Following a 41-28 Labour Day loss to the Toronto Argonauts, the Ticats will shift their focus to Friday night’s showdown with the Ottawa Redblacks.

So far this season, two of the Ticats’ four wins have come against the Redblacks and 2-0 record against their Eastern Division rival is a trend Coach Steinauer will look to continue this week.

The last time these two teams met, Hamilton walked away with a 16-12 win on the road. They’ll return to TD Place to face a team that has now lost five games in a row.

A bright spot from last week’s loss to Toronto was the continued development of rookie quarterback Taylor Powell. The Eastern Michigan alum completed 30 of 42 passes (71.4%) for 296 yards, a career-high three touchdown passes and one interception.

Over the last three games, Powell has completed 68 of the 91 passes he’s attempted (74.7%) with Milanovich calling the shots. That’s encouraging.

The Ticats’ defence also picked off quarterback Chad Kelly twice (once by Javien Elliot and once by Stavros Katsantonis). If the team can build off the momentum they generated late on Labor Day, a win over the Redblacks would put them right back on track for a late push to make the postseason.