Redblacks let victory slip through their fingers to suffer third setback in a row
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A late roughing the passer call on defensive lineman Michael Wakefield set the stage for Bo Levi Mitchell to connect with Kenny Lawler on his second touchdown of the game with 1:54 to give the Tiger-Cats their first lead of the game and a 23-20 victory.
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It was the third straight loss for the cellar-dwelling Redblacks, who dropped to 1-5 while the Tiger-Cats improved to 3-2 and moved into first place in the East Division.
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The Redblacks, who led the league in penalty yards entering the night, were flagged just three times for 30 yards against Hamilton.
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But the call on Wakefield was untimely, to say the least.
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Leading 20-16 with time winding down in the fourth quarter, the Redblacks appeared to be in trouble when Kalil Pimpleton fumbled a punt that Hamilton's Mack Bannatyne recovered at the Ottawa 15-yard line.
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But the Redblacks' defence rose to the occasion with a stand that resulted in a turnover on downs.
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Dru Brown completed 24 of 38 passes for 283 yards, a touchdown and his first two interceptions of the season, both by Hamilton's Jamal Peters.
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Mitchell was held to a quiet night, connecting on 23 of 41 for 266 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.
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The Redblacks scored on their first possession of the game with a seven-play, 70-yard drive into the wind that ended with Dru Brown straddling the line of scrimmage before a 10-yard toss to Keelan White.
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It was the first CFL touchdown for White, a 23-year-old North Vancouver product Ottawa selected third overall in the 2025 draft.
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Three reasons why the Redblacks held a 7-4 lead after one half:
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Playing in his first game of the season, Canadian linebacker Lucas Cormier came up big when he stopped running back Johnny Augustine at the Ottawa 10-yard line, forcing the Tiger-Cats to settle for a field goal late in the second quarter.
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2. While Brown completed 13-of-19 passes for 137 yards, the defence limited Bo Levi Mitchell to 13 completions on 22 attempts for 128 yards. Mitchell, who had surpassed the 300-yard mark in three of four previous starts this season, was coming off a five-TD pass game against Toronto.
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CBC
an hour ago
- CBC
Mitchell's late TD pass to Lawler rallies Ticats to 23-20 home win over Ottawa Redblacks
Bo Levi Mitchell's three-yard TD pass to Kenny Lawler with 1:54 remaining rallied the Hamilton Tiger-Cats to a 23-20 win over the Ottawa Redblacks on Saturday night. Mitchell's second scoring strike to Lawler capped a smart 50-yard, six-play drive. But Hamilton (3-2) caught a break when Ottawa's Michael Wakefield was called for roughing the passer on a Mitchell second-down incompletion that kept the march alive. Ottawa (1-5) had one final possession at its 19-yard line with 1:51 remaining, but the Redblacks turned the ball over on downs at their 39-yard line with 1:13 remaining, delighting the Hamilton Stadium gathering of 22,913. Hamilton was able to run out the clock for a third straight win and move into a tie with idle Montreal (3-2) atop the East Division. Ottawa has dropped three straight. Hamilton had a glorious chance to take the lead on Mack Bannatyne's recovery of Kalil Pimpleton's fumble of Nic Constantinou's 57-yard punt at Ottawa's 15-yard line. But the Ticats drove to the Redblacks four-yard line before turning the ball over on downs with 5:12 to play. Ottawa appeared to go ahead 27-13 on Pimpleton's 105-yard punt-return TD at 1:53. But it was negated by an illegal block penalty, the Redblacks' first of the game following an unsuccessful challenge. Hamilton moves into a tie for 1st place in the CFL East Ottawa started at its 15-yard line, and Dru Brown's pass was intercepted by Jamal Peters, his second pick of the game. That gave Hamilton possession at the Redblacks' 43-yard line, setting up Marc Liegghio's 38-yard field goal at 4:23 that pulled the Ticats to within 20-16. Liegghio kicked three field goals and a convert while Nic Constantinou added a single for Hamilton. Keelan White and William Stanback had Ottawa's touchdowns. Lewis Ward booted the converts and two field goals. Stanback ended the third with a 23-yard TD run that put Ottawa ahead 20-13. Ward gave the Redblacks a 13-10 advantage with a 14-yard field goal at 9:46. But Liegghio tied it with a 41-yard kick at 12:54. Mitchell's 44-yard TD strike to Lawler at 2:38 made it 10-10 as Liegghio missed the convert. It followed Ward's 41-yard field goal at 1:08. Brown's 10-yard TD pass to White, the third pick of the '25 CFL draft, in the first quarter staked Ottawa to its 7-4 halftime lead. The seven-play, 70-yard march accounted for almost half of the Redblacks' 142 net offensive yards. Ottawa threatened to go ahead 10-4 but Ward missed from 48 yards out with under three minutes to play. Hamilton mustered 165 net yards, but could only manage a field goal and single. The Ticats also took all seven penalties called in the half for 71 yards as both teams had six total possessions. Brown completed 13-of-19 passes for 137 yards. Mitchell was 13-of-22 passing for 128 yards as Isaiah Wooden Sr.'s 47-yard punt return was the opening half's biggest play. Constantinou's 51-yard punt at 3:16 of the second quarter cut Ottawa's lead to 7-1. Liegghio pulled Hamilton to within 7-4 with a 16-yard field goal at 8:59.
Global News
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