it feels like to win now and we’re just going to hold on to that.”
Tiger-Cats veteran Bo Levi Mitchell has passed for 887 yards with four touchdowns and one interception. He enters the week with a CFL-best 295.7 passing yards per game.
Argos counterpart Nick Arbuckle has played one more game than Mitchell and leads the league with 1,110 passing yards to go along with five touchdowns but also six interceptions.
Arbuckle, the 2024 Grey Cup MVP, is still keeping the seat warm for franchise quarterback Chad Kelly, who is out until at least mid-July while recovering from a broken leg.
“He’s getting better but he’s just not quite there yet full strength in being able to protect himself in the pocket,” Toronto coach Ryan Dinwiddie told TSN recently regarding Kelly. “You never know with these things — it might take a little bit longer and then the next week he might be back.”
In addition to Kelly, the Argonauts have eight other players listed as out for Friday’s matchup. As of Wednesday’s practice report, the only Tiger-Cats player listed as out was fullback Daniel Bell (elbow).
The Tiger-Cats swept all three meetings last season by a combined margin of eight points, winning by scores of 27-24, 31-28 and 33-31. They will meet again this season on Sept. 1 in Hamilton and Oct. 4 in Toronto.
–Field Level Media
