Mitchell, Hamilton Tiger-Cats complete late comeback to beat B.C. Lions 37-33

National Post

28-07-2025

VANCOUVER — Even when his Hamilton Tiger-Cats were down 10 points with less than four minutes on the game clock, Kiondre Smith believed someone on his team would make a big play.
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He was right.
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Smith reeled in a last-minute touchdown reception on Sunday, lifting the Ticats (5-2) to an improbable 37-33 comeback victory over the B.C. Lions that stretched Hamilton's win streak to five straight games.
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'You just have to buckle down to the details and understand that you got to come back,' said the Canadian receiver.
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'And with the group that we have this year and the staff that we have and what we've been doing in practice, the way we've been taking care of each other, there was never any doubt in there. It was just knowing that you had to do your job. Had to do your job and bite down. And we did that fully.'
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B.C. pulled away with about four minutes left in the fourth quarter after Hamilton's Greg Bell fumbled and Sione Teuhema recovered the ball.
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Lions quarterback Nathan Rourke then lobbed a 43-yard toss to Ayden Eberhardt, giving the home side a first down at Hamilton's two-yard line. Backup QB Jeremiah Masoli came on for short-yardage duty and propelled himself through a mass of bodies for a touchdown. Kicker Sean Whyte made the convert and the Lions took a 33-23 lead.
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The Ticats weren't about to go quietly, however.
Quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell sailed a 44-yard pass to Brendan O'Leary-Orange in the end zone and kicker Marc Liegghio made a convert that cut Hamilton's deficit to three points.
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On their next possession, Mitchell and his teammates worked their way up the field until, with 16 seconds left on the clock, the QB connected with an unmanned Smith for the game-winning major.
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'I'm not gonna lie to you, I saw that pre snap,' Smith said of the play, which marked his second TD of the game. 'We had (players) bunched to the right, and they had two people out there. Someone was gonna be wide open. I'm fortunate enough for it to be me on that one.'
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Mitchell made good on 34 of his 41 passing attempts on the night, throwing for 389 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.
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'That man is amazing,' Smith said of the 35-year-old American. 'He's a playmaker. He's a baller. He ages like wine and is continuing to show.'
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Jake Dolegala chalked up a rushing major for the Ticats, and Liegghio made four converts and three field goals, including a 40-yard attempt.
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'I'm just so proud of these guys. Their confidence is building,' said Hamilton's head coach Scott Milanovich. 'Most of all, their faith and their belief in their teammates is building. And they believe when the game's on the line, that somebody's gonna make plays. And that's what happened.'