Hamilton Tiger-Cats Bakari Grant, right, celebrates a touchdown with teammate Jasper Collins Jr. against the Toronto Argonauts on August 3. Hamilton is 9-0 at Tim Hortons Field, having allowed just 126 points there – an average of 14 per game.MARK BLINCH/Reuters
A week after overcoming the CFL's top-ranked defence, Travis Lulay and the B.C. Lions face another tough assignment.
Lulay leads the Lions' offence into Hamilton on Saturday night to face a Tiger-Cats squad looking to remain unbeaten at Tim Hortons Field. The daunting matchup comes after Lulay's 31-yard touchdown pass to Andrew Harris rallied B.C. to a 26-23 win over Edmonton on Aug. 6.
"Tough task," Lulay said of facing the Ticats. "They've been really impressive at home.
"I think they've really embraced the new field and all that."
Hamilton (4-2) is 9-0 at Tim Hortons Field, having allowed just 126 points there – an average of 14 per game. The Ticats have outscored opponents 242-126, including 77-13 in the fourth quarter.
Hamilton's defence was especially tenacious in last weekend's 38-8 home win over Winnipeg. It had seven sacks and defensive back Emanuel Davis celebrated his 26th birthday by returning two interceptions for touchdowns.
"The way we responded to Edmonton, they're probably the best defence in the league," Harris said. "Hamilton, if they're not the best, are a close second.
"The doughnut box, there's something to be said about that, the fact they're undefeated. We want to go in there and be the team to give them their first loss in that building."
Hamilton took control immediately against Winnipeg, storming out to a 21-0 lead midway through the opening quarter en route to a commanding 31-0 half-time advantage.
"Winnipeg didn't give themselves a great chance to win that football game," Lulay said. "They turned the ball over early, they had a couple big gaffes on special teams back to back and you blinked and it was 21-0.
"When you're playing a team that's playing that confident you can't do that. You have to withstand that initial surge. You know they're going to push out of the gate hot. You have to find a way to be good early, then settle into the game and just go play football."
But linebacker Erik Harris said Hamilton isn't resting on its laurels following last weekend's one-sided win.
"We're just working on mistakes we had last week, just fixing those and finishing a whole game," Harris said. "I think we came out pretty flat the second half so it's just being consistent and playing all four quarters."
Andrew Harris was a pivotal figure for B.C. (3-3) against Edmonton. He ran for 118 yards rushing on 20 carries with a TD and added four catches for 57 yards and a touchdown.
The 5-foot-11, 213-pound Harris, a native of Winnipeg, has a CFL-high 519 yards rushing and four touchdowns and has cracked the 100-yard rushing barrier his last two games. Harris also has 26 catches for 288 yards and two TDs.
Hamilton's defence has allowed 100 yards rushing once at Tim Hortons Field and surrendered just eight TDs overall there. The Ticats enter weekend action tied for second in the CFL in interceptions (seven) and third in points allowed (21.2 per game).
"We know we've got to stop the run," said Ticats head coach/GM Kent Austin. "We try our best to make a team one-dimensional if we can ... we're certainly aware of their strengths and we'll plan accordingly.
"He [Harris] has got a good combination of speed and strength and he's elusive enough to make you miss in the open field. He catches the ball out of the backfield as well. He's a good back."
But Austin isn't diminishing Lulay's role in B.C.'s offence either.
"I'm a big fan of Travis," Austin said. "I think he's a really good player.
"He has a command of the offence, he's accurate, he's tough, he's a football player. They have big receivers. We have a challenge in front of [us] defensively."
B.C. will have to contend with an enthusiastic Ticats home crowd as the contest is a sellout. Hamilton has sold out every game at Tim Hortons Field and drawn at 103 per cent of capacity in its two home contests this season.
"It's going to be a hostile environment, so we have to be prepared for that," said Jeff Tedford, the Lions' first-year head coach. "Playing them at their place, we understand they haven't lost a game at their place."
Hamilton will be minus receiver Bakari Grant (25 catches, team-high 389 yards, four TDs) because of injury. Last week, Canadian Andy Fantuz (team-best 30 receptions, 311 yards) and running back C.J. Gable both went on the six-game injured list with arm ailments.