The Hamilton Tiger-Cats (4-6) hosted the Saskatchewan Roughriders (6-3) on Saturday night at Hamilton Stadium in their second and final meeting of the season. Harrison Frost started at quarterback for Hamilton, while Saskatchewan was missing a few players, including running back Quali Conley.
In the first quarter, Saskatchewan had the ball on the 21-yard line. Two plays in, quarterback Trevor Harris avoided pressure before throwing the ball to Dhel Duncan-Busby. The ball went off the hands of Duncan-Busby and was intercepted by Stavros Katsantonis for a 14-yard return to the 32-yard line. Hamilton running back Larry Rountree III rushed for five yards before Harrison Frost threw a 27-yard touchdown to Myron Mitchell for a 7-0 lead with 10:16 left.
Later, Saskatchewan had the ball on the 49-yard line. Trevor Harris threw three passes for nine yards, while Tommy Stevens rushed for five yards, and Star Thomas rushed for seven yards to the 40-yard line. Kicker Alex Hale made a 48-yard field goal. The Roughriders trailed the Tiger-Cats 7-3 at the end of the first quarter.
Hamilton’s offense had 68 yards and was 1 for 4 on second down, while Saskatchewan’s offense had 37 yards and was 2 for 6 on second down.
In the second quarter, Hamilton had the ball on the 38-yard line. Quarterback Harrison Frost threw five passes for 40 yards, plus a defensive pass interference penalty on Saskatchewan moved the ball to the seven-yard line. Hamilton was unable to get into the endzone. Kicker Marc Liegghio made a 15-yard field goal for a 10-3 lead with 9:03 left.
Saskatchewan had the ball on the 40-yard line. The offense moved the ball to the 33-yard line before kicker Alex Hale made a 41-yard field goal. The Roughriders trailed the Tiger-Cats 10-6 with 3:32 left.
Late in the second quarter, Saskatchewan had the ball on the 26-yard line. Trevor Harris threw five passes for 63 yards to the 21-yard line. Then, Harris threw a touchdown pass to Johnny Johnson III to give the Roughriders a 13-10 lead at halftime on a nine-play drive for 84 yards.
Saskatchewan’s offense had 158 yards. Trevor Harris went 14 of 21 for 129 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. Running back Star Thomas had five carries for 21 yards, and three catches for 25 yards. Wide receiver Johnny Johnson III made four catches for 30 yards and one touchdown, while Dhel Duncan-Busby made three catches for 28 yards.
Hamilton’s offense had 127 yards. Harrison Frost completed 12 of 16 passes (75%) for 112 yards and one touchdown. Running back Larry Rountree III had four carries for 14 yards. Wide receiver Kurleigh Gittens Jr. made three catches for 35 yards, while Myron Mitchell made two catches for 31 yards and one touchdown.
Saskatchewan got the ball to start the third quarter on the 48-yard line. Star Thomas started the drive with a three-yard run to the 51-yard line. They continued to move the ball until reaching the six-yard line before kicker Alex Hale made a 14-yard field goal for a 16-10 lead with 8:03 left.
Tre Ford was the new quarterback for Hamilton in the third quarter. He threw a six-yard pass to Maximilian Mang, and rushed for nine yards as the Tiger-Cats were stopped short of the first down. Saskatchewan took over on downs. Trevor Harris threw three passes for 27 yards, and Star Thomas rushed for a yard to the 44-yard line. Kicker Alex Hale made a 52-yard field goal for a 19-10 lead with 2:53 left.
Hamilton had the ball for the rest of the third quarter. Tre Ford threw two passes for 12 yards and ran for 15 yards, while Larry Rountree III rushed for three yards to the 26-yard line to end the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, Hamilton kicker Marc Liegghio made a 34-yard field goal. The Tiger-Cats trailed the Roughriders 19-13 with 14:17 left. After Saskatchewan went two-and-out, Hamilton had the ball on the 12-yard line. Tre Ford threw five passes for 57 yards to the 41-yard line.
On the next play, Ford avoided pressure before scrambling. Ford took a shot from Antoine Brooks just as he threw the ball to Keric Wheatfall, who made a diving catch for the touchdown. The Tiger-Cats took a 20-19 lead with 8:32 left on a six-play drive for 98 yards.
Saskatchewan went two-and-out on their next drive. Hamilton had the ball on the 51-yard line. Tre Ford threw two passes for 20 yards, rushed for 14 yards, and Larry Rountree III rushed for six yards to the 18-yard line. Kicker Marc Liegghio made a 25-yard field goal for a 23-19 lead with 3:51 left.
Late in the game, Hamilton moved the ball to the 30-yard line before kicker Marc Liegghio made a 38-yard field goal for a 26-19 lead with 51 seconds left. Saskatchewan had the ball on the 10-yard line. Trevor Harris attempted to throw the ball to Dhel Duncan-Busby, but it was intercepted by Reggie Stubblefield to end the game. The Tiger-Cats scored 16 unanswered points in a comeback win over the Roughriders by the final score of 26-19 to end a three-game losing streak.
Hamilton’s offense had 348 yards (263 passing yards, 87 rushing yards, 2 yards lost), 20 first downs, 0 for 1 in the redzone, and the team was penalized six times for 50 yards. Quarterback Tre Ford completed 13 of 17 passes (76.4%) for 151 yards, one touchdown, and four carries for 38 yards. Running back Larry Rountree III had 12 carries for 47 yards and three catches for 17 yards.
Wide receiver Keric Wheatfall made nine catches for 108 yards and one touchdown, while Myron Mitchell made five catches for 51 yards and one touchdown. The defense made 35 tackles, two tackles for loss, one sack, and two interceptions.
Saskatchewan’s offense had 244 yards (207 passing yards, 45 rushing yards, 8 yards lost), 16 first downs, 0 for 1 in the redzone, and the team was penalized eight times for 107 yards. Quarterback Trevor Harris completed 23 of 35 passes (65.7%) for 207 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions. Running back Star Thomas had nine carries for 36 yards and three catches for 25 yards.
Wide receiver KeeSean Johnson made four catches for 51 yards, while Johnny Johnson III made five catches for 45 yards and one touchdown. The defense made 42 tackles.
Next Saturday, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats visit the Toronto Argonauts at 7 pm on TSN, CBS Sports Network, and CFL+, while the Saskatchewan Roughriders visit the B.C. Lions on Sunday at 7 pm on TSN and CFL+.
