The Hamilton Tiger-Cats (6-7) hosted the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (10-4) on Saturday afternoon from Tim Hortons Field in the Hall of Fame game. This was the second meeting of the season. The two teams met on Week 1 in Winnipeg where the Blue Bombers beat the Ticats 42-31.
The men who were inducted into this year’s Hall of Fame were John Bowman, Solomon Elimimian, Josh Bourke, Lloyd Fairbanks, Larry Crawford, Jacques Dussault, and Larry Smith.
In the first quarter, Hamilton quarterback Taylor Powell completed two passes for 25 yards. Two plays later, Powell completed a 13-yard pass to Tim White. Running back James Butler had two carries for six yards which led to a Marc Liegghio 32-yard field goal that put the Ticats up 3-0 with 10:35 left.
Later in the second quarter, Hamilton made a nice trick play. Quarterback Taylor Powell and James Butler fooled Winnipeg’s defense into thinking they were running to the left side. However, Powell pitched it to Tim White, who ran the other way for a gain of 52 yards before he was tackled on the Blue Bombers’ 34-yard line.
Two plays later, Taylor Powell completed a short pass to Sean Thomas-Erlington for a gain of 22 yards. Then, Powell threw a six-yard touchdown to Terry Godwin that made it 10-0 Ticats with 4:55 left of the first quarter.
Winnipeg needed to respond on their next possession. Quarterback Zach Collaros threw a deep pass to Nic Demski for a gain of 50 yards. Then, Collaros made a short pass to Dalton Schoen for a gain of 16 yards before he was tackled on the Ticats’ 7-yard line. After Brady Oliveira gained a couple of yards, Collaros threw a five-yard touchdown pass to Nic Demski.
Winnipeg kicker Boris Bede missed the extra point, and Tyreik McAllister returned it for a 126-yard into the endzone for two points. It was now 12-6 Ticats with 1:15 left of the first quarter. Hamilton quarterback Taylor Powell and running back James Butler combined with two carries for 16 yards to close out the first quarter up 12-6.
In the second quarter, Hamilton kicker Marc Liegghio made a 35-yard field goal for a 15-6 lead with 13:15 left. Winnipeg quarterback Zach Collaros threw two passes for 42 yards, including a 34-yard pass to Dalton Schoen. On the sixth play for Winnipeg, Collaros threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Kenny Lawler, which made it 15-13 with 9:37 left in the second quarter.
Hamilton quarterback Taylor Powell started the next series throwing two passes for 20 yards before rushing for a gain of seven yards. Three plays later, Powell connected with Tim White for a gain of 20 yards. Four plays later, James Butler muscled his way in for a three-yard touchdown which made it 22-13 with 3:23 left of the second quarter.
Late in the second quarter, Winnipeg kicker Boris Bede kicked a 22-yard field goal to cut Hamilton’s lead down to 22-16 with 1:27 left. Bede had one more opportunity to add another field goal before halftime. However, he missed a 48-yard field goal with Tyreik McAllister almost scoring a touchdown but he was tackled on the Blue Bombers’ 50-yard line to end the first half. It was a 65-yard run by McAllister with the Ticats leading 22-16.
Hamilton had 247 yards on offense. Quarterback Taylor Powell completed 11 of 14 passes (78.6%) for 147 yards, and one touchdown. Running back James Butler had nine carries for 37 yards, one touchdown, and wide receiver Tim White had four catches for 53 yards, and one carry for 52 yards. The Ticats’ defense had one sack.
Winnipeg had 251 yards on offense. Quarterback Zach Collaros completed 11 of 16 passes (68.8%) for 241 yards, and two touchdowns. Running back Brady Oliveira had five carries for 16 yards, and wide receiver Nic Demski had four catches for 121 yards, one touchdown, and one carry for three yards. Winnipeg’s defense had one sack.
In the third quarter, Taylor Powell completed a short pass to Terry Godwin for 11 yards. Two plays later, Powell rushed for a gain of 10 yards. Then, Powell tried to complete a deep pass to Omar Bayless but was incomplete.
However, a defensive pass interference penalty on Winnipeg moved the ball to the Blue Bombers’ three-yard line. Two plays later, Kai Locksley scored a one-yard touchdown which made it 29-16 with 11:23 left of the third quarter.
Late in the third quarter, both defenses made plays. First, Zach Collaros’s pass intended for Brady Oliveira was intercepted by Malik Carney and Taylor Powell’s pass was intercepted by Evan Holm with 1:15 left. Winnipeg backup quarterback Dakota Prukop rushed for a gain of 10 yards before he was tackled on their 49-yard line. Winnipeg faced second down to begin the fourth quarter.
In the fourth quarter, Winnipeg quarterback Zach Collaros’s pass was intercepted by Stavros Katsantonis. However, Hamilton could not take advantage of the turnover. Moving ahead into the fourth quarter, Zach Collaros completed five straight passes for 47 yards. Three plays later, Collaros scored a one-yard touchdown which made it 29-23 Hamilton with 3:12 left of the game.
Winnipeg had one last shot to win the game with 1:40 left. Hamilton’s defense blitzed Collaros with Tre’ Crawford sacking him. Then, Collaros threw two straight incomplete passes and Hamilton took over. They went into victory formation and the Ticats stunned the Blue Bombers by the final score of 29-23.
This was a hard-fought win for the Ticats, who have now tied the Montreal Alouettes for second place in the East Division. Hamilton did a good job all around and they have another big game next week.
Hamilton had 372 yards on offense. Quarterback Taylor Powell played a good game completing 20 of 26 passes (77%) for 236 yards, one touchdown, one interception, and four carries for 23 yards. Running back James Butler had 22 carries for 82 yards and one touchdown.
Wide receiver Terry Godwin led the receivers with four catches for 61 yards and one touchdown. Hamilton’s defense had 36 tackles, two sacks, and two interceptions.
Winnipeg was off all afternoon in this game. While they did have some success, the Blue Bombers were missing a lot of plays that we’ve seen them make before. Winnipeg will have a bye week next weekend.
Winnipeg had 423 yards on offense. Quarterback Zach Collaros completed 21 of 35 passes (60%) for 344 yards, two touchdowns, three interceptions, two carries for five yards, and one touchdown. Running back Brady Oliveira had nine carries for 46 yards, and Nic Demski led the receivers with six catches for 137 yards and one touchdown.
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats visit the Toronto Argonauts next Saturday at 7 pm on CFL+. Subscribe to Fubo to watch all of the 2023 CFL Season. Purchase CFL tickets today on StubHub and Viagogo.
