
Surging Tiger-Cats dump struggling Redblacks 30-15 at TD Place
OTTAWA — The Hamilton Tiger-Cats had plenty to cheer about following a 30-15 victory over the Ottawa Redblacks Sunday night.
Not only was this the fourth straight win for the Tiger-Cats (4-2) but they're now first in the CFL's East Division. It also marked consecutive victories over their division rival.
'I thought we were resilient,' said Hamilton head coach Scott Milanovich. 'We talked at halftime. I felt like we let them in the game. We had a 10-point lead and made some mistakes that I think kept it from growing, but that's football and they're paid, too.
'They've got talent, and we wanted to come out and win the first part of the third quarter. I felt like if we did that, we win the game. That's what happened.'
While the Tiger-Cats are surging in the right direction, the Redblacks (1-6) dropped their fourth straight and head into a bye week wondering how to turn things around.
The time off will be beneficial for a number of Ottawa players, including quarterback Dru Brown, who was knocked out of the game in the second quarter after taking a blindside hit from Dashaun Amos. He completed 6-of-8 passes for 66 yards and had one interception before being replaced by Dustin Crum.
Redblacks head coach Bob Dyce shared that Brown will be going through concussion protocol.
Dyce said that in the moment he felt the play should have resulted in Amos's expulsion, but he'll be reviewing the play closely.
'I think we do have to make sure that we are protecting quarterbacks to the best of our ability.'
Crum was decent going 16-for-22 for 149 yards and one interception for the hosts.
Dyce had stressed the importance of capitalizing on critical moments, but as has been the case far too often this season, the Redblacks fell short.
Hamilton's QB Bo-Levi Mitchell had a good night going 21-for-33 for 327 yards, one touchdown and one interception, but Milanovich credited his defence for the turnovers they generated.
'They continued to keep them from getting back the momentum and kept giving us chances offensively,' said Milanovich. 'So, hats off to them.'
Hamilton DB Destin Talbert had two interceptions that ended drives that could have turned into scoring plays.
'We had the lead, but barely, felt like they were hanging around and we had to gain some distance,' said Talbert. 'So, felt good, important, to make those plays.'
Hamilton scored a field goal on its opening drive and, later in the first quarter, Brown was intercepted at Ottawa's 46-yard line. Two plays later, Mitchell threw a 41-yard touchdown pass to Kenny Lawler, giving him his league-leading eighth touchdown of the season to take a 10-0 lead.
Marc Liegghio added a 36-yard field goal late in the second quarter to round out Hamilton's first half scoring.
Ottawa's Lewis Ward connected on four field goals from 21, 28, 33 and 45 yards to bring Ottawa within one, to trail 13-12 at halftime.
With six minutes to play in the third quarter, Mitchell showed his veteran poise on second-and-18, finding Kiondre Smith for a 63-yard gain that set up first-and-goal at Ottawa's three. On the next play, Treshaun Ward punched it in to give Hamilton a 20-12 lead.
Ottawa cut the deficit to 20-15 with Ward's fifth field goal of the night, a 27-yarder, after Adarius Pickett intercepted Mitchell and returned it to Hamilton's 24.
Asked if doubt was starting to creep into the locker room, Crum said it's more about players needing to be self reflective and being able to handle adversity.
'It's a matter of being able to overcome that,' he said. 'Develop that kind of killer instinct, that mindset, that no matter what happens we're going to come out and win.'
Hamilton made it 27-15 midway through the fourth quarter after Ante Milanovic-Litre scored on a one-yard run and added a late field goal.
Notes
Ottawa's Jovan Santos-Knox and Anthony Gosselin each played their 100th career CFL game. The game was costly for both teams. Ottawa lost DL Cleyon Laing, while Hamilton OL Jordan Murray had to be carted off.
Up Next
Tiger-Cats: Visit the B.C. Lions on Sunday, July 27.
Redblacks: Host the Calgary Stampeders on Thursday, July 31.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 20, 2025.
Lisa Wallace, The Canadian Press

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


National Post
44 minutes ago
- National Post
Up Close: Meet Roughriders running back A.J. Ouellette
Article content Article content 'I watched a couple games growing up. The (Montreal) Alouettes kind of have that same little 'Ouellette' ending to it. So watched them a little bit. Article content 'My defensive coordinator in college, (Jim) Burrow, played for Montreal. And then I had a couple other coaches that had a couple games up here in the CFL. So I knew of the CFL, I just didn't know who to contact or how to get in. Article content 'And luckily, I got a call mainly because I had a Canadian quarterback (Nathan Rourke) and a Canadian backup running back (Maleek Irons) in college, so they were at most of our games. So, I got some exposure that way.' Article content Did you think you'd be in the CFL this long? Article content 'The first couple (years) you're like, 'Man, I hope I make it back to the NFL.' But I love this league, love the guys here (and) obviously love the fans of Sask. Article content 'I've been very grateful. I had a lot of great things that kind of happened since I've been up here; met some friends I probably would never have met.' Article content 'I just found (a picture) on my phone of me, Andrew (Harris, Saskatchewan's running backs coach) and (Saskatchewan's offensive line coach Edwin Harrison) after we won the Grey Cup with Toronto. Article content 'Coach Ed was the running back coach; Andrew and me were the running backs. And it's us hugging, kissing each other. That's a great memory I have right now. I hope I get a couple more cups.' Article content Article content 'I was better at baseball than football growing up … I don't know how I would be stepping in the batter's box right now, but back in the day (I was OK). Article content 'Started with baseball and T-ball and all of that. And then wrestling. Article content 'Played basketball a little bit, ran track in high school, did some motocross. I raced dirt bikes all the way up until I had to pick between that and football in junior high. So picked football, of course.' Article content Any superstitions? Article content 'They kind of come and go as the years go. The ones in high school were a little different than the ones now. Article content 'In high school, I had to have Subway before every game. Now, home games, it's Booster Juice. Like I don't eat on game day, I have Booster Juice. Article content 'Night before I go to The Keg on home games; get steak and lobster. The night before, I have to have some type of steak, some type of seafood. Article content 'And then my music is kind of set. It's country all day, trying to be chill. And then 30 minutes before is when I switch it over to like a rap/rock/screamo type of thing. Article content 'I put my pads in — left thigh pad, right thigh pad, left knee pad, right knee pad … It's just some weird stuff.' Article content Article content Hidden talent? Article content 'Mario Kart (on Nintendo Switch). I would dominate anyone. I actually went and bought two more controllers because the nephews fly in (this week) and I'm gonna whoop their butt on the projector.' Article content Any other jobs? Article content 'I own a sports performance gym in Ohio. Article content 'When I first started in the CFL in the off-season, I sprayed insulation. So (working on) construction sites when they were redoing barns or houses or whatever.


National Post
2 hours ago
- National Post
Roughriders ready for Fajardo-led Elks on Friday night in Week 8
The Saskatchewan Roughriders are set to take on the Edmonton Elks for the first time this season. Article content After beating the B.C. Lions in Vancouver last weekend, the Roughriders (5-1) are now set to host the Elks (1-4) on Friday night (7 p.m., TSN) at Mosaic Stadium in Week 8 of the CFL season. Article content The Elks, who are coming off a bye week, lost to the Lions 32-14 in their last outing on July 13 to drop to 1-4. Article content Article content Saskatchewan has won 11 of the past 15 matchups between the two clubs, but Edmonton has won the previous two meets at Mosaic Stadium. Article content Fajardo — who played for the Riders in 2019-22 — has never started against his former team despite spending the last two seasons with the Montreal Alouettes prior to joining the Elks this season. This season Fajardo has thrown nine passes for 107 yards and a touchdown in relief of Ford, who is listed as the backup. As for the Riders, the Green and White have made two lineup changes. Article content With veteran running back Ka'Deem Carey (knee) heading to the six-game injured list, rookie Mario Anderson will make his CFL debut at backup running back behind starter A.J. Ouellette. Article content And along the offensive line, Noah Zerr starts at left guard for Zack Fry (head), who is headed the one-game injured list. Rookie Darius Washington makes his second career start at left tackle as Daniel Johnson remains on the one-game injured list. Article content Article content Article content While it's the first meeting of the season between the two clubs, who will also meet on Sept. 27 in Week 17, the Roughriders will be reminded of what Edmonton did to them last year. Article content In Week 9 of the season in 2024, the Elks came into Saskatchewan and picked up their first win of the season as they defeated the Riders 42-31. The loss, which was Saskatchewan's second defeat in a seven-game winless skid, dropped their record to 5-3. Article content In that game, Ford — who was making his first start of the season — threw for 252 yards and rushed for 46 more while running back Javon Leake put up 169 rushing yards. Article content In 2023, a similar storyline played out in Week 15 of the season when Edmonton came into Saskatchewan and picked up a 36-27 victory thanks to a 175-yard performance by running back Kevin Brown, while Ford ran for 70 yards of his own and passed for 173 more. Article content That loss dropped the Riders record to 6-7 while Edmonton improved to 4-10. Article content Dual threat


CBC
2 hours ago
- CBC
Judge in Hockey Canada sexual assault trial delivering her rulings
The Latest Ontario Superior Court Justice Maria Carroccia is delivering her decisions in the London sexual assault trial of five former players with Canada's 2018 world junior hockey team. Carroccia says she didn't find the complainant's evidence to be 'credible or reliable,' and said the Crown did not prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt. The justice has spent more than two hours going through the evidence heard at trial, focusing on discrepancies between E.M.'s evidence this year and her civil lawsuit in 2022. The accused — Michael McLeod, Carter Hart, Alex Formenton, Dillon Dubé and Cal Foote — had all pleaded not guilty. The complainant, E.M., is not in the courtroom but her lawyer says she is watching the hearing remotely. WARNING: Court proceedings include details of alleged sexual assault and might affect those who have experienced sexual violence or know someone affected.