Ticats, Argos renew traditional hostilities

After missed year, players look forward to Labour Day clash

It’s only his third CFL season, but Hamilton Tiger-Cats quarterback Dane Evans understands fully the mystique of Labour Day in the CFL.

Evans will start Monday against the Toronto Argonauts at Tim Hortons Field in the Ticats’ home opener.

“It’s just crazy, that’s really the only way to describe it,” Evans said. “It’s loud on both sides, it’s physical, it’s fun. It’s everything you want in a football game.

“No matter where you’re from, wherever you grow up in the U.S. or Canada … you want the environment you get on Labour Day. It’s a big-time football game. It’s something we don’t take lightly.”

For many traditionalists, Labour Day marks the unofficial start of the CFL season, the time when clubs begin their final push to the playoffs. The holiday schedule features some of the league’s most intense rivalries.

Monday’s game will be the first of four between Hamilton and Toronto. They’ll square off again Friday at BMO Field, then Oct. 11 at Tim Hortons Field and in the regular-season finale on Nov. 12 in Toronto.

Evans will be making his second straight Labour Day start, after last season was cancelled because of the pandemic. He threw for 442 yards and two TDs and ran for another in a 38-27 victory in 2019. In his first start this season, Evans guided Hamilton to a 27-10 road win over Montreal on Aug. 27, completing 15 of 22 passes for 183 yards and two TDs.

The Argos haven’t beaten the Ticats on Labour Day since Sept. 2, 2012, and Hamilton is 6-0 on the holiday at Tim Hortons Field. Six of their last seven Labour Day games have been decided in the final three minutes, but Evans said past encounters are meaningless.

“It doesn’t matter what the records are, it doesn’t matter who’s hot, who’s not,” he said. “It’s Labour Day. It’s a whole other ball game. We know we’re getting their best shot and you know we’re giving them our best shot.”

The 2-1 Argos haven’t played since their home opener on Aug. 21, a 30-23 win over Winnipeg.

The following game against Edmonton was postponed after a number of Elks players tested positive for COVID-19. That contest has been rescheduled for Nov. 16.

Nick Arbuckle — 23 for 32, for 310 yards and a TD against the Blue Bombers — will make his second straight start for Toronto.

It will be the first Labour Day showdown for Ryan Dinwiddie as Toronto’s head coach. Before joining the Argos, he served as a quarterback coach with the Calgary Stampeders.

“I know it’s exciting for the fans and cities of Toronto and Hamilton, but for me it’s just another football game,” Dinwiddie said.

“We’ve got to get a win here.”