THE CANADIAN PRESS
There really has been no place like home this season for slotback Dave Stala and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
The Ticats (6-5) have already accumulated as many wins this season as they have the last two years combined. And a big reason for the resurgence has been the club’s play at Ivor Wynne Stadium.
Hamilton has amassed a stellar 5-1 home record this season, second only to league-leading Montreal (6-0 at Molson Stadium, 9-2 overall). But for the second straight week the Ticats will face a stiff test at Ivor Wynne Stadium when they host the Alouettes on Friday night.
Hamilton enters the game on a positive after downing the Grey Cup-champion Calgary Stampeders 24-17 at home last week.
"That was huge because Calgary is one of the best teams in the West Division," Stala said. "It brings confidence to the team that we can play with the best in the league.
"Montreal is the best and we know we can play with them."
Stala, in his first season with the Ticats following six years in Montreal, credits the Ivor Wynne Stadium faithful for the club’s home record, although less than 20,000 spectators witnessed last week’s victory over Calgary.
"I believe the fans are a big part of it," Stala said. "We get up a little bit in the game and they get up in the fourth quarter and help us out.
"I think we’re a better team at home and hopefully we can give Montreal a run."
This marks the second meeting of the season between the two teams. Montreal took the opener 21-8 at Molson Stadium on July 23, an 18-point second-quarter outburst anchoring the victory.
In that game, Montreal quarterback Anthony Calvillo finished a stellar 30-of-39 passing for 404 yards and two TDs against one interception. Calvillo heads into this contest with a CFL-high 3,311 passing yards and sparkling 72.3 completion percentage.
"Montreal is a good team with a lot of veteran guys who know how to play the game and how to get open," said Ticats’ defensive back Chris Thompson. "Anthony Calvillo is the brains behind the it all, he makes everything tick so we have to contain him, get some pressure on him and make plays when they’re available to us."
Veterans Kerry Watkins (54 catches, 818 yards, five TDs), Ben Cahoon (56 catches, 679 yards, one TD) and Jamel Richardson (52 catches, 663 yards, three TDs) anchor a solid Montreal receiving corps. And then there’s multi-talented running back Avon Cobourne, who is third overall in rushing (850 yards, 5.2-yard average per carry, nine TDs) but has also registered 42 catches for 334 yards and two touchdowns.
"Definitely, he’s a double threat," Thompson said of Cobourne. "We have to contain him because he’s also one of their key guys."
Stala also enjoyed a stellar homecoming, registering seven catches for 86 yards — both season highs thus far — in his first game against his former teammates. Overall, the six-foot-one, 205-pound Stala has 33 receptions for 319 yards and two TDs for the Ticats.
Stala, a native of Poland who grew up in Hamilton, enjoyed his best CFL season with Montreal in ’05 when he had 83 catches for 1,037 yards and five TDs. Stala believes his prior experience with the Alouettes helps him when he faces his former team.
"I think it does because I know how their defenders play a little bit," he said. "I know their schemes a little bit defensively because I’ve been around them for six years before this.
"I think it gives me a little bit of an advantage knowing the players they have, their weaknesses, their strengths. I definitely think it does."
And every little advantage certainly helps against a Montreal unit that’s first in 17 of the CFL’s 25 defensive categories, including fewest yards allowed (296.9 yards per game), points allowed (17.1 per game), fewest TDs (18), yards rushing (81.4 per game) and plays from scrimmage (803).
"Their defence might bend but it doesn’t break," Stala said. "That’s why they’ve been winning games.
"They have one of the league’s best defences, that’s one of the reasons why they’re 9-2 and the team to beat in the CFL. We’re striving to get to where they are."
A stingy Hamilton defence — the unit is allowing just 22.9 points per game, second only to Montreal — has been instrumental in the club’s resurgence this year. And Thompson gives first-year defensive co-ordinator Greg Marshall all the credit for that.
"He’s done a great job," Thompson said. "It’s been a complete turnaround in terms of schemes and our attitude in just going out there and make plays when they’re available.
"When guys are able to go out there and relax and have fun, they make more plays. He’s done a great job of just letting guys go out and play."
