OTTAWA - The Hamilton Tiger-Cats had plenty to cheer about following a 30-15 victory over the Ottawa Redblacks Sunday night.
Not only was this the fourth straight win for the Tiger-Cats (4-2) but they鈥檙e now first in the CFL's East Division. It also marked consecutive victories over their division rival.
鈥淚 thought we were resilient,鈥 said Hamilton head coach Scott Milanovich. 鈥淲e talked at halftime. I felt like we let them in the game. We had a 10-point lead and made some mistakes that I think kept it from growing, but that鈥檚 football and they鈥檙e paid, too.
"They鈥檝e 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鈥檚 what happened.鈥
While the Tiger-Cats are surging in the right direction, the Redblacks (1-6) dropped their fourth straight and head into a bye week wondering how to turn things around.
The time off will be beneficial for a number of Ottawa players, including quarterback Dru Brown, who was knocked out of the game in the second quarter after taking a blindside hit from Dashaun Amos. He completed 6-of-8 passes for 66 yards and had one interception before being replaced by Dustin Crum.
Redblacks head coach Bob Dyce shared that Brown will be going through concussion protocol.
Dyce said that in the moment he felt the play should have resulted in Amos鈥檚 expulsion, but he鈥檒l be reviewing the play closely.
鈥淚 think we do have to make sure that we are protecting quarterbacks to the best of our ability.鈥
Crum was decent going 16-for-22 for 149 yards and one interception for the hosts.
Dyce had stressed the importance of capitalizing on critical moments, but as has been the case far too often this season, the Redblacks fell short.
Hamilton鈥檚 QB Bo-Levi Mitchell had a good night going 21-for-33 for 327 yards, one touchdown and one interception, but Milanovich credited his defence for the turnovers they generated.
鈥淭hey continued to keep them from getting back the momentum and kept giving us chances offensively,鈥 said Milanovich. 鈥淪o, hats off to them.鈥
Hamilton DB Destin Talbert had two interceptions that ended drives that could have turned into scoring plays.
鈥淲e had the lead, but barely, felt like they were hanging around and we had to gain some distance,鈥 said Talbert. 鈥淪o, felt good, important, to make those plays.鈥
Hamilton scored a field goal on its opening drive and, later in the first quarter, Brown was intercepted at Ottawa鈥檚 46-yard line. Two plays later, Mitchell threw a 41-yard touchdown pass to Kenny Lawler, giving him his league-leading eighth touchdown of the season to take a 10-0 lead.
Marc Liegghio added a 36-yard field goal late in the second quarter to round out Hamilton鈥檚 first half scoring.
Ottawa鈥檚 Lewis Ward connected on four field goals from 21, 28, 33 and 45 yards to bring Ottawa within one, to trail 13-12 at halftime.
With six minutes to play in the third quarter, Mitchell showed his veteran poise on second-and-18, finding Kiondre Smith for a 63-yard gain that set up first-and-goal at Ottawa鈥檚 three. On the next play, Treshaun Ward punched it in to give Hamilton a 20-12 lead.
Ottawa cut the deficit to 20-15 with Ward鈥檚 fifth field goal of the night, a 27-yarder, after Adarius Pickett intercepted Mitchell and returned it to Hamilton鈥檚 24.
Asked if doubt was starting to creep into the locker room, Crum said it鈥檚 more about players needing to be self reflective and being able to handle adversity.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a matter of being able to overcome that,鈥 he said. 鈥淒evelop that kind of killer instinct, that mindset, that no matter what happens we鈥檙e going to come out and win.鈥
Hamilton made it 27-15 midway through the fourth quarter after Ante Milanovic-Litre scored on a one-yard run and added a late field goal.
NOTES
Ottawa鈥檚 Jovan Santos-Knox and Anthony Gosselin each played their 100th career CFL game. The game was costly for both teams. Ottawa lost DL Cleyon Laing, while Hamilton OL Jordan Murray had to be carted off.
UP NEXT
Tiger-Cats: Visit the B.C. Lions on Sunday, July 27.
Redblacks: Host the Calgary Stampeders on Thursday, July 31.
This report by 春色直播was first published July 20, 2025.
