Photo courtesy: Hamilton Tiger-Cats
Tre Ford never lost his head as the Hamilton Tiger-Cats battled to a hard-fought 24-23 victory over the Toronto Argonauts on Saturday night, but the same can’t be said for what was on top of it.
“I actually left my helmet on the sideline. I couldn’t find it, so I’ve got to go find it,” Ford laughed at the podium, detailing the aftermath of the missed field goal which clinched his first victory with the Tabbies. “I don’t know where it went. I’m hoping one of the equipment guys got it.”
Misplacing your helmet is typically a mortal sin for a football player, but chances are the Canadian quarterback will get a pass this time around. Making his first start for the franchise under challenging circumstances, Ford delivered one of the best performances of his CFL career.
“There’s a couple throws that he’s going to want back, but I thought, all in all, the young man played amazingly well,” head coach Scott Milanovich told the media. “Gave us a shot in the arm. He wears out defences. He made some really good throws. Obviously made some good runs. I thought it was a great job by Tre.”
Ford finished the night 21-of-27 passing (77.8 percent) for 218 yards, one touchdown, and one interception, spreading the ball out to six different targets. He did so despite Hamilton being so ravaged by injuries along the offensive line that 267-pound German tight end Maximilian Mang was forced to play right guard for much of the second half.
The former Hec Crighton Trophy winner was able to make defenders miss and consistently extend plays. He also took off with regularity, rushing 10 times for 109 yards to lead the game in yards from scrimmage. All of this came without having had a single live rep with the first-team offence in preparation, as wildfire smoke prevented Hamilton from practicing properly this week.
“The quarterback that I am, and talking to Scott, using my legs is going to be an asset for my team. Obviously, when you have a week like this where you don’t get a lot of practice, having legs definitely helps,” Ford noted. “Being able to extend plays, run around and get first downs — it’s tough to get to those third and fourth reads when you don’t practice. Those are things you want to practice and be able to see through against the defence, so when you don’t get that kind of stuff, it’s definitely nice to be a mobile quarterback.”
Milanovich has a well-earned reputation as a QB whisperer, having shaped future stars like Trevor Harris, Zach Collaros, and Cody Fajardo in their infancy, while revitalizing the Hall of Fame careers of veterans like Anthony Calvillo, Ricky Ray, and Bo Levi Mitchell. That makes his praise for Ford extra meaningful, especially after a rocky start to their tenure together.
The 53-year-old was initially hesitant to give the Niagara Falls, Ont., native the keys to his offence, electing to start Jake Dolegala in the first game after Bo Levi Mitchell suffered a potentially season-ending ankle injury. The professed reasoning was that the 28-year-old needed a full year of seasoning within his stringent offensive system before he could be trusted as the heir apparent.
Milanovich only reversed course after the Ticats were blown out with Dolegala at the helm, turning to Ford to provide a spark. Rather than restrict the uber-athletic quarterback, he leaned into Ford’s skill set this week, perhaps heeding advice given to him by NFL offensive guru Kliff Kingsbury this offseason. That plan involved a healthy dose of the quarterback run game and plenty of zone reads.
“I thought he did a great job calling plays for me,” Ford said. “Lots of quick game, getting the ball out quick, a lot of quarterback designed runs. Taking some double-move shots down the field as well. I thought he did a great job, and I just executed it the best I could.”
By avoiding the pitfalls that some other play-callers have succumbed to when deploying Ford, Milanovich proved that Hamilton won’t be entirely helpless without their franchise pivot. After dropping down most power rankings and being told by some pundits that they wouldn’t win another game, the Ticats have new life.
“It’s pretty big. We needed that. We needed to kind of get a little belief back; I thought we did that. I thought the guys responded with Tre out there,” Milanovich said of the victory. “We’re trying to figure out who we are, obviously, with a new quarterback, and tonight was a good start.”
Ford echoed those sentiments, indicating that this result marks an official turning of the page from the darkest chapter in the team’s season.
“Obviously, it sucks losing Bo. It was nice to see him there in the locker room after the win. But I think this is definitely a big win for us, going in the right direction to bounce back from last week, which was a little bit rough,” he said.
“We’ve got a lot of character guys in our locker room, and I think we do a lot of things right. I think all that hard work’s paying off.”
The Ticats (3-3) will return to action on Sunday, July 26, when they visit the Montreal Alouettes (5-1).
