Photo courtesy: Bob Butrym/RFB Sport Photography
Article by Josh Thomas
The B.C. Lions and Hamilton Tiger-Cats are making a habit of churning out game-of-the-year candidates.
B.C. defeated Hamilton 41-38 in overtime to kick off Week 10 in the CFL. After a lacklustre first half, the two teams exploded for over 50 points in the second, going shot for shot until the Tiger-Cats tied the contest with zeros on the clock.
Highlight reel catches, huge swings in momentum, big plays on both sides of the ball — this game had it all.
Here are my thoughts on the Ticats’ third loss of the season.
Returner University
Has Isaiah Wooden done it again, or was it the Tiger-Cats’ scouting staff?
Nobody can deny that Wooden is one of the most dangerous returners in the CFL right now. He made four guys miss at the very least during his 84-yard punt return touchdown to give Hamilton a 7-3 lead in the first quarter. This is one week removed from taking the opening kickoff 75 yards in Edmonton, and a few weeks after Wooden earned a fan $1 million with a kick return TD.
It has been an incredible performance so far, I’m still not sure if it would crack the top five seasons by Tiger-Cats returners.
Brandon Banks owns two of those, if not three. Before Banks, there was Marcus Thigpen. Chad Owens wasn’t home-grown, but he spent time as a returner for Hamilton. There are a handful of names on top of the big three who have churned out electrifying kick returns in black and gold since.
It’s been Wooden’s turn to strike fear into cover teams across the league, but the job may now fall to someone else after he was forced to leave on Thursday with a serious-looking shoulder injury. Thankfully, the one thing Hamilton has been good at for as long as I can remember is finding great kick returners.
Show some love to the scouts who were wise enough to pluck Wooden off the street when B.C. cut him loose last year. They might just do it again.
Losing the individual battles
Hamilton has been really good all year when playing man coverage. On Thursday, not so much.
B.C. took advantage of a one-on-one matchup on all but one of their point-scoring drives in the first half. First to Justin McInnis, leading to a field goal, then to Ayden Eberhardt, leading to the Lions’ only major of the half.
B.C. quarterback Nathan Rourke found Eberhardt again in a one-on-one situation in the second half. He tested Destin Talbert with the same play and throw again later, but came up short.
B.C. tore Hamilton apart through the air, and winning man-to-man matchups was one of the biggest contributors to their success
Pressure comes and goes
Coming off a short week, it would be understandable for a position group to start slow.
Hamilton’s D-line missed the memo because they showed no signs of fatigue in the first half. B.C. was held to 13 points in large part because Nathan Rourke was running for his life.
Philip Ossai and Julian Howsare both brought Rourke down in the first half. One of those sacks came rushing three defenders against five o-linemen.
Either B.C. made adjustments, or Hamilton’s line flat-out ran out of gas. Rourke got better protection throughout the second half. On a must-have play which eventually led to a late go-ahead touchdown for B.C., Rourke could have changed into street clothes in the pocket before finding his receiver.
I need to see more pressure on the QB with the game on the line.
Just another day at the office
I know I have gushed about the offence this season, but it is because I want Tiger-Cats fans to understand that we have not seen a group like this in the last 25 years.
We have seen four Grey Cup appearances, and not one of those teams had the offensive ability across the board that the 2025 team has.
Bo Levi Mitchell is playing the best football of his career at 35, the offensive line gets good protection, the running game is decent, and one through five, the Ticats are the best receiving corps in the league by far.
I won’t speak for other teams, this is the best group of receivers Hamilton has had this millenia. Easily.
Three of the top 10 receivers in the league are Tiger-Cats. Kenny Lawler, Tim White, and Kiondre Smith are all worthy of being the top receiver on any CFL team, and they’re on the same field.
Add Brandon O’Leary Orange, who has quietly been good for Hamilton, and Shemar Bridges, who made a great play downfield with the game on the line on Thursday, and it starts to get unfair.
Hamilton isn’t done there, though. Jevoni Robinson, Keaton Bruggeling, and Drew Wolitarsky add an extra wrinkle as they can be inserted as true tight ends.
Mitchell put up another ho-hum 300 yards and three touchdowns against B.C., and there were big plays all over the field. The overall performance, though impressive in its own right, was not what caught my attention.
What caught my attention was the very first thought I had after B.C. took the lead with 39 seconds left. “That’s way too much time. They’re tying this game at least.”
There was no hesitation or even a conscious effort to show belief. It was automatic. Calm. No need to panic, they are going to tie the football game.
Two plays later, Mitchell hits Bridges on the outside, and Hamilton is in field goal range.
They’re well-coached, overflowing with talent, and quarterbacked by a bona fide CFL legend.
I have been a Tiger-Cats fan for a long time. Regardless of how this year ends, enjoy it. Teams like this do not come around often.
Shaky Legs
Marc Liegghio has been easily the best kicker Hamilton has had since Justin Medlock, so he can be forgiven for a couple of missed kicks in this one.
Liegghio missed two field goals wide left before putting a third in off the left upright. He straightened up for the game-tying field goal to send the contest to overtime.
What I can’t forgive is him not having his head on a swivel after missing his first. I love being a competitor, but losing Liegghio for the year would not be worth the seven points he was trying to keep off the board.
Liegghio missed the kick and immediately went to cut the angle of the returner. He never took his eyes off the returner and didn’t see B.C. corner Garry Peter coming to lay a block.
Credit to the defender for not lighting Liegghio up, because he could have. Instead, he gave him a shove to the chest/shoulder area and folded the completely unsuspecting kicker.
Make the play, sure, but protect yourself first. It was nice to see him trot back out after being evaluated. The Cats caught a break there.
Too many mistakes
It feels unfair to point to mistakes as the main reason for the Cats’ loss after they played a really good football game.
The Lions, however, played a really good football game too, and they made fewer mistakes, in key moments at least.
Getting beaten clean at the line and giving Eberhardt a free release in the first half, missed field goals, and ultimately a fumble on their only possession in overtime sunk the Cats in this one.
Five days removed from their win in Edmonton, Hamilton was already in tough against a Lions team out for revenge.
The fact that they went shot-for-shot in the second half and took B.C. to the brink is impressive enough. Add in a few critical errors, and it became an insurmountable task.
Credit to B.C., they made fewer mistakes, handled everything Hamilton threw at them, and were better when it mattered most.
He’s still ‘Him’othy
I will not be hearing any Tim White slander, whatsoever. Yes, it was a costly fumble in overtime. It was also one-on-four with zero blocking help and two defenders ripping at the ball after White made a catch on a tip-drill.
While there has been so much talk about Kenny Lawler of late, White has led the Cats in receiving two of the last four weeks and picked up another five catches for 84 yards on Thursday.
People have been quick to jump on White for any mistake he’s made since signing a big contract with Hamilton two seasons ago. The reality is he’s one of the most dynamic receivers in the league and is worth every penny.
Football games are rarely lost or won on one play. Keep your hot takes to yourself.
The injury bug bites
There are no excuses in football, so I waited until the end of this week’s column to touch on it being a short week.
It would be a lie to say the schedule went unnoticed, as I watched Liegghio, Wooden Sr., and a handful of other Tabbies assessed by the medical team.
Every team has to deal with the schedule at one point or another. Seeing guys get injured as a result just sucks.
You can’t win ’em all
It is no doubt disappointing to lose in overtime. As far as losses go, however, this is one of the better ones to suffer.
Hamilton took B.C. to overtime on four days’ rest with the Lions coming off a bye. A good 80 percent of the people reading this article (and 100 percent of the people writing it) would be unable to walk four days after a professional football game. That is not hyperbole.
It cannot be understated how difficult it is to travel across the country and play a football game on a Thursday after playing one on Saturday. The fact that Hamilton was able to turn it on down the stretch is extremely encouraging. Even in overtime, they were moving the ball well prior to the White fumble.
The Tiger-Cats can only tip their hats to the Lions for being a few plays better and turn their attention to a heavyweight tilt against Saskatchewan next Saturday.