TMQB: Labour Day Edition (CFL Week 10)
Labour Day weekend did not disappoint the hype as the weekend provided a number of surprises. With the first half of the season officially finished teams began the long trek to the Grey Cup. The teams at the bottom of the league were trying to turn around their season and the top teams looked to keep their season going. Saskatchewan made the biggest change as they fired their head coach Greg Marshall and brought back last year’s head coach Ken Miller in order to turn their season around. The rest of the Western Conference was also trying turn things around except the Calgary Stampeders. The Stamps came into the Weekend on the hottest streak as they had just overtaken the Eskimos for first place. The Eskies were looking to end a three game losing streak while the B.C. Lions were just beginning to recover from a bad start to the season. In the East the Winnipeg Blue Bombers were looking to continue their dominance over the CFL and increase their 7-1 record. The Montreal Alouettes were trying to keep up with the Bombers and overtake the top spot in the East. The Ti-Cats were stuck in the middle but beginning to get a head of steam in the East and their longtime rivals were doing the exact opposite as the Argonauts continued to lose game after game. With all of these stories going on almost everything changed as teams that were supposed to win actually lost and teams that were supposed to lose actaully won. The season does not start until Labour Day is the saying and this year proved it as it seems that all the stories will be changed as teams look to get into the playoffs.
The Boatman Keep Sinking
BC 29 – 16 TOR
In the second year of the Braley Bowl saw the two teams owned by Hamilton businessman David Braley face off. The B.C. Lions were the original Braley owned team in the CFL and they had been on a bit of resurgence heading into Labour Day. The Lions started the season with a long losing streak but had won two of their last three games as they have looked re-energized lately and are beginning to look like the team many thought they would be. The Argos have been the opposite as Braley purchased the team last year essentially saving the longest running football team in the world. They have also been opposite from B.C. this year as they won their first game but have continued to lose only winning one game since week 1. Both of these teams played not only to show who was the better of the two Braley owned teams but also were competing for the future as both teams may be competing for the last playoff spot. The B.C. Lions started off strong and used their new star WR and former Argo Arland Bruce (6 rec, 51 yds, 1 TD) to do it. The Lions scored a TD when Travis Lulay (25/36, 309 yds, 1 TD, 0 INT) passed to Bruce in the first quarter putting the Lions up 10-3. The Argos were never able to catch up as they could not get their offence going. A big part of this was the change at QB that put Dalton Bell under centre. This change turned out bad as Bell threw 4 INTs that was the biggest factor in the loss. The one bright spot with the Argos was that Chad Owens (3 rec, 13 yds, 0 TD), 2010 special teams player of the year, seemed to return to last year’s form as he earned an Argonauts record 245 yards in Kickoff Returns and his first TD of 2011 with a fourth quarter TD that was the first for the Argos in the game. The game ended with the Argos disappointed and the Lions taking home the win and beginning to take control of the crossover spot for the playoffs. The Lions and Argos will travel to B.C. to play each other again as the Lions attempt to continue their winning streak while the Argos will try to rework their offence after releasing their starting QB Cleo Lemon.
Hamilton gets over their Nemesis
HAM 44 – 21 MTL
The Hamilton Tiger Cats have been one of the better teams in the East in recent years but have reached one big roadblock every year. This roadblock is the Montreal Alouettes who always seem to be the thorn in the Tabbies’ sides. The Ti-Cats have found it hard to beat the defending champions but this year they were hoping to take some of their magic. This came in the form of running back Avon Cobourne who left Montreal and went to Hamilton in the offseason and has been a force in the Ti-Cats backfield. This was the case on Labour Day weekend as Cobourne (19 rsh, 102 yds, 2 TD) made sure that the Als knew what they let go. The game started off against what Cobourne wanted as the Alouettes recovered a fumble on Hamilton’s first play for a TD as it looked like the Als would run away with it. The Ti-Cats responded quickly as Cobourne ran the ball in from a short distance for their first TD. They then responded to a Montreal field goal with a TD pass from Kevin Glenn (14/18, 237 yds, 1 TD, 0 INT). The Alouettes hung into it for the first half as the Ti-Cats remained ahead 27-13. Then the biggest play of the game occurred when the Ti-Cats defence shutdown a 3rd and Goal attempt at the end of the half that kept the game in the hands of Hamilton. From the half on the Ti-Cats were able to dominate the Alouettes as Anthony Calvillo (17/30, 216 yds, 0 TD, 0 INT) did not seem to be his usual accurate self as he barely made a 50% completion percentage all game. The Ti-Cats finally overcame the Montreal roadblock beating the Als 44-21 and overtaking them in the Eastern Conference standings. Next week both teams will travel to Montreal in a rematch as the Ti-Cats look to continue their success and Montreal will look to overcome their stumble.
Other Scores
SSK 27 – 7 WPG
EDM 35 – 7 CGY
POW Awards
Travis Lulay, QB (Offensive POW)
25/36
309 yds
1 TD
0 INT
Jerrell Freeman, LB (Defensive POW)
7 tck
1 sck
1 INT
1 FF
Chad Owens, KR (Special Teams POW)
4 KR
245 yds
1 TD
4 PR
48 yds
Akeem Foster, WR (Canadian POW)
8 rec
144 yds
53 lng
0 TD
Standings
Western Conference:
1. Edmonton Eskimos (6-3)
2. Calgary Stampeders (6-3)
3. B.C. Lions (3-6)
4. Saskatchewan Roughriders (2-7)
Eastern Conference:
1. Winnipeg Blue Bombers (7-2)
2. Hamilton Tiger Cats (5-4)
3. Montreal Alouettes (5-4)
4. Toronto Argonauts (2-7)
Next Week (Rematch Week)
Calgary Stampeders vs. Edmonton Eskimos (Fri. Sept. 9th; 9:00 pm)
Toronto Argonauts vs. B.C. Lions (Sat. Sept. 10th; 4:00 pm)
Hamilton Tiger Cats vs. Montreal Alouettes (Sun. Sept. 11th; 1:00 pm)
Saskatchewan Roughriders vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers (Sun. Sept. 11th; 4:00 pm)
The Sport Addiction 