The Hamilton Tiger-Cats (6-9) visited B.C. Place Stadium on Friday night to take on the B.C. Lions (7-8) in their second meeting of the season. The B.C. Lions had a chance to clinch a playoff spot with a win and Hamilton needed to win this game to keep their playoff hopes alive.
First Quarter:
B.C. got the ball to start the game from the Ticats’ 49-yard line. Quarterback Nathan Rourke started the drive by completing two passes for 25 yards, and two carries for seven yards to reach the Ticats’ 17-yard line. Next, running back William Stanback rushed for a 10-yard gain to reach the Ticats’ 7-yard line.
After the play, Hamilton defensive back Jamal Peters was injured tackling Stanback. Next, quarterback Nathan Rourke found an open hole on his left side and ran in for a 7-yard touchdown putting B.C. up 7-0 with 11:40 left of the first quarter to cap off a six-play drive for 49 yards in over three minutes.
On Hamilton’s first possession of the game, quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell threw a two-yard pass to Jevoni Robinson before the drive stalled. B.C. got the ball to start their next drive on their 29-yard line. They went on an eight-play drive for 63 yards before kicker Sean Whyte made a 26-yard field goal for a 10-0 lead with 5:56 left of the first quarter.
For the rest of the first quarter, B.C. only got one first down and Hamilton’s offense struggled to move the ball. Quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell had trouble finding his receivers open and the offensive line had problems protecting him. On the last play of the first quarter, B.C. punter Sean Flintoft punted the ball 57 yards to Lawrence Woods III. Woods III returned the ball for 15 yards to reach their 43-yard line down 10-0.
B.C. had 140 yards on offense (80 yards passing, 60 yards rushing), 7 first downs, 1 for 2 in the red zone, and the team was penalized three times for 30 yards. Quarterback Nathan Rourke completed 6 of 9 passes for 80 yards, four carries for 21 yards, and one touchdown. Hamilton had 11 yards on offense (15 yards passing, 0 rushing yards, 4 yards lost), no first downs, no red zone opportunities, and the team was penalized one time for 10 yards.
Second Quarter:
In the second quarter, both offenses struggled to move the ball. B.C. had 79 yards and Hamilton had 26 yards. With 7:44 left of the second quarter, B.C. defensive back Ronald Kent Jr. read Hamilton quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell’s eyes as he attempted to throw the ball to Kiondre Smith but Kent Jr. got in front of him to make the interception for a three-yard return to reach their 54-yard line.
B.C. quarterback Nathan Rourke threw a 12-yard pass to wide receiver Kieran Poissant to reach the Ticats’ 44-yard line. They only gained one additional yard before kicker Sean Whyte made a 50-yard field goal for a 13-0 lead with 4:39 left before halftime.
Hamilton quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell threw three passes for 10 yards plus a defensive pass interference penalty on Jalon Edwards-Cooper moved the ball to the Lions’ 40-yard line with 2:45 left before halftime. However, on second down, B.C. defense back Garry Peters went untouched to sack Bo Levi Mitchell for a 10-yard loss and Hamilton punted the ball back to B.C. with 2:05 left before halftime.
B.C. started their next drive on their 17-yard line. Quarterback Nathan Rourke and running back William Stanback led the offense to an eight-play drive for 56 yards that resulted in kicker Sean Whyte making a 45-yard field goal for a 16-0 lead at halftime.
First Half Stats:
B.C. had 219 yards on offense (135 yards passing, 85 yards rushing, 1 yard lost), 11 first downs, 1 for 2 in the red zone, and the team was penalized four times for 49 yards. Quarterback Nathan Rourke completed 12 of 19 passes (63.2%) for 135 yards, five carries for 28 yards, and one touchdown. Running back William Stanback had 9 carries for 57 yards and two catches for 11 yards.
Wide receiver Javon Cottoy made three catches for 63 yards, and Justin McInnis made two catches for 27 yards. B.C.’s defense made two sacks and one interception.
Hamilton had 37 yards on offense (36 yards passing, 16 yards rushing, 15 yards lost), three first downs, no red zone opportunities, and the team was penalized one time for 10 yards. Quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell completed 8 of 13 passes (61.5%) for 36 yards, and one interception. Running back Greg Bell had three carries for 15 yards and two catches for 10 yards.
Wide receiver Shemar Bridges made two catches for 13 yards, and Tim White made one catch for five yards. Hamilton’s defense made one sack.
Third Quarter:
Hamilton got the ball to start the third quarter on their 45-yard line. Hamilton quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell attempted to complete a pass to Kiondre Smith but the pass was incomplete. However, an unnecessary roughness penalty on Mathieu Betts gave the Ticats an automatic first down at the Lions’ 37-yard line.
Next, quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell completed two passes for 33 yards to reach the Lions’ 13-yard line. Finally, the Ticats found the end zone when running back Greg Bell rushed up the middle for a 13-yard touchdown. Hamilton went for a two-point conversion and got it and they trailed B.C. 16-8 with 12:43 left in the third quarter.
Moving ahead, B.C.’s offense had the ball on their 17-yard line with 7:22 left. Quarterback Nathan Rourke and running back William Stanback led the offense to a 10-play drive for 93 yards that ended with Nathan Rourke scoring a two-yard touchdown for a 23-8 lead with 1:54 left of the third quarter.
Hamilton’s offense had the ball with 1:30 left. Quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell completed two passes for 26 yards both to Kiondre Smith reaching their 43-yard line.
Next, Mitchell completed a 7-yard pass to Shemar Bridges but he was injured after the play when Ryan Varga hit him on his left knee and was called for an objectionable conduct penalty giving the Ticats an extra 10 yards. On the final play of the third quarter, running back Greg Bell rushed for a gain of four yards to the Lions’ 46-yard line down 23-8.
Fourth Quarter:
In the fourth quarter, Hamilton moved the ball up to the Lions’ 40-yard line and kicker Marc Liegghio made a 48-yard field goal. Hamilton trailed B.C. 23-11 with 12:22 left of the game to cap off a seven-play drive for 53 yards.
Hamilton’s defense made quick work to get a two-and-out and the offense had the ball on their 34-yard line. Quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell began the next drive by completing six straight passes for 51 yards to reach the Lions’ 16-yard line. Four plays later, Mitchell threw a six-yard touchdown pass to Kiondre Smith and Hamilton cut the deficit to 23-18 with 4:53 left of the game capping off a 10-play drive for 81 yards.
Hamilton’s defense would again make quick work on B.C.’s offense and Hamilton got the ball back with 3:28 left from their 39-yard line. Quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell led the offense down to the Lions’ 10-yard line. He finished the drive by throwing a 10-yard touchdown pass to Brendan O’Leary-Orange. Hamilton successfully converted a two-point play to take a 26-23 lead with 1:01 left of the game.
B.C. had the ball for the final 55 seconds of the game from their 48-yard line. Quarterback Nathan Rourke threw 5 of 6 passes for 58 yards to get them down at the Ticats’ 4-yard line. Kicker Sean Whyte made an 11-yard field goal and the game was tied 26-26 heading into overtime.
Overtime:
B.C. got the ball to start overtime. Quarterback Nathan Rourke completed one pass to Ayden Eberhardt for 18 yards to reach the Ticats’ 17-yard line. Rourke threw two incomplete passes leading kicker Sean Whyte to make a 24-yard field goal for a 29-26 lead. It was Hamilton’s turn. All they needed was a touchdown to win this game.
Quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell threw three passes for 28 yards and running back Ante Milanovic-Litre had two carries for three yards to reach the Lions’ 4-yard line. On the next play, Mitchell’s pass to Brendan O’Leary-Orange was incomplete. Hamilton challenged for defensive pass interference on Ronald Kent Jr. and won the challenge placing the ball on the Lions’ 1-yard line.
Hamilton running back Ante Milanovic-Litre rushed to his left side to score the game-winning touchdown and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats defeated the B.C. Lions 32-29 for their fourth straight win.
Final Stats:
Hamilton had 353 yards on offense (318 yards passing, 58 yards rushing, 23 yards lost), 23 first downs, 4 for in the red zone, and the team was penalized six times for 50 yards. Quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell completed 34 of 40 passes (85%) for 315 yards, two touchdowns, one interception, and one carry for three yards. Running back Greg Bell had 7 carries for 40 yards, one touchdown, and five catches for 24 yards.
Wide receiver Kiondre Smith had a nice game making 8 catches for 92 yards, and one touchdown, and Tim White made 7 catches for 74 yards. Kicker Marc Liegghio made one field goal for 48 yards. Hamilton’s defense made 44 tackles, three sacks, and eight tackles on special teams.
B.C. had 382 yards on offense (264 yards passing, 133 yards rushing, 15 yards lost), 22 first downs, 2 for 5 in the red zone, and the team was penalized 8 times for 87 yards. Quarterback Nathan Rourke completed 22 of 36 passes (61%) for 264 yards, six carries for 30 yards, and two touchdowns. Running back William Stanback had 15 carries for 103 yards and two catches for 11 yards.
Wide receiver Jevon Cottoy made five catches for 81 yards, and Ayden Eberhardt made two catches for 41 yards. Kicker Sean Whyte made 5 of 5 field goals with a long of 50 yards. B.C.’s defense made 46 tackles, three sacks, one interception, and six tackles for loss.
Next week, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats host the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Friday at 7 pm on TSN and CFL+, and the B.C. Lions host the Calgary Stampeders on Friday at 10 pm on TSN and CFL+. Subscribe to Fubo to watch all of the 2024 CFL Season. Purchase CFL tickets today on StubHub and Viagogo.
