Ticats stop REDBLACKS comeback; earn fourth ’24 win

HAMILTON — The Hamilton Tiger-Cats postponed Ottawa’s return to the post-season with a 37-21 win over the REDBLACKS on Saturday at Tim Hortons Field.

The REDBLACKS scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to cut Hamilton’s lead down to one possession, but running back Greg Bell sealed the deal for the Tabbies with a late 15-yard major to stop Ottawa’s comeback attempt.

Quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell threw a couple of majors to Steven Dunbar Jr. and Ante Milanovic-Litre, and the defence forced several crucial turnovers, including two fumbles by defensive lineman Nick Usher to move Hamilton to 4-9. Defensive backs Destin Talbert and Jamal Peters added late interceptions to seal the final score for the home team.

Lawrence Woods III also added a special-teams touchdown with an 83-yard return in the first half for the game’s first major.

Ottawa’s pivot Dru Brown completed 17 of 27 passes for  164 yards and an interception and ended up being replaced by Jeremiah Masoli in the fourth quarter. The veteran led Ottawa’s comeback attempt and threw a couple of touchdown passes to Andre Miller and Dominique Rhymes but also turned the ball over twice and was unable to avoid his team’s fourth loss of the season.

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The game started with bad news for the REDBLACKS as linebacker Adarius Pickett suffered an injury on the first play of the game.

Marc Liegghio opened the scoring with a 47-yard field goal for an early 3-0 for the home team.

Ottawa started their first offensive drive with a double pass trick play that drew a long pass interference penalty. The play set the visitors across midfield, but a fumble by receiver Dominique Rhymes forced by defensive lineman Nick Usher stopped the REDBLACKS from scoring.

The next drive for the ROUGE et NOIR on offence ended in points. Brown completed four straight passes – including a 29-yarder to Jaelon Acklin – to make it first and goal, but was unable to break the plane of goal and had to settle for a short kick by Lewis Ward to tie the game at 3 halfway through the first quarter.

A promising drive by the Tiger-Cats ended on a fumble by Bell. Three plays later, Ottawa had to punt the ball back to the Tabbies and Woods brought it back the entire length of the field for the game’s first major.

A 27-yard pass from Mitchell to Shemar Bridges early in the second quarter set up Liegghio for another field goal to stretch Hamilton’s lead to 13-3. A miss on another kick attempt by Liegghio added a single for Hamilton in the second quarter.

Brown and the REDBLACKS responded with two long throws to Rhymes and Justin Hardy to position Ward for a 30-yard boot with 5:49 left in the half.

The Ticats put together their best offensive drive of the first two quarters just before halftime. Mitchell started things off by connecting with Dunbar Jr. for 18 yards before handing it off to his running backs for a couple of first downs. The pivot then went back to No. 6 on a quick slant pass for a 54-yard touchdown connection that made it 21-6 in favour of Hamilton with under a minute left in the first half.

A strip sack by Usher to open the second half positioned the Ticats for another field goal attempt, but Liegghio’s kick sailed to the right and ended on a single.

The defence made another big play on the following drive with a pick by Jonathan Moxey that stopped a long REDBLACKS march. Mitchell and the offence made the most of the turnover by rallying the troops all the way across the field for another touchdown. The drive began with a 23-yard run by Bell through the middle and Dunbar Jr. catching a 25-yard pass to set up first-and-10 from Ottawa’s 20-yard line. Milanovic-Litre finished the job with a 20-yard catch for the major.

The visitors turned to Masoli for their next drive and the veteran led them to points with a 14-yard touchdown pass to Miller on third-and-10.

After a quick punt by the home team, Masoli and the REDBLACKS were back at it, marching into Hamilton territory with two quick passes to Rhymes that totalled 32 yards. The veteran then went to Hardy twice for two straight first downs that placed the ball within Hamilton’s 10-yard line. No. 8 then scrambled to his left on second-and-goal and threw a pass across his body do Rhymes to cut into Hamilton’s lead. The two-point conversion attempt was successful with Khalan Laborn to make it a one-score game.

The ‘Cats were able to respond with their own scoring possession. Milanovic-Litre converted a second-and-one on a trick play, pulling back and passing the ball to offensive lineman Nate Dumoulin Duguay to get the train off the station, before a facemask penalty moved the hosts further into Ottawa territory. Milanovic-Litre moved the chains on second down one more time and Bell finished the job with a 15-yard run through the middle to add insurance points for the Tiger-Cats. The running back also scored on the ensuing two-point conversion to make it 37-21 with 2:58 left to play.

Talbert jumped a long pass from Masoli intended for Hardy to prevent Ottawa from continuing their comeback attempt. Jamal Peters sealed the win with another pick late in the fourth, the fifth turnover by Hamilton’s defence.

Hamilton now goes on the road to face the Toronto Argonauts on Friday, September 20 to kickoff Week 16. Ottawa meanwhile returns home to host the Montreal Alouettes on Saturday, September 21.