Tiger-Cats Roll Past Redblacks for Fourth Straight Win
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By Noan Gagnon
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Summary:
- The Tiger-Cats defeated the Redblacks 30-15 on Sunday
- Bo-Levi Mitchell threw for 327 yards while Destin Talbert nabbed two interceptions.
- Ottawa quarterback Dru Brown left early with a concussion; the team fell to 1-6.
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats kept their hot streak alive Sunday night, cruising past the Ottawa Redblacks 30-15 for their fourth consecutive win.
The victory, which also secured back-to-back wins over Ottawa, pushed Hamilton (4-2) into first place in the CFL’s East Division.
Head Coach Milanovich: “I Thought We Were Resilient”
“I thought we were resilient”, said head coach Scott Milanovich after the game.
The 52-year-old American pro football coach and former player who also coached the Toronto Argonauts and Edmonton’s CFL side acknowledged the mistakes that prevented them from growing their 10-point lead, adding, “that’s football and they’re paid, too”
They’ve got talent, and we wanted to come out and win the first part of the third quarter. I felt like if we did that, we win the game. That’s what happened.
Fourth Defeat in a Row for Ottawa
While Hamilton looks like a team on the rise, Ottawa (1-6) heads into its bye week searching for answers after a fourth straight loss.
The Redblacks also lost quarterback Dru Brown early, after he was leveled by a blindside hit from Dashaun Amos in the second quarter. Brown left the game having completed 6-of-8 passes for 66 yards and an interception.
Head coach Bob Dyce confirmed Brown will go through concussion protocol.
“I think we do have to make sure that we are protecting quarterbacks to the best of our ability” Dyce said, adding he thought Amos should have been ejected but will review the play.
Dustin Crum came on in relief, going 16-for-22 for 149 yards with an interception. Ottawa’s offence, though, continued to sputter in key moments, a theme of their season so far.
Hamilton quarterback Bo-Levi Mitchell turned in a strong performance, throwing for 327 yards on 21-of-33 passing, with one touchdown and one interception.
Milanovich praised defence for setting the tone with takeaways.
They continued to keep them from getting back the momentum and kept giving us chances offensively
Defensive back Destin Talbert came up big with two interceptions.
We had the lead, but barely, felt like they were hanging around and we had to gain some distance. So, felt good, important, to make those plays.
Hamilton opened the game with a field goal and a quick strike to Kenny Lawler for his league-leading eighth touchdown. Ottawa stayed within reach on five field goals from Lewis Ward, but Hamilton put it away with second-half scores from Treshaun Ward and Ante Milanovic-Litre.
Ottawa’s Jovan Santos-Knox and Anthony Gosselin both celebrated their 100th CFL games. Both teams also lost key players to injury.
Up next, Hamilton will travel to face the B.C. Lions on July 27, while Ottawa will host Calgary on July 31.
