The Hamilton Tiger-Cats (4-6) visited B.C. Place Stadium on Saturday night against the heavily favorited B.C. Lions (7-4) for the first time this season. The Lions entered this game as a 10.5-point favorite.
In the first quarter, B.C. quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. completed a 21-yard pass to Taquan Mizzell before getting tackled on the Ticats’ 54-yard line. The Lions moved the ball toward the 20-yard line before the Ticats’ defense stopped them on third down to force a turnover.
Later in the first quarter, Hamilton put together a long drive. Running back James Butler carried the ball for 14 yards before he was tackled on their 30-yard line. He would carry the ball six more times for 26 yards. Quarterback Taylor Powell completed a 16-yard pass to Tyreik McAllister before he was tackled on the Lions’ three-yard line as the first quarter ended with no score.
The Ticats finished the drive to begin the second quarter when James Butler took the snap before leaping up in the air to score a one-yard touchdown for a 7-0 lead with 13:57 left. On the kickoff, Terry Williams returned the ball for 26 yards.
On the third play, B.C. quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. completed a nine-yard pass to Alexander Hollins. The Lions got to the Ticats’ 42-yard line before kicker Sean Whyte missed a 49-yard field goal with 8:35 left.
For the rest of the second quarter, Hamilton kicker Marc Liegghio made a 32-yard field goal which made it 10-0 with 2:42 left, and B.C. kicker Sean Whyte converted a 42-yard field goal that made it 10-3 Hamilton at halftime.
Hamilton had 175 yards on offense. Quarterback Taylor Powell completed 8 of 10 passes (80%) for 110 yards. Running back James Butler had a great first half with 13 carries for 75 yards, one touchdown, and one catch for 14 yards. Wide receiver Kiondre Smith had three catches for 41 yards. The Ticats’ defense had two sacks, and Hamilton did not commit any penalties in the first half.
B.C. had 144 yards on offense. Quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. completed 11 of 16 passes (68.8%) for 143 yards, and one carry for one yard. Running back Taquan Mizzell had two carries for five yards, and three catches for 30 yards, and wide receiver Keon Hatcher had three catches for 55 yards. The Lions’ defense had three sacks and committed one penalty for ten yards.
In the third quarter, B.C. quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. completed a deep pass to Alexander Hollins for a gain of 34 yards. Three plays later, kicker Sean Whyte made a 22-yard field goal which made it 10-6 Hamilton with 9:30 left.
On the Ticats’ first play of the second half, running back James Butler ran for a gain of 20 yards before getting tackled on the Lions’ 50-yard line. Two plays later, quarterback Taylor Powell completed a 16-yard pass to Tim White. The Ticats moved the ball toward the Lions’ 12-yard line before Taylor Powell threw a short pass to James Butler for the touchdown. It was now 17-6 with 7:26 left.
B.C. running back Taquan Mizzell had two carries for 11 yards and caught a pass for seven yards before the drive stalled and the Lions punted the ball back to the Ticats. Hamilton quarterback Taylor Powell completed a 15-yard pass to Terry Godwin with 2:24 left. The Ticats reached the Lions’ 52-yard line and faced third down to begin the fourth quarter up 17-6.
In the fourth quarter, B.C. quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. completed a short pass to Jevon Cottoy for six yards before Hamilton’s Jameer Thurman stripped the ball from Cottoy and recovered it on the Ticats’ 52-yard line. Hamilton took advantage of the turnover when kicker Marc Liegghio made a 35-yard field goal for a 20-6 lead with 9:20 left.
On B.C.’s next possession, quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. attempted to throw the ball to Justin McInnis but Jameer Thurman intercepted it for a return of 32 yards before he was tackled on the Lions’ 32-yard line. The drive would lead to another field goal by Marc Liegghio for 28 yards which made it 23-6 with 4:21 left.
B.C. had not found the endzone all night until late in the fourth quarter. Vernon Adams Jr. completed a 15-yard touchdown pass to Keon Hatcher which made it 23-13 with 1:51 left.
The Lions went for an onside kick. They tried to confuse the Ticats’ special teams but they did not flinch and Tim White got the ball on a one-hop for a 47-yard touchdown to seal the game with a 30-13 win over the Lions.
This was a hard-fought win by the Ticats to keep them on the hunt for a playoff spot. They dominated this game by mixing up plays that kept the Lions’ defense guessing. The Ticats had 336 yards on offense. Quarterback Taylor Powell had a good game completing 18 of 23 passes (81.8%) for 222 yards, one touchdown, and one carry for 12 yards.
Running back James Butler was the star of the game. He had 21 carries for 118 yards, one touchdown, three catches for 36 yards, and one touchdown. Wide receiver Tim White had five catches for 57 yards, and Kiondre Smith had three catches for 41 yards. Hamilton’s defense had 40 tackles, one interception, two sacks, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery.
B.C. had 371 yards on offense. Quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. had a rough game completing 26 of 40 passes (65%) for 326 yards, one touchdown, one interception, and one carry for one yard. He did not look comfortable all night long. The offense did not give him much protection and he threw a lot of short passes. I felt the Lions should’ve gone with more deep passes because the Ticats’ defense did a good job stopping the Lions on short-yard passes.
The running game was a non-factor for B.C. Running back Taquan Mizzell had nine carries for 49 yards and five catches for 42 yards. The Lions coaching staff should’ve implemented more running plays for Mizzell and another running back to slow down the Ticats’ defense.
It’s like they ditched their running game and are pass-happy. You can’t pass all the time or otherwise, you’ll lose the game. Wide receiver Keon Hatcher had a nice game with seven catches for 107 yards, and one touchdown, and Alexander Hollins had four catches for 76 yards. The Lions’ defense had 46 tackles and four sacks.
Next Saturday, the B.C. Lions visit the Montreal Alouettes at 7 pm on CFL+, and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats battle the Toronto Argonauts next Monday at 3:30 pm on CBS Sports Network. Subscribe to Fubo to watch all of the 2023 CFL Season. Purchase CFL tickets today on StubHub and Viagogo.
