Hamilton Tiger-Cats’ head coach Orlondo Steinauer revealed that veteran quarterbacks Bo Levi Mitchell and Matthew Shiltz will both play in the upcoming East Semi-Final against the Montreal Alouettes.
“Game plan-wise, you do what you’ve gotta do that week to find a way to win,” Steinauer told the media. “I think lots of times it’s based on the health (of your quarterbacks) and then just the flow of things, how it’s going.”
Mitchell started only six games this season due to injury, posting a 2-4 record along with a 59.1 completion percentage, 1,031 passing yards, six touchdowns, and ten interceptions. The 33-year-old admitted that he wouldn’t have been willing to share the quarterbacking duties in a playoff game earlier in his career but wants to set a positive example for his children.
“I’ve got two daughters and they’re gonna be raised in sports. One day, they’re gonna look up my career and some of these videos are going to pop up on how I handle these situations. For me to ask them to handle situations by being a good teammate and understanding situations that they’re going through and handling adversity, it’d be hard to teach them that and have them look back on videos of me crying and complaining about playing time,” said Mitchell.
“Putting the team first is something I’ve learned throughout my career and at times been ahead of it and I’ve been behind it as well. I’d rather be ahead of it, be a good teammate to my other guys and everybody else that’s put the blood, sweat, and tears in all year and the coaches that have believed in everybody in that room. Again, just stay ready and be ready at all times.”
Shiltz started three games this season and recorded wins over the Ottawa Redblacks and Edmonton Elks. He also saw significant playing time in three late-season games, once in relief of Taylor Powell and twice in place of Mitchell. He completed 67.1 percent of his pass attempts for 1,556 yards, seven touchdowns, and five interceptions and carried the ball 23 times for 160 yards and one touchdown.
Hamilton dropped all three of their meetings with the Alouettes during the regular season by a combined score of 87-46. The team also lost last year’s East Semi-Final in Montreal by a score of 28-17, prompting significant turnover in the club’s roster.
The Ticats (8-10) will visit Montreal (11-7) for the East Semi-Final on Saturday, Nov. 4 with kickoff slated for 3:00 p.m. EDT.
