The Hamilton Tiger-Cats staged a late rally, but ultimately fell short to the B.C. Lions 45-38 on Saturday Night. Quarterback Zach Collaros made his return. He started slow but was very impressive in the second half.
B.C. Claws Hamilton, Collaros Impressive
Offense
Zach Collaros looked rather rough in the first half, and was largely ineffective. Most noteworthy was the offensive line was horrible once again, allowing B.C. to sack Collaros five times. However, the offense clicked on all cylinders in the second half. Chad Owens and Luke Tasker led the receiving attack, while C.J. Gable played an increased role as a pass catcher. Terrence Toliver also provided significant contributions in the solid Tiger-Cats performance in the latter half. Despite the strong showing in the final thirty, Hamilton came up short. However, it does appear Zach Collaros is shaking off the rust, and is close to being back to his elite form from last year.
Defense/Special Teams
The first half of the game was the worst the defense played all year. The secondary was swarmed by the impressive showing by the B.C. Lions offense. In addition, the Lions offensive line contained the defensive front four of the Tiger-Cats. The B.C. offensive assault was overwhelming for the Tiger-Cats in the first half. As a result at half time, B.C. led Hamilton 32-12. On the contrary, the defense stood strong in the second half, by only giving up 13 points. Dominque Ellis led the resilient unit with six tackles, and Delano Johnson recorded a sack. Kicker Terrence Toliver was solid, going 3-for-3 on field goals. Return man Brandon Banks was clutch once again, with an unbelievable 126 yard missed field goal return for the game-tying touchdown. Rookie Mike Jones returned several kickoffs in his CFL debut. The defense needs to clamp down the multiple errors in time for the critical home game against Saskatchewan.
Coaching
Give Kent Austin credit for rallying the team in the second half. He made the adjustments similar to the Edmonton game, but it fell short.
Main Photo by Jana Chytilova/Freestyle Photography/Getty Images.
