TORONTO — It wasn’t technically a must-win for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Friday night, but it might as well have been. Chasing the pack at the bottom of the East Division, the Ticats came away with a vital 33-31 win against the Toronto Argonauts to keep their playoff hopes alive.
Hamilton kicker Marc Liegghio made all six of his field goal attempts including a 48-yard walk-off winner as the Ticats made it three straight victories and a season sweep over their rivals.
Passing leader Bo Levi Mitchell finished the game 31-40 with 362 yards through the air and a touchdown toss. Running back James Butler was back in the fold due to Greg Bell’s injury, putting together 102 yards from scrimmage. Shemar Bridges meanwhile brought down six catches for 82 receiving yards.
Chad Kelly was 17-26 with 255 passing yards, and three total touchdowns in the losing effort, also throwing an interception. DaVaris Daniels went for 118 receiving yards on just four catches.
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The Argonauts established the run early at BMO Field en route to the first score of the evening. The trio of Ka’Deem Care, Deonta McMahon, and Daniel Adoboboye carried the ball for 29 yards on the game’s opening drive before Lirim Hajrullahu converted on a 49-yard field goal to put the Argos up.
The Tiger-Cats took the opposite approach on their first possession of the ballgame but the result would be the same. A pass-heavy approach led the Ticats to Toronto’s 15-yard line but the visitors were brought to a halt inside the red zone. Liegghio’s kick tied things up at 3-3. After Hajrullahu missed a 45-yard attempt on his team’s second drive the two teams would remain tied up through the opening quarter of play.
The Ticats punted the ball away on their second possession but got the ball back soon after. Scrambling to his right under pressure, Kelly was picked off by Hamilton’s Stavros Katsantonis, giving the away team the ball just inside the red zone. Mitchell then hooked up with Jevoni Robinson for his second touchdown of the year on an eight-yard play to put the Ticats up 10-3.
Toronto responded with a touchdown of their own after going down. Kelly and Daniels connected for a couple of chunk plays on the nine-play drive and then the Argos’ pivot rounded out the drive with a three-yard run into the end zone to make it 10-10.
A Ticats rouge put the away team into a narrow lead before the first half’s three-minute warning but their advantage wouldn’t last for very long. Another quick scoring drive by the Argos ended with a 14-yard Makai Polk receiving touchdown. McMahon got into the end zone on the two-point conversion to put the Boatmen into the lead. Another field goal from the boot of Liegghio would close the gap for Hamilton before halftime, leaving the scoreline at 18-14.
Both teams traded punts on their first drives after the interval but the Ticats shortly regained the lead early in the third. A 45-yard completion between Mitchell and Bridges created a first-and-goal opportunity for the Tabbies from which Ante Milanovic-Litre benefitted with a two-yard scoring run.
A quick two-and-out by the Argos which included a sack by Mario Kendricks gave the ball back to Hamilton in no time. Starting their next series at midfield, the Black and Gold were able to extend their lead. Butler rushed for back-to-back first downs on a pair of double-digit gains and then Bridges came up with another clutch catch on the edge of the end zone to give his team first-and-goal. Coming up short after five attempts at the goal line, Hamilton eventually settled for a Liegghio field goal to make it 24-18 after three quarters.
The Argos and Ticats exchanged field goals to start the fourth quarter but a big 66-yard catch by Daniels pushed the home team to their next touchdown. Kelly then ran the ball in for the second time in the game on a quick scoring drive to give the Argos a one-point lead late in the fourth quarter.
Attempting to jump back into the lead on the game’s ensuing drive, Mitchell and the Ticats’ offence were stopped at Toronto’s 10-yard line. Liegghio guided in his fifth kick of the night to give Hamilton a 30-28 advantage with 2:10 on the clock.
The Argos had little trouble getting downfield and eventually took a one-point lead through a 29-yard Hajrullahu field goal, handing the ball back to the Ticats with 56 seconds to go.
Needing to find at least a point, Mitchell put together a clutch game-winning drive with time winding down. Liegghio nailed his sixth field goal of the night from 48 yards to give the Ticats a walk-off-winner at BMO Field.
In Week 17 the Tiger-Cats will be on the road to face the BC Lions on Friday, September 27. Next up for the Argonauts is a home date with the Montreal Alouettes on Saturday, September 28.