The Hamilton Tiger-Cats (2-2) visited BMO Field on Friday night against the Toronto Argonauts (1-4) in their first meeting of the regular season. Both teams were coming off their first wins of the season last week.
First Quarter:
Toronto returner Kevin Brown returned the opening kickoff to the 42-yard line. Quarterback Nick Arbuckle completed two passes for 50 yards plus ran for three yards. Wide receiver Dejon Brissett also caught a ball for 12 yards, and Kevin Brown rushed for one yard to the two-yard line. On the next play, Brown plowed his way into the endzone. The Argonauts took a 7-0 lead with 11:25 left to cap off a six-play drive for 68 yards.
Two plays into Toronto’s next drive, Nick Arbuckle made a bad decision by throwing the ball high in the air intended for David Ungerer III. However, Hamilton defensive back DaShaun Amos made a nice over-the-shoulder catch for the interception and returned it for 32 yards to the 35-yard line.
Hamilton’s offense did not waste time getting into the endzone when quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell threw a missile to Kenny Lawler. Lawler jumped over Toronto defensive back Mark Milton to make the catch for the touchdown. The game was tied 7-7 with 8:12 left.
After Toronto’s offense went two-and-out, Hamilton returner Isaiah Wooden Sr. returned the punt for 51 yards to the 41-yard line. Hamilton’s offense would move the ball to the 36-yard line, where kicker Marc Liegghio made a 44-yard field goal for a 10-7 lead with 4:47 left.
Hamilton’s defense had a nice series when TaJuan Garbutt forced a fumble, but Toronto recovered, and Julian Howsare sacked Arbuckle for a seven-yard loss to force third down. Hamilton returner Isaiah Wooden Sr. ran the punt return for 18 yards to the 36-yard line.
After Hamilton quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell was sacked by Da’Marcus Christmas for a five-yard loss, he came back to throw a deep pass to Kenny Lawler. Lawler made the catch as he kept his balance to score a 79-yard touchdown. Hamilton extended its lead to 17-7 heading into the second quarter.
Hamilton’s offense had 116 yards (114 yards passing, 7 yards rushing, 7 yards lost), while Toronto’s offense had 109 yards (76 yards passing, 40 yards rushing, 7 yards lost).
Second Quarter:
In the second quarter, Toronto kicker Lirim Hajrullahu made a 50-yard field goal. Toronto trailed Hamilton 17-10 with 13:10 left. Later, Hamilton’s offense marched toward the 15-yard line.
Then, quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell threw a pass to Tyler Ternowski. He took two Toronto defenders with him on his way to scoring the touchdown. It was now 23-10 with 7:32 left to cap off a 9-play drive for 70 yards.
Later in the second quarter, Toronto had the ball on the 52-yard line. Quarterback Nick Arbuckle completed one pass for six yards to the 46-yard line. Kicker Lirim Hajrullahu made a 53-yard field goal. Toronto trailed Hamilton 24-13 at halftime.
First Half Stats:
Hamilton had 207 yards on offense (186 yards passing, 31 yards rushing, 10 yards lost), 9 first downs, 1 for 1 in the redzone, and the team was penalized one time. Quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell completed 11 of 14 passes (79%) for 186 yards, and three touchdowns.
Running back Johnny Augustine had three carries for 15 yards. Wide receiver Kenny Lawler made three catches for 123 yards, and two touchdowns, while Tyler Ternowski made two catches for 22 yards, and one touchdown. The defense made one tackle for loss, one sack, and one forced fumble.
Toronto had 132 yards on offense (98 yards passing, 44 yards rushing, 10 yards lost), 7 first downs, 1 for 1 in the redzone, and the team was penalized one time for six yards. Quarterback Nick Arbuckle completed 8 of 11 passes (72%) for 98 yards, one interception, and two carries for 18 yards.
Running back Kevin Brown had eight carries for 22 yards, and one touchdown. Wide receiver Kevin Mital made three catches for 52 yards, while David Ungerer III made one catch for 17 yards. The defense made two sacks and one forced fumble.
Third Quarter:
Hamilton returner Isaiah Wooden Sr. returned the kickoff for 40 yards to the 53-yard line. Hamilton’s offense marched down to the six-yard line. Quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell threw a six-yard touchdown pass to Brandon O’Leary-Orange after the ball was deflected off the hands of Tarvarus McFadden and O’Leary-Orange made the catch.
However, a procedure penalty on Hamilton took away the touchdown. Then, Mitchell handed the ball off to Greg Bell, who steamrolled his way into the endzone for the touchdown. It was now 31-13 with 8:07 left to cap off a 10-play drive for 57 yards, taking over six minutes off the clock.
Toronto returner Kevin Brown returned the kickoff for six yards before lateraling the ball to Janarion Grant. Grant used his speed to blow by everyone for a 93-yard touchdown. They attempted a two-point conversion but did not get it. It was now 31-19 with 7:26 left.
Later in the third quarter, Hamilton quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell threw a 46-yard touchdown pass to Kenny Lawler for the third time in this game. Hamilton led 37-19 with 3:30 left.
Toronto’s offense had the ball for the final three minutes of the third quarter. They gained 52 yards to reach the 10-yard line. Then, quarterback Nick Arbuckle rolled to his right side as the pocket was collapsing to throw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Damonte Coxie. Toronto trailed Hamilton 37-26 heading into the fourth quarter to cap off a seven-play drive for 62 yards.
Fourth Quarter:
In the fourth quarter, Hamilton’s offense gained 68 yards, plus a Toronto penalty moved the ball to the 15-yard line. On the next play, quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell threw a pass in the direction of Kiondre Smith. Smith snagged the ball in the air between two Toronto players to score a 15-yard touchdown. It was now 44-26 with 9:58 left to cap off an eight-play drive for 83 yards.
The two teams went back and forth. Toronto’s offense moved the ball up to the one-yard line, where running back Khalan Laborn scored the touchdown. They tried a two-point conversion and did not get it. It was now 44-32 with 6:27 left to cap off a six-play drive for 75 yards.
On the kickoff, Hamilton kick returner Isaiah Wooden Sr. turned on the jets, sprinting past everyone for an 86-yard touchdown. It was now 51-32 with six minutes left.
With the game out of reach, Hamilton’s defense did not put pressure on Arbuckle. Arbuckle completed several passes before throwing a six-yard touchdown pass to Kevin Mital. The drive went eight plays for 78 yards. Once again, they did not get the two-point conversion. The Hamilton Tiger-Cats defeated the Toronto Argonauts by the final score of 51-38.
Final Stats:
Hamilton had 415 yards on offense (332 yards passing, 100 yards rushing, 17 yards lost), 22 first downs, 3 for 3 in the redzone, and the team was penalized four times for 30 yards. Hamilton quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell completed 19 of 24 passes (79.2%) for 332 yards, and five touchdowns. Mitchell became the 11th player in CFL history to pass 40,000 career passing yards.
Running back Greg Bell led the rushers with 11 carries for 48 yards and one touchdown, while Johnny Augustine had seven carries for 38 yards. Wide receiver Kenny Lawler led the receivers making six catches for 207 yards and three touchdowns.
His receiving yards set a new career high, while Tim White made two catches for 30 yards. The defense made 36 tackles, one tackle for loss, one sack, one interception, and one forced fumble.
Toronto had 374 yards on offense (339 yards passing, 45 yards rushing, 10 yards lost), 22 first downs, 4 for 4 in the redzone, and the team was penalized 10 times for 71 yards. Quarterback Nick Arbuckle completed 27 of 38 passes (71%) for 339 yards, two touchdowns, one interception, and two carries for 10 yards.
Running back Kevin Brown led the rushers with eight carries for 22 yards, and one touchdown. Wide receiver Kevin Mital led the receivers making eight catches for 104 yards, and one touchdown, while Damonte Coxie made five catches for 76 yards, and one touchdown. The defense made 37 tackles, two sacks, and one forced fumble.
Next week, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats host the Ottawa Redblacks on Friday at 7 pm on TSN/CTV and CFL+. The Toronto Argonauts are off next week.
