NIAGARA FALLS — Chris Streveler has unofficially always led the Canadian Football League in unbridled enthusiasm and the energy that flows from him on any day on the gridiron could power a major urban centre.
And now the veteran quarterback — who gets the start tonight for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in place of the injured Zach Collaros — is working to harness all that energy and enthusiasm to help guide the offence and pull the club out of a two-game tailspin.
“I’m excited. Any opportunity to get out there with the boys is exciting,” said Streveler upon arrival in Hamilton on Thursday. “I had a good couple days of prep. Another short week and sometimes it’s better that way — just get into the game and get rolling. We’re all pretty excited.
“There’s a lot of review and studying, just putting last minute pieces together. I definitely have a process for that. And for me — and you guys probably know this — I’m a high-energy guy. So, for me it’s how do I dial that back and save my energy that way come game time I can use it in a productive way. That’s always been my thing even since high school. My coach would say, ‘Calm down. You’re way too hyped before a game.’ I’ve always tried to just keep myself as calm as possible and save my energy for when it’s time to play.
“I’m saving my energy, that way I have energy for the game,” he added. “Quarterback is a unique position because there’s a lot of thinking and decision making involved so you want to find that blend of being able to be under control and thinking but still be myself, which is a high-energy, enthusiastic person and that’s how I lead, too. I’m just going to be myself. That’s the only person I know how to be.”
The Blue Bombers placed Collaros on the one-game injured list on Thursday following the the head injury he suffered in the Banjo Bowl loss to the Saskatchewan Roughriders and a hit from defensive back CJ Reavis. The CFL, FYI, officially fined Reavis an undisclosed amount on Thursday for ‘for delivering a high hit’ on the Blue Bombers QB1.
Winnipeg is 2-0 in games in which Streveler has started in ’25, as he completed 15-of-24 passes for 246 yards with three touchdowns and one interception in the season-opening win over the B.C. Lions and then was 17-of-21 for 173 yards with three picks in a win over the Toronto Argonauts.
Streveler has had the bulk of work during practice this week with Collaros sidelined and will be backed up by Terry Wilson and Chase Atropoeus. Asked if there is a point in his preparation where there can be information overload and he just needs to lock in, Streveler offered this:
“That’s where I’m at now. You have your process leading up. You watch a ton of film at the beginning of the week and try to get a general feel. And then as the week goes on you break it up based on day, based on what we’re putting in and then you’ve got everything in and you go back and review and walk through it all. I also do walk throughs on my own every night. It’s just doing those extra things so you feel prepared — watching last minute film — and by the time you get there, all the work is pretty much done.
“I’ll go through my call sheet one more time, do one last little walk through but other than that you know what’s in, you know what you’re trying to do and you feel good about it at this point.”
ICYMI, here is our Game Preview from Thursday:
And follow along here as we present a collection of notes/quotes/anecdotes to help get Blue Bombers fans up to speed for tonight’s matchup with the Ticats in this week’s GAME DAY HQ…
HOUSTON, WE HAVE LAUNCH
Veteran cornerback Demerio Houston will make his first appearance for the Blue Bombers tonight — call it a re-debut — as he slides into the starting cornerback spot opposite Dexter Lawson, Jr. and in place of rookie Trey Vaval, who still dresses and will handle kick return duties.
“It feels amazing,” Houston told reporters here when the team arrived in Hamilton. “I really didn’t feel like I would see this day, but the day’s come and I’m just ready for (today). I’m just ready to get back out there with my brothers and play the game I love.”
The Blue Bombers brought Houston back in mid-August as a CFL free agent. He spent 2021-23 with the club before signing with the Calgary Stampeders last season but was then released after being charged with misdemeanour domestic violence after an argument with his wife last November. In March, the charges — which Houston publicly denied — were dismissed in court with his public defender adding they would be expunged from his record.
Now he’s back hoping to make the most of a second chance.
“My number is called. That’s the motto here: be ready when your number is called and my number is called,” he said. “I’m up and I’m ready to go.”
Blue Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea said Houston needed time to get into game shape, with the veteran corner saying he needed to ‘get my feet back under me and get back into the film and get ready to play football again.’
Houston also spoke about having a greater appreciation for the game after not having it for more than half of this season.
“It definitely sinks in where you wake up early in the morning and you’re used to getting up for football but now you’re doing other things like going to work or with the kids, which I was grateful for and I loved doing, but it definitely hit a little different without playing football and watching the games and not being there,” he said. “I always had moments where I’m like, ‘Dang, normally I would be in camp right now or I’d be at the game right now playing.’
“Those were definitely challenging moments for me and I’m just grateful I’m getting this opportunity to play again.”
KENNY AND BO
The Blue Bombers did an effective job in limiting the damage of Riders QB Trevor Harris over the last two games, holding him to 458 yards passing and one TD while intercepting him once. Now they go from one Most Outstanding Player candidate to a pair of others — both familiar faces in Ticat quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell and old friend Kenny Lawler.
“They’re not quite the same,” said Younger in a chat with bluebombers.com this week about facing Mitchell after two weeks of Harris. “I’d say (Hamilton’s) offence is a little more vertical than Saskatchewan’s with the way they attack. (Ticat head coach/offensive coordinator) Scott Milanovich is over there drawing up the plays has done an amazing job of creating space for their best players, for Kenny, and just finding the matchups, creating the space, and then Bo is finding it. They’ve got a good chemistry going between Bo and the play caller.”
Mitchell leads the CFL with 24 passing TDs — 10 of them to Lawler — and is second in passing yardage to Toronto’s Nick Arbuckle at 3,653. Lawler has already set a career high in TDs with the 10 and in yardage at 1,047.
The challenge now for Younger & Co. is how to give Lawler extra attention to avoid one-on-one matchups without sacrificing elsewhere on defence. The Ticats also have Kiondre Smith (735 receiving yards) and Tim White (664) among the CFL receiving leaders while Greg Bell is sixth in rushing with 519 yards.
“That’s the most difficult thing of playing against players who are able to impact the game on any play like Kenny,” Younger said. “You’ve got to give him the respect he deserves, but you’ve also got to pick your spots because they’ve got so many other capable athletes. My job as a play caller is to try and mix that up and keep it balanced so that I’m not exposing one side of the defence while trying to help another.”
TEAM TED
We touched on this extensively in our 48-Hour Primer, but the love for Ted Goveia is widespread across the CFL and especially in Hamilton and Winnipeg. More from Coach O’Shea on his long-time colleague, who lost his battle with cancer and will be saluted tonight in the Ticats ‘Team Ted Game’:
“I worked with him for 15 years and it was more than just work. We shared a lot of good times together and a lot of stories. It was 15 years of life, so that’s a lot of stuff that’s gone on. It’s life… 15 years goes by very quickly and obviously we share a ton of stories together.
“It means a lot. He does a lot for Canadian football. He’s extremely passionate about our game, our brand of football, and he loves finding the underdogs and helping them out.”
And an update, after the news broke this morning that Ted had passed away:
NOTABLE
Winnipeg swept the season series in 2024, however, the Ticats have won four of the previous five matchups at Hamilton Stadium.
Winnipeg sits ninth in turnovers made (34) with a -11 turnover ratio; Hamilton leads the league with 30 turnovers forced with a +8 ratio.
Willie Jefferson is currently tied with Adrion Smith for second all-time in pass knockdowns (90). Eddie Davis is first in league history with 111.
Brady Oliveira needs 26 rushing yards to become the seventh Blue Bomber to reach 5,000 in his career.
Nic Demski needs 86 yards to pass Clarence Denmark (5,478) for eighth on the all-time Bombers list. Ernie Pitts is seventh (5,525).
Kenny Lawler has set career-highs in receptions (59) and receiving yards (1,047), marking his second career 1,000+ yard season.