![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1788721870_338_indicator-big.gif\")
<\/p>\n\u201cIt\u2019s a really big game the fact it\u2019s Labour Day and implications behind it,\u201d McManus said Sunday following Hamilton\u2019s walk-through. \u201cI think the universe knows it\u2019s a big game as well.<\/p>\n
\t<\/p>\n
\u201cThe weather is supposed to be great, I think the clouds are going to clear (and) the sun is going to be out. There\u2019s no reason not to go out and give your all and leave it all on the line like this is the last game in the season.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hamilton head coach Scott Milanovich hasn\u2019t had to remind his players about what will be on the line Monday afternoon.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, they\u2019re well aware of it,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is a critical game if we want to hang in the battle for second in the East. <\/p>\n
\u201cThat gives it a little bit more juice, no doubt about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hamilton leads the overall series 37-16-1. But Toronto has won three of the last four Labour Day matchups, including 35-33 last year on Lirim Hajrullahu\u2019s game-ending 11-yard field goal.<\/p>\n
Hajrullahu will return to Toronto\u2019s lineup Monday. He last played in Hamilton\u2019s 24-23 win July 18, the teams\u2019 first meeting of the season.<\/p>\n
Hajrullahu had a chance to win that contest for Toronto but missed a game-ending 31-yard field goal. Earlier, he missed a convert attempt.<\/p>\n
This will mark McManis\u2019s first Labour Day as a Ticat. He signed with Hamilton in the off-season following four seasons with Toronto, helping the Argos win two Grey Cups (2022, \u201924).<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom the first day I signed I\u2019ve heard how much this games means (to Hamilton),\u201d McManus said. \u201cThey (Ticats fans) never let you forget understanding what it is, what it means to this town to beat (Toronto).<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re used to their teams almost being the bad guy and just having that grit about them. We want to make sure we give them that and they keep that same feeling because that feels like home here in Hamilton.\u201d<\/p>\n
Toronto dispatched Hamilton 39-20 at BMO Field on Aug. 22, rushing for a season-high 145 yards. Rookie Isaiah Smith ran for a career-high 99 yards as the Argos improved to 4-0 in games they run for 100 or more yards.<\/p>\n
Smith will start Monday while American Qualan Jones, who ran for 37 yards on nine carries versus Hamilton in August, also suits up.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a different game but, man, we don\u2019t let anybody run the ball on us,\u201d McManis said. \u201cWe\u2019re going to make sure we take pride in that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chad Kelly makes his 12th start of the season for Toronto despite suffering a broken toe in the Argos\u2019 28-24 road loss to Saskatchewan on Aug. 29. He threw for 416 yards with three TDs and two interceptions in that game.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know if I\u2019m buying it,\u201d McManis said of Kelly\u2019s injury. \u201cI\u2019m not believing it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kelly entered this week second in CFL passing (3,642 yards) and tied for first in TDs (24). But he\u2019s also thrown a league-high 17 interceptions.<\/p>\n
However, even after a pick Kelly isn\u2019t afraid to return to the air.<\/p>\n
\u201cMany times you go weeks where quarterbacks will avoid throwing over the middle just because of the past,\u201d McManis said. \u201cBut you\u2019re going to play Chad and he\u2019s going to try so you can appreciate that but at the same time we\u2019ve got to try to make him pay.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tre Ford, of Niagara Falls, Ont., will make a sixth start for Hamilton looking for his second win. His first came in the Ticats opening contest versus Toronto.<\/p>\n
But American Nahree Biggins starts at running back ahead of incumbent Larry Roundtree III, who was placed on the reserved list. And Canadian defensive back Devynn Cromwell, a \u201926 third-round pick by Hamilton, will make his CFL debut on special teams. <\/p>\n
The five-foot-11, 200-pound Toronto native required knee surgery after being injured in March at Michigan State\u2019s pro day.<\/p>\n
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 6, 2026.<\/p>\n
Dan Ralph, The Canadian Press<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cIt\u2019s a really big game the fact it\u2019s Labour Day and implications behind it,\u201d McManus said Sunday following…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":198400,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[214,286,280,287,279,281,282,116,283,284,285,49,48],"class_list":["post-198399","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-toronto","tag-breaking-news","tag-central-vancouver-island","tag-nanaimo","tag-nanaimo-breaking-news","tag-nanaimo-news","tag-nanaimo-news-now","tag-nanaimonewsnow","tag-news","tag-oceanside","tag-parksville","tag-qualicum","tag-sports","tag-toronto"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/198399","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=198399"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/198399\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/198400"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=198399"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=198399"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=198399"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}