The Montreal Alouettes (1-0) visited Hamilton Stadium on Thursday night to kick off the 2026 CFL season against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (0-1) in a rematch of last year’s Eastern Final. This was the 151st meeting between the Alouettes and Tiger-Cats, with the Alouettes leading the all-time series 82-64-4.
Hamilton began the game with the ball on the 33-yard line. Quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell threw a 12-yard pass to Kiondre Smith to the 45-yard line. On the next play, Mitchell’s pass to Kenny Lawler was incomplete. Lawler had contact with Lorenzo Burns, but no penalty was called. This led Hamilton head coach Scott Milanovich to challenge for defensive pass interference, and he successfully won the challenge. Montreal’s defense committed three penalties for 53 yards.
The Tiger-Cats moved the ball to the one-yard line, where Jake Dolegala scored the touchdown. The Tiger-Cats took a 7-0 lead with 10:24 left to conclude an eight-play drive for 77 yards. Late in the first quarter, Hamilton had the ball on the 32-yard line. Running back Larry Rountree III rushed for five yards, and Bo Levi Mitchell threw two passes for 10 yards to end the first quarter up 7-0.
In the second quarter, Montreal linebacker Tyrice Beverette sacked Mitchell for a three-yard loss. This led to Hamilton kicker Marc Liegghio making a 27-yard field goal for a 10-0 lead with 14 minutes left. Montreal’s offense started to get going. Quarterback Davis Alexander threw two passes for 17 yards to the 53-yard line. On the next play, Alexander’s pass intended for Tyson Philpot was incomplete, but a defensive pass interference penalty on Hamilton gave the Alouettes a first down at the 38-yard line.
Next, Alexander threw a 14-yard pass to Tyler Snead to the 14-yard line. However, on the next play, Montreal got called for a holding penalty, backing them 10 yards. Then, Alexander threw the ball right into coverage to Tyler Snead, who made a man miss him on his way to scoring a 34-yard touchdown. The Alouettes trailed the Tiger-Cats 10-7 to conclude a six-play drive for 70 yards.
Late in the second quarter, Montreal had the ball on the 30-yard line. After running back Shomari Lawrence’s eight-yard run, an unnecessary roughness penalty on Montreal backed them up to the 15-yard line. On the next play, Davis Alexander threw a 70-yard pass to Tyler Snead to the 25-yard line. Montreal would move the ball to the 10-yard line, where kicker Jose Maltos made a 19-yard field goal, and the game was tied 10-10 with 1:46 left.
Hamilton had the ball on the 35-yard line. Bo Levi Mitchell threw seven passes for 58 yards, plus two penalties on Montreal, moved the ball to the one-yard line. Running back Ante Milanovic-Litre scored the touchdown. The Tiger-Cats took a 17-10 lead at halftime to conclude a 10-play drive for 75 yards.
In the third quarter, Hamilton had the ball on the 51-yard line. Bo Levi Mitchell threw four passes for 59 yards, and Larry Rountree III had two carries for five yards to the four-yard line. Two plays later, Mitchell pitched the ball to Keric Wheatfall for a four-yard touchdown. It was now 24-10 with 7:03 left to conclude an eight-play drive for 70 yards.
Montreal’s offense struggled early in the third quarter. However, the turning point of the game came from their defense. Hamilton had the ball on the 50-yard line when Bo Levi Mitchell’s pass intended for Myron Mitchell was picked off by Robert Kennedy III for a pick-six 54-yard touchdown. The Alouettes trailed the Tiger-Cats 24-17 with 4:26 left.
After Montreal’s defense stopped Hamilton, the offense had the ball on the 20-yard line. Quarterback Davis Alexander threw an eight-yard pass to Tyson Philpot, followed by a 16-yard run from Shomari Lawrence to the 44-yard line as the third quarter ended.
In the fourth quarter, Davis Alexander threw four passes for 60 yards, including a 42-yarder to Alexander Hollins to the six-yard line. On the next play, Alexander threw a touchdown pass to Tyson Philpot, who had Gregory Junior on him to make a one-handed catch. The game was now tied 24-24 with 11:59 left, which took seven plays for 90 yards.
For the rest of the fourth quarter, the two teams exchanged field goals. Hamilton kicker Marc Liegghio made a 37-yard field goal, and Montreal kicker Jose Maltos made a 29-yard field goal to send the game to overtime 27-27.
In overtime, Hamilton quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell threw a four-yard pass to Keric Wheatfall. Montreal defensive back Robert Kennedy III caused the fumble, and Kabion Ento recovered it on the 20-yard line. Montreal running back Shomari Lawrence had two carries for 26 yards to the nine-yard line. Kicker Jose Maltos kicked the game-winning 30-yard field goal, and the Alouettes came from behind to beat the Tiger-Cats 30-27.
Montreal had 401 yards on offense (336 passing yards, 80 rushing yards, 15 yards lost), 21 first downs, 1 for 3 in the redzone, and the team was penalized 11 times for 118 yards. Quarterback Davis Alexander completed 26 of 38 passes (68.4%) for 336 yards, two touchdowns, and one carry for two yards. Running back Shomari Lawrence had eight carries for 63 yards.
Wide receiver Tyler Snead made nine catches for 163 yards and one touchdown, while Tyson Philpot made seven catches for 76 yards and one touchdown. The defense made 47 tackles, two tackles for loss, one sack, one forced fumble, one fumble, one fumble recovery, one interception, and one touchdown.
Hamilton’s offense had 339 yards (307 passing yards, 35 rushing yards, 3 yards lost), 27 first downs, 3 for 4 in the redzone, and the team was penalized two times for 30 yards. Quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell completed 34 of 39 passes (87.2%) for 307 yards and one interception.
Running back Larry Rountree III had eight carries for 23 yards. Jake Dolegala, Keric Wheatfall, and Ante Milanovic-Litre combined for seven carries for 12 yards and three rushing touchdowns. Wide receiver Kiondre Smith made six catches for 75 yards, and Kenny Lawler made four catches for 58 yards. The defense made 38 tackles, two tackles for loss, and one sack.
Next Thursday, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats visit the Winnipeg Blue Bombers at 8:30 pm on TSN, CFL+, and CBS Sports Network, while the Montreal Alouettes host the Toronto Argonauts on Friday at 7 pm on TSN and CFL+.
