Redblacks let victory slip through their fingers to suffer third setback in a row

Ottawa Citizen

2 days ago

The Ottawa Redblacks survived three second-half turnovers but couldn't shake a bad habit Saturday night in Hamilton.
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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.