OTTAWA — The Ottawa Redblacks capped off their regular season with a wild 37-31 victory over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Friday night, building momentum as they head into the playoffs.
The teams combined for 1,067 yards, including 445 yards through the air from Redblacks quarterback Dru Brown and 425 passing yards from Bo Levi Mitchell on the other side.
There were eight combined lead changes, and the game ended on a goal-line stand as the Redblacks' defence held the Tiger-Cats on a first-and-goal from the one, stopping three consecutive run attempts.
More importantly, the Redblacks halted a five-game losing streak and will head into the East Division semifinal in Toronto next week with a much-needed boost.
“It feels good going into the playoffs with a victory,” Redblacks coach Bob Dyce said. "There’s a lot of positives to build off in that game. The defence made some plays early and they made the most important plays of the game with the one-yard line stop. That’s what you have to do in clutch moments and be your best. They did that."
Hamilton entered Friday's game aware that their season was coming to a close, regardless of the outcome.
Ottawa kicker Lewis Ward went five-for-five in field goals Friday while Kalil Pimpleton had six catches for 167 yards including a game-winning 65-yard touchdown. Dominique Rhymes pulled down six catches for 115 yards pushing him over 1,000 yards receiving for the third time in his career.
“Happy for Dom. It’s funny, at halftime I asked him to talk to the team. Dom’s been a really good leader for us and this game means a lot to him. This team means a lot to him, and to see him be able to have this success is just fantastic,” Dyce said.
Bralon Addison and Jaelon Acklin also caught touchdown passes from Brown, who gave accolades to Mitchell post-game.
“I appreciate how he plays the game, and that’s kind of who he’s been through his career. He throws it and asks questions later and I try to do the same. I appreciate watching him go out there and do that. He’s a great guy to watch and learn from,” Brown said.
Mitchell threw for a touchdown and one interception while setting a single-season passing record for the Tiger-Cats with over 5,400 yards in 2024.
“I’m proud of this team and the resiliency. We pulled together and got the right guys on the bus, trusted in the staff and trusted in each other," Mitchell said. “Emotions are up and down right now and you feel like you got (this game) stolen from you, but hats off to them. They made a hell of a goal-line stand and good luck to them in the playoffs.
The Tiger-Cats opened the scoring first on a 17-yard field goal from Marc Liegghio, but the Redblacks came back and took a 7-3 lead for the first lead change. They led 20-13 at the half.
There were six lead changes in the second half, including four in the fourth quarter.
“That was tough, especially the way it ended. We played hard, came back in the second half and you get three shots from the one (yard line), you have to get one in. They did a better job than us,” Hamilton coach Scott Milanovich.
Liegghio finished four-for-four in field goal attempts, including a 46-yarder that gave Hamilton a late 31-29 lead. Greg Bell and Anti Litre each had a rushing touchdown, while Kiondre Smith caught one from Mitchell.
NOTES — The Tiger-Cats won two of their three games against Ottawa this season, including a 37-21 victory on Sept. 14 that marked the start of the Redblacks' losing streak.
UP NEXT — While the Tiger-Cats' season is over, the Redblacks will travel to Toronto next Saturday to face the Argonauts in the East semifinal.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 25, 2024.
Darren Desaulniers, The Canadian Press
