OTTAWA — 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.
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.
Tiger-Cats: Visit the B.C. Lions on Sunday, July 27.
Redblacks: Host the Calgary Stampeders on Thursday, July 31.
