Rookie Taylor Powell will be back under centre for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats when they face the Montreal Alouettes on Saturday.
The Eastern Michigan product made his first career start in a Week 7 loss to the Toronto Argonauts, completing 27-of-41 pass attempts for 283 yards and an interception while rushing for 37 yards and a touchdown on four carries. He came off the bench the week prior against Edmonton, connecting on two of his four attempts for 47 yards and a touchdown.
Powell was relegated to the bench for last week’s victory over Ottawa, as Bo Levi Mitchell made his much-anticipated return to the lineup. However, the veteran signal-caller suffered a fractured lower leg on a meaningless late-game QB sneak and has undergone surgery, placing him back on the six-game injured list.
With experienced backup Matthew Shiltz still recovering from a hip injury, Powell is expected to hold down the fort for the foreseeable future. Antonio Pipkin will draw back into the lineup to serve as the number two, while third-stringer Kai Locksley also plays receiver.
[metabet_core_odds_board query=”531038″ site_id=”3downnation”]
Outside of the quarterback position, the Ticats have undergone few changes heading into Week 9. On defence, rotational defensive end Cedric Wilcots II (shoulder) has been placed on the one-game injured list and backup linebacker Vosean Joseph (ankle) has returned to the six-game. Defensive tackle Jarrod Hewitt and defensive back Will Sunderland will both draw into the lineup as depth pieces.
The biggest returning player is veteran offensive lineman Chris Van Zeyl, who moves Noah Zerr back to the practice roster and takes back over as the seventh offensive lineman. Starting right guard Coulter Woodmansey (shoulder) has been listed as a game-time decision and could be replaced by either Van Zeyl or rookie Dayton Black.
The Tiger-Cats (3-4) will host the Alouettes (3-3) on Saturday, August 5 at 7:00 p.m. EDT. They are currently [metabet_core_dynamic_odds market=”spread-home” query=”531038″ site_id=”3downnation”] point underdogs.
Photo courtesy: Hamilton Tiger-Cats
