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CTV News
2 days ago
- Sport
- CTV News
Mitchell, Hamilton Tiger-Cats complete late comeback to beat B.C. Lions 37-33
B.C. Lions' James Butler (20) runs the ball past Hamilton Tiger-Cats' Stavros Katsantonis (30) during the first half of a CFL football game, in Vancouver, on Sunday, July 27, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck 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. He was right. 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. 'You just have to buckle down to the details and understand that you got to come back,' said the Canadian receiver. '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.' 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. 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. 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. 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. '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.' Mitchell made good on 34 of his 41 passing attempts on the night, throwing for 389 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. '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.' Jake Dolegala chalked up a rushing major for the Ticats, and Liegghio made four converts and three field goals, including a 40-yard attempt. '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.' When a game slips away late, it comes down to a team's mental toughness, said Lions defensive back Robert Carter Jr. 'It's a game of inches, so I would definitely say we had to mentally lock in there,' he said. 'And maybe one or two just wasn't mentally there.' Despite the final result, B.C. (3-5) had shining moments on Sunday. Rourke threw for 289 yards, connecting on 20 of his 27 attempts, while Whyte made four field goals — including a 45-yard kick — and three converts. Running back James Butler drove in a pair of TDs against his former team and rushed for 115 yards on 16 carries. Midway through the second quarter, Rourke dished off to an unmanned Keon Hatcher Sr. in the midfield. The receiver took advantage, sprinting deep into Hamilton territory for a 73-yard gain. Whyte capped the scoring drive with a 22-yard field goal. Carter made his own highlight reel-worthy play with just over a minute to go in the first half. Mitchell launched a rainbow toward the end zone, where the corner back snuck up behind Hamilton's O'Leary-Orange, leapt up and — with one hand — reeled in the ball. Losing after some big moments hurts, Carter said. 'I would definitely say this is a devastating loss, just because we were up 10, three minutes left, you know?' he said. 'Like, you've got fans leaving the game, thinking, like, 'Oh, this game is over.' So I definitely thought we should have put that one away.' Lions head coach Buck Pierce said his message to the team after the loss was that everyone in the locker room needs to understand the reality of where they are. 'And have the ability to look at yourselves and ask yourself, 'What more can I do?'' he said. 'Because we've got to be able to finish football games. We've got to be able to get ourselves to a point where we're more consistent and find a way to close games out.' B.C. is now headed into a bye week, and Pierce believes some time off will serve his group well. 'This is gonna sting for a while, right?' he said. 'But they have to move past the emotion of it to grow. And that's the big thing. It's OK to let it hurt, and it's OK to be a little hard on yourself right now. But you've got to move past that. And it's a resilient group, a tough group.' UP NEXT Tiger-Cats: Visit the Edmonton Elks on Saturday. Lions: Visit the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Thursday, Aug. 7. This report by Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press, was first published July 27, 2025.
National Post
2 days ago
- Sport
- National Post
Mitchell, Hamilton Tiger-Cats complete late comeback to beat B.C. Lions 37-33
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. Article content He was right. Article content 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. Article content 'You just have to buckle down to the details and understand that you got to come back,' said the Canadian receiver. Article content '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.' Article content 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. Article content 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. Article content 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. Article content 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. Article content '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.' Article content Mitchell made good on 34 of his 41 passing attempts on the night, throwing for 389 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. Article content '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.' Article content Jake Dolegala chalked up a rushing major for the Ticats, and Liegghio made four converts and three field goals, including a 40-yard attempt. Article content '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.'
CTV News
4 days ago
- Sport
- CTV News
B.C. Lions seek answers for high-flying Lawler and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats
B.C. Lions' Cristophe Beaulieu (29) breaks up a pass intended for Saskatchewan Roughriders' Dhel Duncan-Busby (18) during the second half of a CFL football game, in Vancouver, on Saturday, July 19, 2025. (Darryl Dyck / The Canadian Press) VANCOUVER — The B.C. Lions head into the weekend facing a riddle — how do you stop Kenny Lawler? The Hamilton Tiger-Cats receiver is on a tear, and leads the CFL in both receiving yards (644) and receiving touchdowns (eight). He'll look to add to those totals Saturday when the Ticats (4-2) visit the Lions (3-4). For Lions defensive coordinator Mike Benevides, the riddle's answer is simple. 'You don't stop Kenny Lawler,' Benevides said. The veteran CFL coach recounted a time when he tried to contain the 31-year-old American receiver by double teaming him, only to see Lawler still make 'hellacious plays.' 'You don't stop him. What you want to do is try to minimize it and just make sure he doesn't have one of those 250-yard games,' Benevides said. 'They're going to find ways to get him the ball, but you just want to make sure he's not the one continuously making the big play against you.' The Ticats started out the season with a pair of losses — both to West Division opponents — but have rebounded with four-straight victories, thanks in part to Lawler's solid play. He heads into Saturday's matchup with at least one touchdown in five of Hamilton's six games. That's of little surprise to Lions head coach Buck Pierce, who spent the last two seasons working with Lawler in Winnipeg where he served as the Blue Bombers offensive coordinator. 'He's a highly motivated, competitive, driven individual,' Pierce said. 'I loved my time with Kenny, watching him develop and grow. And watching him over the last couple of years, he's really matured and taken on a leadership role.' Taking Lawler out of the equation this week will require the Lions defence to focus on more than just the star receiver, said defensive lineman Mathieu Betts. Disrupting quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell — who leads the league in passing TDs with 12 and sits second in passing yards with 1,812 — will also be essential, he said. 'Us on the D line, if we can get pressure on Bo Levi to make him maybe not be as accurate as he used to be, or maybe throw from his back foot or just rattle him a little bit more, we'll help the (defensive backs) out,' he said. B.C. is looking to get back into the win column after dropping a 33-27 decision to the Saskatchewan Roughriders last week, but the squad will need to get past a stingy Ticats defence to do so. Hamilton has allowed the fewest passing touchdowns (five) and fewest completions of 30-plus yards (four) this season. The Ticats' defence is 'phenomenally coached,' said Lions quarterback Nathan Rourke. 'They challenge you. They play a lot of man coverage. They get up in your face, bring some pressures,' he said. 'I think their front four are very versatile, they get a lot of pressure. … They're always very polished, so I think it's going to be a good one.' HAMILTON TIGER-CATS (4-2) AT B.C. LIONS (3-4) Sunday, B.C. Place HELLO AGAIN: Lions running back James Butler is set to face the Ticats for the first time since being released by the team in January. He signed with B.C. as a free agent hours later and currently sits second the CFL in rushing yards, with 504 on the year. KICK'N IT: Both teams come in with kickers on hot streaks. Hamilton's Marc Liegghio has made his past 30 field goal attempts going back to last season while B.C.'s Sean Whyte has made 26 straight. HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE: Road teams across the CFL are 15-12 this season. B.C. is 1-2 at home. This report by Gemma Karstens-Smith of The Canadian Press was first published July 25, 2025.
National Post
4 days ago
- Sport
- National Post
Nathan Rourke: B.C. Lions offence needs to find a way to 'start fast' against Hamilton Sunday
The B.C. Lions have a punctuality problem. The Lions (3-4) head into a Sunday visit to B.C. Place by the Hamilton Tigers-Cats (4-2) having led just once after the first quarter this season, and having been outscored by 34 points in those opening frames so far in the campaign. They've been outscored by 16 points in total to date. Article content Article content B.C. is coming off a 33-27 loss at home to the Saskatchewan Roughriders last week that didn't feel as close as the scoreboard actually read. That's because Saskatchewan seemed to put it into cruise control after going up 17-1 in the first quarter. The Roughriders had a 10-0 cushion, in fact, before Lions quarterback Nathan Rourke had taken his third snap — B.C. went two-and-out on the opening drive and that was followed by a Saskatchewan touchdown, a B.C. turnover on a fumble on the ensuing kickoff and then a Roughrider field goal. Article content 'We have to score more touchdowns and especially early,' Rourke said after practice Friday at the Lions' Surrey headquarters. 'We need to give our defence a little more cushion there, a little more confidence. Article content 'As an offence, our goal this week is to start fast, but it's going to be a challenge, because that's a very good defence we're playing.' Article content B.C. has been moving the ball. The Lions (404.7 yards per game) were third in the league in net offence average going into the week, trailing only the 5-2 Calgary Stampeders (406.3 yards per game) and the 5-1 Roughriders (405.7 yards per game). They aren't capitalizing enough on that success, though, to reiterate the earlier Rourke thought. The Lions (23.3 points per game) were eighth in the league in scoring going into the week. Only the 1-6 Ottawa Redblacks (21.1 points per game) were tallying less. Article content There are clear reasons why. The Lions have a league-worst 19 turnovers on the season, and their minus-10 takeaway/giveaway ratio is at the bottom of that category as well. Article content B.C. was also seventh in the league in penalties (7.9 per game) and penalty yardage (73.3 per game) to start the week, and that included a league-worst 13 flags on special teams. Article content It's a hard team to get a read on right now. Rourke is on a three-game streak of 300-yard passing games and can tie his longest run of such games as a Lion if he can hit the number again Sunday. The matchup with the Tiger-Cats will be his 40th as a Lion. Article content 'We need to first and foremost take care of the ball. We can't turn the ball over,' explained Rourke, the 27-year-old pivot. 'Secondly, we have to keep out of second and long situations. I think we showed the second time when we played Edmonton (in a 32-14 road win on July 14) that when we're second and medium we can be very, very good. If we do that, we put ourselves in a good position. Article content Article content B.C.'s defence is looking to rally after being picked apart by Saskatchewan veteran quarterback Trevor Harris, who was 23-of-30 for 395 yards, with three touchdowns and one interception last week. Hamilton, who are winners of four straight, are led by another seasoned pivot in Bo Levi Mitchell. Article content Mitchell, 35, has been so good this season that Pat Steinberg at was pegging him the early favourite for Most Outstanding Player honours on Friday. Mitchell came into the week leading the league in passing yards (1,812) and touchdowns (12), with just two interceptions.
Yahoo
21-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Slumping Ottawa Redblacks lose quarterback Dru Brown and another game to Hamilton Tiger-Cats
The Ottawa Redblacks are spiralling into their first bye week of the CFL season. Not only did they lose for the second time in eight days to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, but in falling to a CFL-worst 1-6 record, they also lost starting quarterback Dru Brown to a possible concussion on a hit that incensed head coach Bob Dyce. While the 30-15 defeat in front of just 15,054 fans at TD Place on Sunday night doesn't dismiss their chances of making the playoffs, the Redblacks qualified as the third seed last year with a 9-8-1 record. Using that gauge, they'll likely have to win at least seven of their last 11 when they return from the bye. At this point, it seems like a tall order. Along with dropping their fourth straight contest, the Redblacks lost Brown early in the second quarter when he dropped back for a pass and was bulldozed by Hamilton defensive back Dashaun Amos, who sent the quarterback's helmet flying with an illegal hit. The 'unnecessary roughness major grade 2' cost the Tiger-Cats 25 yards of real estate and Ottawa its No. 1 signal caller. 'We say we're going to protect quarterbacks, but I don't know how that's not an ejection,' Redblacks head coach Bob Dyce told TSN's Claire Hanna at the intermission. The Redblacks, however, responded positively to the adversity. Upon entering the game with his team trailing 10-3, backup Dustin Crum breathed some air into the attack by combining a running game that was missing in the opening quarter. In the final 12 minutes of the second quarter, he completed 10-of-10 passes and, with Lewis Ward kicking four field goals, Ottawa trailed by just one at halftime. The 12 points the Redblacks put on the board were the second most they've scored in a first half this season. Ottawa had a chance to build on that small bit of momentum with its first possession of the third quarter, but Geno Lewis allowed the ball to be stripped from his hands past the first down marker for Crum's first incompletion after he had connected on 11 straight. Forced to put the ball, the defence looked like they'd get the ball right back after Michael Wakefield's second sack of the season put the visitors in a second-and-18 situation. But Bo Levi Mitchell found Kiondre Smith for a 63-yard gain to the Ottawa three, and Treshaun Ward scored with a run up the middle on the next play. A familiar foe produced the early hole. After not throwing an interception in his two and a half games, Brown coughed up his third in three quarters when he was picked off by Stavros Katsantonis at the Ottawa 47 nine minutes into the night. Two plays later, Kenny Lawler sped by Redblacks cornerback Alijay McGhee for a 41-yard touchdown catch. It was Lawler's third TD in two games against Ottawa and league-leading eighth on the season. Along with Brown, the Redblacks lost veteran Canadian defensive tackle Cleyon Laing to an apparent leg injury early in the first quarter. Ottawa is now on its first bye week of the season before returning on July 31 to host the West Division co-leading Calgary Stampeders.
