The Hamilton Tiger-Cats (1-5) returned to Tim Hortons Field on Saturday night against the Toronto Argonauts (3-3) in an East Division showdown. The crowd at Tim Hortons Field were hoping that the Ticats would finally get their first win of the season. This game looked to go the Ticats way. However, Toronto did not quit and the game came down to the final seconds.
First Quarter:
In the first quarter, Hamilton’s special teams made a big play when Ante Milanovic-Litre blocked Toronto punter John Haggerty’s punt with Litre recovering it on the Argonauts’ nine-yard line with 11:13 left.
On the first play for Hamilton, quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell handed the ball off to running back James Butler. Butler broke a couple of tackles before scoring a nine-yard touchdown for a 7-0 lead with 10:54 left of the first quarter.
Toronto quarterback Cameron Dukes and running back Ka’Deem Carey helped the Argonauts in their next series reaching their 45-yard line before the drive stalled and they punted the ball to Hamilton. Hamilton quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell completed three passes for 44 yards to close out the first quarter up 7-0.
Hamilton had 69 yards on offense (60 yards passing, 9 yards rushing). Quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell completed 5 of 6 passes for 60 yards. Toronto had 29 yards on offense (23 yards passing, 40 yards rushing, 34 yards lost). Quarterback Cameron Dukes completed 4 of 5 passes for 23 yards.
Second Quarter:
In the second quarter, Hamilton kicker Marc Liegghio made a 21-yard field goal extending the Ticats lead to 10-0 with 13:51 left. The scoring drive went four plays for 47 yards.
On Toronto’s second series of the game, quarterback Cameron Dukes attempted to get a first down using the quarterback sneak but Kyle Wilson punched the ball out and Destin Talbert scooped it up for a 31-yard touchdown.
Many of the players stopped playing even though the whistle did not blow. Hamilton took advantage of this extending their lead to 17-0 with 9:39 left of the second quarter.
Toronto finally got their offense going when they went on a seven-play drive for 60 yards ending with running back Ka’Deem Carey breaking two tackles to score an 11-yard touchdown. The Ticats led the Argonauts 17-7 with 5:26 left.
For the rest of the second quarter, both defenses forced a lot of two-and-outs. With 24 seconds left, Hamilton quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell’s pass was intercepted by DaShaun Amos giving the Argos a chance to add points before halftime. However, kicker Lirim Hajrullahu missed a 42-yard field goal wide left as time expired. The Ticats led the Argonauts 17-7 at halftime.
First Half Stats:
Hamilton had 124 yards on offense (109 yards passing, 15 yards rushing). Quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell completed 10 of 17 passes (59%) for 109 yards, and one interception. Running back James Butler had three carries for 15 yards, one touchdown, and made two catches for five yards.
Wide receiver Steven Dunbar Jr. made two catches for 37 yards, while Tim White made two catches for 24 yards. Hamilton’s defense made one tackle for loss and one sack. They were penalized three times for 35 yards.
Toronto had 156 yards on offense (133 yards passing, 57 yards rushing, 34 yards lost). Quarterback Cameron Dukes completed 13 of 17 passes (76%) for 133 yards, and five carries for 17 yards. Running back Ka’Deem Carey had 8 carries for 40 yards and one touchdown.
Wide receiver Rasheed Bailey made four catches for 41 yards, while Damonte Coxie made two catches for 36 yards. Toronto’s defense made one interception. They were penalized four times for 30 yards.
Third Quarter:
In the third quarter, Toronto’s offense went on a five-play drive for 33 yards before kicker Lirim Hajrullahu made a 43-yard field goal and the Argonauts trailed the Ticats 17-10 with 12 minutes left.
Hamilton came back midway through the third quarter when they went on an 8-play drive for 57 yards before kicker Marc Liegghio made a 29-yard field goal restoring the Ticats’ 10-point lead 20-10 with 4:02 left of the third quarter.
Hamilton got the ball one more time before the third quarter ended. They went on a four-play drive for 95 yards ending when quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to Luther Hakunavanhu. Hakunavanhu broke a couple of tackles before scoring the touchdown and the Ticats led 27-10 to end the third quarter.
Fourth Quarter:
In the fourth quarter, Toronto punter John Haggerty punted the ball 50 yards into the endzone and out of bounds for a single point. The score was now 27-11 Ticats with 10:33 left.
With Cameron Dukes struggling throughout the game, head coach Ryan Dinwiddie put in veteran backup Nick Arbuckle. Arbuckle led the Argos on an 8-play drive for 99 yards. He then threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to DaVaris Daniels. The Argos could not get the two-point conversion and trailed the Ticats 27-17 with 4:25 left in the game.
After Hamilton went two-and-out, punter Nik Constantinou punted the ball 58 yards toward returner Janarion Grant. Grant got some good blocks in front of him to score a 96-yard touchdown. The crowd in Hamilton went quiet as the Argos trailed the Ticats 27-24 with 2:26 left in the game.
Hamilton’s offense was unable to put Toronto away and the Argonauts had the ball for the final 46 seconds. On the final play, Toronto quarterback Nick Arbuckle threw a deep pass to Damonte Coxie but it went incomplete. The Ticats held on to beat the Argonauts 27-24 for their first win of the season.
Final Stats:
Hamilton had 308 yards on offense (270 yards passing, 50 yards rushing, 12 yards lost). Quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell had a good game completing 20 of 29 passes (69%) for 270 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. Running back James Butler had 11 carries for 50 yards, one touchdown, and made four catches for 53 yards.
Wide receiver Tim White made five catches for 66 yards, while Steven Dunbar Jr. made three catches for 55 yards. Kicker Marc Liegghio made two field goals with a long of 29 yards.
Hamilton’s defense made 45 tackles, one tackle for loss, two sacks, one interception, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, and 11 tackles on special teams. The Ticats were penalized five times for 55 yards.
Toronto had 355 yards on offense (298 yards passing, 97 yards rushing, 40 yards lost). Quarterback Cameron Dukes completed 20 of 27 passes (74%) for 180 yards, and seven carries for 27 yards, while Nick Arbuckle completed 8 of 14 passes (57.1%) for 118 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. Running back Ka’Deem Carey had 11 carries for 66 yards and one touchdown.
Wide receiver Damonte Coxie made five catches for 87 yards, while DaVaris Daniels made four catches for 44 yards, and one touchdown. Kicker Lirim Hajrullahu made 1 of 2 field goals with a long of 43 yards. Toronto’s defense made 31 tackles, one tackle for loss, two sacks, one interception, and nine tackles on special teams. The Argos were penalized six times for 40 yards.
Final Thoughts:
Congrats to Hamilton for finally winning a football game. They played a good game but not without a little bit of drama toward the end. The defense and special teams were the key to the Ticats’ victory. The turnovers and the blocked punt gave the Ticats the momentum needed to earn this win.
Toronto punt returner Janarion Grant lost a bit of hair in this game after a Ticats player could not reach him so he yanked his hair to make the tackle. There needs to be a mandate on the length of hair a player can grow. No hair should reach the name of the player let alone their number. Someone could get seriously hurt by growing out their hair.
Toronto quarterback Cameron Dukes is struggling and I think the Argos need to make a quarterback change. Dukes is good at extending plays and running with the football. He is built like a running back but does not have the arm strength to throw a long pass. I think it’s time to give Bryan Scott a look at quarterback. He has the arm strength to get the ball down the field and it could be the medicine the Argos need. They have now lost three of their last four games. Something has to change to get them back on track and I think Scott can do that for them.
Next week, the Toronto Argonauts host the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Saturday at 7 pm on TSN and CBS Sports Network, while the Hamilton Tiger-Cats visit the Edmonton Elks on Sunday 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.
