Hamilton Tiger-Cats regain Simoni Lawrence for must-win Calgary clash

By

Published October 14, 2022 at 9:58 am

Perennial all-star linebacker Simoni Lawrence will suit up for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats tonight after missing nearly two months with a knee injury.

The Tiger-Cats (5-10) face the Calgary Stampeders (10-5) on Friday night (9:30 p.m., TSN/RDS/AM900CHML/Ticats Audio Network) with their East Division playoff hopes hanging in the balance. Lawrence, who starts at “will” linebacker, will be dressing for just the seventh time in a season where he has been on the injured list twice. His first absence was caused by a groin injury, and then he banged up his knee against Toronto on Aug. 12.

Lawrence has 27 defensive tackles in six games this season. However, he did not have any disruptive plays — sacks, forced fumbles or interceptions. He racked up 54 of those, including 30 sacks, across his first seven seasons as a Ticat.

Defensive tackle Micah Johnson is listed as a game-time decision. The backups at his interior-lineman position are Myles Manalo and Chris Mulumba.

Second-leading receiver Steven Dunbar Jr., who has come off the one-game injured list, will start as the boundary-side wide receiver, flanking star slotback Tim White. Dunbar, who was out last week, has 869 yards this season and has a team-high seven receptions of 30 or more yards.

Dunbar and White (1,046 yards) have combined for 13 of Hamilton’s 19 passing touchdowns this season. They have also contributed over half of the “chunk’ plays, combining for 13 of the Ticats’ 24 receptions of 30-plus yards.

Calgary rallied in the fourth quarter to win in Hamilton earlier this season. The Stampeders are level with the British Columbia Lions (10-5) in a second-place race to determine home field for the West semifinal.

The Montréal Alouettes (7-8) have the inside track on second place and the last guaranteed East playoff berth, since they also hold a season-series tiebreaker over Hamilton.

Saskatchewan (6-10) have a chance to wrest the last East berth as a crossover team. In order to do so, the Roughriders must finish with an outright better record than the third-place finisher in the East.

The Ottawa Redblacks (4-11) are also mathematically alive. Hamilton hosts the Redblacks on Oct. 21 in the first leg of a season-ending home-and-home series between the Ontario rivals.

insauga's Editorial Standards and Policies advertising