The B.C. Lions (4-1) concluded Week 5 on Sunday night visiting Tim Hortons Field against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (0-5). The Lions looked to keep pace with the Saskatchewan Roughriders in a very competitive West Division. Hamilton fans were hoping that they would finally win a game but as it turned out, it was not their night.
First Quarter:
In the first quarter, B.C. went on a four-play drive for 77 yards when quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. threw a 45-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open William Stanback for a 7-0 lead with 12:41 left. On their next drive, Adams Jr. led the team to run six plays for 70 yards when he threw a five-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Justin McInnis extending their lead to 14-0 with 8:44 left of the first quarter. Hamilton’s secondaries could not cover the Lions receivers.
Hamilton’s offense was unable to move the ball in their first three series. On their fourth series, Hamilton made one first down but a procedure penalty on their offense killed their momentum.
Hamilton punter Nik Constantinou punted the ball 63 yards bouncing into the endzone where returner Terry Williams conceded the single point which the crowd in Hamilton cheered sarcastically. The score was now 14-1 B.C. with 26 seconds left of the first quarter.
On the final play of the first quarter, B.C. Lions quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. threw a 22-yard pass to Justin McInnis before getting tackled on the Ticats’ 28-yard line. The Lions led the Ticats 14-1 at the end of the first quarter.
B.C. had 196 yards on offense (180 yards passing, 16 yards rushing). Quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. completed 10 of 12 passes for 180 yards, two touchdowns, and one carry for three yards. Hamilton had 30 yards on offense (22 yards passing, eight yards rushing). Quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell completed 2 of 8 passes for 22 yards.
Second Quarter:
On the third play of the second quarter, B.C. Lions quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. underthrew a seven-yard touchdown pass caught by Justin McInnis. McInnis battled a Hamilton secondary to make the catch and B. C’s lead grew to 21-1 with 13:16 left. The drive went for six plays for 70 yards.
The crowd in Hamilton was booing mercilessly due to the Ticats not being able to move the ball and had to punt it back to the Lions. The Lions only made one play before the drive stalled at the Ticats’ 32-yard line then kicker Sean Whyte made a 39-yard field goal for a 24-1 lead with 10:30 left of the second quarter.
Hamilton’s offense finally made some noise. Quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell led the Ticats to a three-play drive for 70 yards ending when he threw a 32-yard touchdown pass to James Butler. The score was now 24-8 with 9:03 left.
On B.C.’s first play, quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. scrambled before throwing a deep pass to Alexander Hollins for a 69-yard touchdown and a 31-8 lead with 8:06 left before halftime. Next, Hamilton went on a six-play drive for 23 yards where kicker Marc Liegghio made a 22-yard field goal and the score was now 31-11 with 3:58 left.
B.C. had the ball for the final time of the first half starting with 3:39 left. They marched down the field toward the Ticats’ 21-yard line before the drive stalled and kicker Sean Whyte made a 28-yard field goal making it 34-11 with 37 seconds left. Hamilton tried to get more points but the time had expired. As the teams went to their locker rooms, the Ticats fanbase let their team have it with boos to the point you could not hear the announcers. The Lions led 34-11 at halftime.
First Half Stats:
B.C. had 348 yards on offense (321 yards passing, 27 yards rushing). Quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. completed 18 of 25 passes (72%) for 321 yards, four touchdowns, and three carries for 15 yards. Running back William Stanback had five carries for 12 yards, four catches for 71 yards, and one touchdown.
Wide receiver Justin McInnis made eight catches for 131 yards, and two touchdowns, while Alexander Hollins made five catches for 106 yards and one touchdown. B.C.’s defense made one sack. The Lions were penalized three times for 35 yards.
Hamilton had 139 yards on offense (115 yards passing, 32 yards rushing). Quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell completed 10 of 18 passes (55%) for 115 yards, one touchdown, and one carry for seven yards. Running back James Butler had five carries for 25 yards, four catches for 58 yards, and one touchdown.
Wide receiver Steven Dunbar Jr. made two catches for 20 yards, while Kiondre Smith made two catches for 18 yards. The Ticats were penalized seven times for 54 yards.
Third Quarter:
In the second half, B.C. took their foot off the gas and were not as aggressive which allowed Hamilton to somewhat get back into the game. In the third quarter, Hamilton went on a six-play drive for 57 yards before kicker Marc Liegghio made a 28-yard field goal and the score was now 34-14 B.C. with 9:55 left.
On B.C.’s first possession of the second half, they went on a four-play drive for 42 yards before kicker Sean Whyte made a 35-yard field goal making it 37-14 with 6:30 left.
When Hamilton got the ball back, quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell led them to a 10-play drive for 70 yards ending when Mitchell threw a four-yard touchdown pass to Luther Hakunavanhu and the score was now 37-21 with 54 seconds left of the third quarter.
On the final play of the third quarter, B.C. running back William Stanback rushed for a gain of seven yards before getting tackled on the Ticats’ 52-yard line to start the fourth quarter.
Fourth Quarter:
In the fourth quarter, Hamilton’s defense was able to get to Vernon Adams Jr. two times. The two teams would gain some yards before the drives stalled and punted the ball.
B.C. had the ball with 7:16 left to begin their third series of the fourth quarter. B.C. chewed up a lot of time going 11 plays for 72 yards ending when William Stanback scored a three-yard touchdown up the middle for a 44-21 lead with 1:51 left the play. The majority of Ticats fans had already left the stadium by that point in the game.
Hamilton got the ball for the final 1:41 left of the game. They went on a nine-play drive for 75 yards ending with quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell throwing a four-yard touchdown pass to Kiondre Smith as time expired. Smith was tacked with an objectionable conduct penalty but kicker Marc Liegghio made the extra point. The B.C. Lions defeated the Hamilton Tiger-Cats by the final score of 44-28.
Final Stats:
B.C. had 482 yards on offense (383 yards passing, 111 yards rushing, 11 yards lost). Quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. completed 26 of 36 passes (72%) for 383 yards, four touchdowns, and three carries for 15 yards. Running back William Stanback had 14 carries for 82 yards, one touchdown, five catches for 74 yards, and one touchdown.
Wide receiver Justin McInnis made 10 catches for 144 yards, and two touchdowns, while Alexander Hollins made six catches for 116 yards and one touchdown. Kicker Sean Whyte made three field goals with a long 39 yards. B.C.’s defense made 42 tackles, three sacks, two tackles for loss, eight tackles on special teams, and two fumble recoveries. The Lions were penalized five times for 55 yards.
Hamilton had 396 yards on offense (374 yards passing, 35 yards rushing, 13 yards lost). Quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell completed 32 of 48 passes (66%) for 374 yards, three touchdowns, and two carries for 8 yards. Running back James Butler had nine carries for 27 yards, nine catches for 108 yards, and one touchdown.
Wide receiver Shemar Bridges made six catches for 87 yards, and Kiondre Smith made four catches for 42 yards and one touchdown. Kicker Marc Liegghio made two field goals with a long of 28 yards. Hamilton’s defense made 41 tackles, two sacks, four tackles for loss, and six tackles on special teams. The Ticats were penalized nine times for 74 yards.
Final Thoughts:
This game was like watching flag football. Hamilton’s defense, especially the secondary could not touch the Lions’ receivers leaving them wide open and Adams. Jr carved them up. Hamilton did not make any adjustments and it cost them big time. Hamilton is a poorly coached team. The Ticats have not started 0-5 in a season since 2017. The play calling was not great and coaches could not adjust to slow down the Lions.
This team lacks discipline. There were multiple examples of that as players were celebrating making plays while getting their butts kicked. The coach should have made examples out of them by benching them and not tolerating it. Hamilton is on a bye week and I do expect to see some changes before their next game whether it is more coaching changes or players getting released.
Hamilton should consider benching Bo Levi Mitchell. He was missing players by either overthrowing them, underthrowing them, or simply not finding guys who were wide open.
The Ticats have three quarterbacks who should get a chance to start like Taylor Powell and Taulia Tagovailoa on the practice squad. Mitchell’s regression has been showing for a long time and it’s time for the Ticats to turn the page.
The B.C. Lions just continue to play great football since their Week 1 loss to Toronto having won four straight games. I was surprised that head coach Rick Campbell did not put in his backups in the second half when the game was out of reach. There isn’t much to say about this Lions team except that they are going to be a threat to win the Grey Cup.
Next week, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats are on a bye week, while the B.C. Lions host the Saskatchewan Roughriders next Saturday with the winner getting first place at 7 pm on TSN and CBS Sports Network. Subscribe to Fubo to watch all of the 2024 CFL Season. Purchase CFL tickets today on StubHub and Viagogo.
