The Winnipeg Blue Bombers (10-6) visited Tim Hortons Field on Friday night against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (6-10) in their second meeting of the season.
Both teams came into this game red hot with the Blue Bombers winning seven straight games, while the Ticats won four consecutive games. The last time the Ticats lost a game was back in Week 12 against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 26-23 in Winnipeg. Hamilton was looking for payback but Winnipeg got the last laugh.
First Quarter:
Winnipeg got the ball to start the game from their 31-yard line. They gained 43 yards to reach the Ticats’ 36-yard line before a procedure penalty on offensive lineman Chris Kolankowski, and Hamilton defensive lineman Brandon Barlow sacked Zach Collaros for six yards taking Winnipeg out of field range and they punted the ball to Hamilton. Hamilton started their first possession on their 18-yard line.
Hamilton went two-and-out. On third down, Hamilton punter Nik Constantinou punted the ball 31 yards to returner Lucky Whitehead for a two-yard loss. However, a no yards penalty by Hamilton gave Winnipeg good field position on the Ticats’ 41-yard line.
On second down, Winnipeg quarterback Zach Collaros completed a 16-yard pass to Kenny Lawler setting them up on the Ticats’ 25-yard line. Then, Collaros threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Kevens Clercius for a 7-0 lead with 8:06 left of the first quarter.
Hamilton’s offense led by quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell completed three passes for 23 yards, running back James Butler gained one yard, but an illegal contact penalty by Winnipeg moved the ball to the Blue Bombers’ 18-yard line. On the next play, Hamilton’s offensive line opened up a hole for James Butler, who went untouched to score an 18-yard touchdown, and the game was tied 7-7 with 4:37 left of the first quarter.
Winnipeg’s offense got the ball with 4:37 left. They used up all of the time to reach the Ticats’ 15-yard line before kicker Sergio Castillo kicked a 22-yard field goal, and Winnipeg led Hamilton 10-7 to end the first quarter.
Winnipeg had 140 yards on offense (105 yards passing, 41 yards rushing, 6 yards lost), seven first downs, 0 for 1 in the red zone, and the team was penalized two times for 15 yards.
Quarterback Zach Collaros completed 7 of 8 passes for 105 yards, one touchdown, and one carry for five yards. Hamilton had 52 yards on offense (31 yards passing, 21 yards rushing), four first downs, 1 for 1 in the red zone, and the team was penalized one time for 15 yards.
Second Quarter:
In the second quarter, both defenses did a nice job forcing two-and-outs. With 8:49 left, Winnipeg quarterback Zach Collaros attempted to complete a pass in the direction of Kenny Lawler and Hamilton defensive back Destin Talbert should have made the interception but the ball went through his hands. Winnipeg ended up punting the ball back to Hamilton with 7:42 left before halftime.
Hamilton was moving the ball with running back James Butler gaining three yards, and quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell threw an 11-yard pass to Kiondre Smith to reach their 53-yard line. Two plays later, Mitchell attempted to throw the ball in the direction of Kiondre Smith. Winnipeg defensive back Dedrick Nichols saw the play coming and he got in front of Smith to make the interception on their 18-yard line with 5:38 left before halftime.
Winnipeg gained 21 yards before the drive stalled and Hamilton’s offense gained 26 yards before their drive stalled. Winnipeg’s offense got the ball with 2:08 left before halftime at their 34-yard line.
Quarterback Zach Collaros and running back Brady Oliveira combined with two carries logging 13 yards to reach their 47-yard line. On first down, Collaros threw a 55-yard pass to Kenny Lawler to reach the Ticats’ 8-yard line.
On the next play, running back Brady Oliveira fought hard to reach the end zone. As he was getting taken down, the ball popped out at the goal line for a touchdown but Hamilton made a case that it was a fumble recovered by Jonathan Moxey.
The command center reviewed the play and determined that Oliveira’s knee was down on the one-yard line. Backup quarterback Terry Wilson came in to score the one-yard touchdown extending Winnipeg’s lead 17-7 with 47 seconds left to cap off a five-play drive for 76 yards.
Hamilton’s offense had 41 seconds to work with starting from their 36-yard line. On the first play, quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell completed a pass to Brendan O’Leary-Orange. He fought some sloppy tackling by Winnipeg to gain 71 yards to reach the Blue Bombers’ three-yard line.
Next, running back James Butler lost four yards on the next, and wide receiver Tim White could not catch Mitchell’s pass in the end zone. Hamilton kicker Marc Liegghio made a 15-yard field goal and Hamilton trailed Winnipeg 17-10 at halftime.
First Half Stats:
Winnipeg had 236 yards on offense (169 yards passing, 73 yards rushing, 6 lost), 11 first downs, 1 for 2 in the red zone, and the team was penalized three times for 25 yards. Quarterback Zach Collaros completed 9 of 13 passes (69.2%) for 169 yards, one touchdown, and two carries for 14 yards. Running back Brady Oliveira had 10 carries for 55 yards, and one catch for 15 yards.
Wide receiver Kenny Lawler made two catches for 71 yards, and Kevens Clercius made two catches for 33 yards and one touchdown. Winnipeg’s defense made one tackle for loss and one interception.
Hamilton had 187 yards on offense (163 yards passing, 24 yards rushing), 8 first downs, 1 for 2 in the red zone, and the team was penalized two times for 30 yards. Quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell completed 9 of 16 passes (56.3%) for 163 yards, and one interception. Running back James Butler had six carries for 22 yards and one touchdown.
Wide receiver Brendan O’Leary-Orange made one catch for 71 yards, and Kiondre Smith made four catches for 46 yards. Hamilton’s defense made one sack.
Third Quarter:
Hamilton got the ball to start the third quarter from their 32-yard line. Quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell completed two passes for nine yards, and running back Ante Milanovic-Litre gained three yards before the drive stalled.
Winnipeg running back Brady Oliveira started the third quarter carrying the ball twice for 20 yards to reach their 49-yard line. Quarterback Zach Collaros completed two passes for 12 yards, and backup quarterback Terry Wilson rushed for three yards before their drive stalled.
Winnipeg’s defense made quick work forcing Hamilton to go two-and-out. Winnipeg started its next drive from their 38-yard line. Running back Brady Oliveira led the offense with five carries for 44 yards, while backup quarterback Terry Wilson rushed for three yards, and quarterback Zach Collaros completed one pass for 7 yards to reach the Ticats’ four-yard line.
Then, Winnipeg’s offensive line opened up a hole on the right side and Oliveira scored a four-yard touchdown extending their lead 24-10 with 43 seconds left of the third quarter capping off a nine-play drive for 72 yards in over five minutes.
Hamilton got the ball back with 27 seconds left of the third quarter. They went two-and-out, and Winnipeg started with the football to begin the fourth quarter on their 42-yard line.
Fourth Quarter:
Winnipeg started the fourth quarter going two-and-out, and Hamilton went two-and-out on their next drive. Winnipeg’s offense started their next drive on their 46-yard line. Hamilton’s defense gave up 46 yards in penalties while running back Brady Oliveira had four carries for 21 yards, and Terry Wilson had one carry for four yards to reach the Ticats’ one-yard line.
Backup quarterback Terry Wilson finished the drive by scoring a one-yard touchdown for a 31-10 lead with 7:46 left of the game to cap off a seven-play drive for 64 yards in over four minutes.
Hamilton’s night continued to get worse. With 4:51 left of the game, quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell’s pass intended for Steven Dunbar was intercepted by Tyrell Ford. It was Ford’s seventh interception of the season, which moved him into a tie for first place with Saskatchewan’s Rolan Milligan Jr.
After Winnipeg went two-and-out, Taylor Powell was the new quarterback for Hamilton with 2:35 left. Powell completed 3 of 4 passes for 32 yards, and two carries for 8 yards to help the Ticats had reached the Blue Bombers’ 52-yard line. On the next play, Powell started to run with the football but TyJuan Garbutt stripped the ball out of his right hand and Willie Jefferson recovered it to seal the game.
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers defeated the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 31-10 for their eighth straight win. Winnipeg clinches a home playoff date and with Hamilton’s loss, Ottawa clinched a playoff spot.
Final Stats:
Winnipeg had 393 yards on offense (201 yards passing, 199 yards rushing, 7 yards lost), 24 first downs, 3 for 4 in the red zone, and the team was penalized three times for 25 yards. Quarterback Zach Collaros completed 13 of 19 passes (68.4%) for 201 yards, one touchdown, and two carries for 14 yards. Running back Brady Oliveira had 24 carries for 147 yards, one touchdown, and one catch for 15 yards.
Wide receiver Kenny Lawler made three catches for 78 yards, and Nic Demski made five catches for 47 yards. Winnipeg’s defense made 28 tackles, one tackle for loss, two sacks, two interceptions, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, and nine tackles on special teams.
Hamilton had 275 yards on offense (249 yards passing, 37 yards rushing, 11 yards lost), 12 first downs, 1 for 2 in the red zone, and the team was penalized seven times for 107 yards.
Quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell completed 15 of 28 passes (54%) for 217 yards, two interceptions, and one carry for two yards. Running back James Butler had seven carries for 24 yards, one touchdown, and two catches for 16 yards.
Wide receiver Brendan O’Leary-Orange led the receivers making two catches for 86 yards, and Kiondre Smith made six catches for 54 yards. Hamilton’s defense made 49 tackles, one sack, and eight tackles on special teams.
Next week, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers host the Toronto Argonauts on Friday at 8:30 pm on TSN and CFL+, while the Hamilton Tiger-Cats are on a bye week. Subscribe to Fubo to watch all of the 2024 CFL Season. Purchase CFL tickets today on StubHub.
