The Hamilton Tiger-Cats (1-3) hosted the Ottawa Redblacks (1-3) on Saturday night from Tim Hortons Field. This game marked the return of Ottawa quarterback Jeremiah Masoli, who made his first start in 365 days since injuring his right knee last year against Saskatchewan.
In the first quarter, the Ticats put together a nice drive led by Matthew Shiltz’s four passes for 50 yards to Richie Sindani, Terry Godwin, and Kiondre Smith. Running back James Butler had four carries for 16 yards. The drive stalled which led to a 33-yard field goal by Marc Liegghio for a 3-0 Ticats lead with 8:53 left.
Jeremiah Masoli completed one pass to Siaosi Mariner for nine yards. Ottawa’s offense struggled in the first quarter. Hamilton led 3-0 after the first quarter.
Hamilton had the ball on their 54-yard line to begin the second quarter. They failed to get a first down but an unnecessary roughness penalty on Ottawa’s Justin Howell gave them a fresh set of downs. The Ticats moved the ball to Ottawa’s 37-yard line before Marc Liegghio made a 50-yard field goal for a 6-0 lead with 13:15 left.
The Ticats’ defense came up with a big play when Chris Edwards intercepted Jeremiah Masoli’s pass. Hamilton took advantage of the turnover when Marc Liegghio made a 21-yard field goal. It was now 9-0 Ticats with 10:21 left.
On Ottawa’s next drive, they started to move the ball. Jeremiah Masoli completed three straight passes plus a pass interference penalty on Hamilton’s Kenneth George Jr. put the ball on Hamilton’s 33-yard line. Then, the crowd went silent when Jeremiah Masoli scrambled out of the pocket before going down untouched clutching his left knee. He could not put any pressure on it and two teammates carried him off the field. Dustin Crum came into the game making his CFL debut. Ottawa kicker Lew Ward made a 36-yard field goal. It was now 9-3 Hamilton with 5:50 left.
Late in the second quarter, Dustin Crum put Ottawa in the lead. After getting sacked to start the drive, Crum threw one pass for nine yards to Justin Hardy. Then, Crum and Jackson Bennett combined with two carries for 16 yards.
On the next play, Crum scrambled to his left side with great blocking up front for a 15-yard touchdown. It was now 10-9 Ottawa with 57 seconds left. Ottawa led 10-9 at halftime.
Before the injury, Ottawa quarterback Jeremiah Masoli completed 6 of 10 passes (60%) for 37 yards, and one interception, while Dustin Crum completed two passes for 18 yards, two carries for 29 yards, and one touchdown.
Ottawa running back De’Montre Tuggle had three carries for 11 yards, and two catches for 13 yards, and wide receiver Justin Hardy had three catches for 17 yards as part of Ottawa’s 87 yards on offense.
Hamilton quarterback Matthew Shiltz completed 10 of 14 passes (71.4%) for 104 yards, and three carries for 17 yards. Running back James Butler had seven carries for 34 yards, and one catch for 17 yards, and wide receiver Richie Sindani had three catches for 33 yards as part of the Ticats’ 153 yards on offense.
In the third quarter, Ottawa extended their lead to 13-9 on a 20-yard field goal by Lewis Ward. It was his second field goal of the night. Later in the third quarter, the Ticats’ defense came up with another big play when Simoni Lawrence intercepted Dustin Crum’s pass intended for Justin Hardy.
On the next play, quarterback Matthew Shiltz threw a short pass to Tyreik McAllister. McAllister got some great blocks up front to score a 64-yard touchdown. Kicker Marc Liegghio missed the extra point. It was now 15-13 Hamilton with 6:37 left.
The shift in momentum went Hamilton’s way for the rest of the game. With 3:41 left, Ottawa quarterback Dustin Crum was sacked by Malik Carney and fumbled the ball that was recovered by Hamilton. The Ticats’ offense could not take advantage and punted the ball back to Ottawa. Ottawa faced third down to begin the fourth quarter down 15-13.
Ottawa punted the ball to begin the fourth quarter. Hamilton quarterback Matthew Shiltz threw three straight passes for 31 yards. The Ticats got to the Redblacks’ 26-yard line before Marc Liegghio converted a 34-yard field goal for an 18-13 lead with 10:48 left.
Ottawa desperately tried to move the ball down the field. Crum gambled throwing a long pass but Richard Leonard intercepted the pass and returned it for eight yards. However, Hamilton could not take advantage. Late in the game, Hamilton kicker Marc Liegghio kicked a 33-yard field goal for a 21-13 lead with 3:11 left. Ottawa still had life.
On Ottawa’s last series of the game, Dustin Crum put the game on his shoulders. He ran for 22 yards before throwing four straight passes for 28 yards to the Ticats’ 20-yard line. On the final play of the game, Crum took off and nearly scored a touchdown but Chris Edwards made the game-saving tackle two yards shy of the endzone. Dustin Crum’s run went for 19 yards.
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats held on to beat the Ottawa Redblacks by the final score of 21-13. This was an entertaining game with a thrilling finish. Unfortunately, the game will be marred by Jeremiah Masoli’s injury. Masoli was on the bench with crutches and a boot on his left leg. Masoli tore an ACL in his left knee in 2019. We will wait and see how bad the injury is and wish Masoli a speedy recovery.
Hamilton quarterback Matthew Shiltz finished the night completing 19 of 26 passes (73%) for 233 yards, one touchdown, one interception, and five carries for 30 yards. Running back James Butler had 17 carries for 62 yards and two catches for 18 yards.
Wide receivers Tyreik McAllister and Richie Sindani combined with eight catches for 123 yards and one touchdown. Hamilton’s defense had a productive game allowing 276 yards, with 47 tackles, six sacks (2 by Jameer Thurman), three interceptions, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery.
For Ottawa, Dustin Crum did not have a bad game. He completed 14 of 21 passes (66.7%) for 149 yards, two interceptions, and led the rushers with six carries for 91 yards, and one touchdown. Running back De’Montre Tuggle had 11 carries for 30 yards and two catches for 13 yards. Wide receivers Justin Hardy and Jaelon Acklin combined with 11 catches for 109 yards.
Ottawa’s defense allowed 323 yards, with 49 tackles (11 by Tyron Vrede), two sacks, one interception, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery.
Next Thursday, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats visit the Edmonton Elks at 9 pm on CBS Sports Network, while the Ottawa Redblacks host the Winnipeg Blue Bombers next Saturday at 4 pm on CFL+. Subscribe to Fubo to watch all of the 2023 CFL Season. Purchase CFL tickets today on StubHub and Viagogo.
