It won’t be the first time Isaiah Smith will attend a Labour Day Classic, but this year he’ll have a much different vantage point. The rookie running back – who attended Aldershot High School in Burlington – will play in his first Classic, which will give him a brand new perspective than the one he had while sitting in the stands as a fan.

“It’s honestly going to be surreal,” Smith told Argonauts.ca. “Being a fan, going to the games as a kid and now being able to be a part of the Argos and being a part of the game, it’s going to be amazing, it’s going to be a surreal feeling. I’m going to have my family there; it will be so much fun.”

He’s thankful his family and friends already bought their tickets so they could sit together, but the rookie is still on the hook for another 8-10, though there’s a chance that could increase to 20.

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Smith once played in Hamilton, suiting up for the CJFL’s Hurricanes before playing for the Guelph Gryphons, where he was named the OUA’s Rookie of the Year in 2022. He tore his ACL in the Gryph’s 2023 season opener and needed almost a year and a half of rehab. The Argos made him their second-round pick, 11th overall, in this year’s CFL Draft. He played special teams and had limited touches until a game at BMO Field two weeks ago, against the same Tiger-Cats he’ll face on Monday.

On that rainy night, Smith was the starter and looked more like an all-star than a rookie, carrying the ball 15 times for 99 yards. It showed that he absolutely could play in the pros.

“It was a great confidence boost,” he admitted. “But I honestly know that every week can change and I’ve got to make sure I’m able to build off weeks past, and going into this game it’s something I want to do as well, be the best player I can be for this team.”

Labour Day Classics are nothing new for Jonathan Kongbo. The defensive end – in his first season in Double Blue – has played in all three CFL rivalry games, suiting up for Edmonton, Winnipeg, and two seasons ago with Hamilton.

“If you’ve been around the CFL you know what the Labour Day Classic means,” Kongbo told Argonauts.ca. “You know what the rivalry between Toronto and Hamilton means. Out of all the games this year, I know this one’s probably going to be the most physical that we play them, just because of all the things surrounding it and where we are in the standings. You’ve just got to go out there and be ready for that and not let our previous success determine our mentality going into this game. We’ve got to earn it.”

What can’t be lost because of the pre-game and game-day pageantry is the importance of the game. It’s an opportunity for the Argos to put their rivals in the rearview mirror. A win would move the Argos four points ahead of the Ticats, who would only have five games left. Hamilton would also have to finish ahead of Toronto to finish second, as the winner of Monday’s game will win the tiebreaker between the two teams.

It would leave the Argos needing any combination of three Toronto wins or Hamilton losses to clinch second in the East. A loss would make for a dogfight down the stretch between the two rivals.

A key on Monday for Kongbo and company will be containing the incredibly mobile Tre Ford. The Argos had a tough time doing that in their first meeting of the season. The Waterloo product rushed 10 times for 109 yards. When they met at BMO Field two weeks ago, there was a concerted effort to contain the QB and it worked, he carried the ball just 4 times for 33 yards with a long run of 11. They also sacked him four times, a feat much easier said than done.

“Tre Ford is a very talented quarterback, he’s very talented with his legs,” said Kongbo. “We knew what we had to do in that game, if we could keep him contained and stop his running yards, we had that game pretty much secured. This time around, they’re also a professional team, so they’ll have things to try and counter what we do to them, but I think it all starts with physicality, so if we can dictate the terms as far as the d-line, as far as the defence, we’ll be alright.”

Kongbo, who had a sack in the first meeting between the QEW rivals, then recovered a Ford fumble in the game at BMO Field, can set a career high of five with a sack on Monday.

The good news is that the forecast for kickoff is 23 degrees and mostly sunny with just the slightest chance of rain. Considering the weather in three of the previous meetings; torrential rain in the pre-season game in Hamilton, the threat of postponement in the regular season game there due to poor air quality from forest fires to the west, to the hour-long lightning delay a couple of weeks ago at BMO Field, the forecast is welcome news for everyone.