Sean Whyte kicked the game-winning field goal in overtime, lifting the visiting B.C. Lions to a 41-38 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in CFL action Thursday at Hamilton Stadium.
Quarterback Nathan Rourke tossed for 408 yards and two touchdowns for the winners (4-5). Former Ticat James Butler rushed for 85 yards and a TD for B.C. and also made four catches for 55 yards and another major. Jevon Cottoy and Jeremiah Masoli added single touchdowns for the Lions, with Whyte adding four field goals and three extra points.
Bo Levi Mitchell threw for 305 yards and three touchdowns for the Ticats (6-3). Kiondre Smith, Shemar Bridges, Isaiah Wooden and Jevoni Robinson scored TDs for Hamilton, with Marc Liegghio kicking three field goals and three converts.
B.C. opened the scoring in a sloppy first half, with Whyte booting a 41-yard field goal (his 17th straight on the season and 30th overall) at 2:36.
The teams took turns forcing punts, but Hamilton cashed in when Wooden took a Carl Meyer boot back 84 yards to paydirt, with Liegghio converting to make it 7-3 Ticats. Meyers had been leading the league in net punting average coming into the contest.
B.C. then had a solid drive going but it stalled due to a penalty and Whyte kicked a 35-yard field goal to cut the margin to 7-6 after one quarter.
Between the first and second quarter, Hamilton hometown hero Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was honoured for his 2024-25 NBA championship season with the Oklahoma City Thunder and he thanked the fans and the city for their support. Earlier in the day, Gilgeous-Alexander was given the key to the city.
Shortly after the break, the Lions recovered a fumbled punt but couldn't convert, with Whyte missing a 53-yard field goal to see his string of successful makes snapped.
The teams exchanged several more punts and Liegghio saw his own consecutive field goal streak end when he missed a 42-yarder. On the return, he suffered an injury after being blocked to the ground.
With 18 seconds left in the half, Rourke hit Ayden Eberhart for a 57-yard pass down the left sideline and with 11 seconds left, Rourke found Cottoy with a short pass at the seven-yard line and he carried several defenders with him into the end zone. Whyte's convert made it 13-7 Lions at the half.
Both offences came to life after the break.
After throwing for only 56 yards in the first half, Mitchell nearly matched that on a single play, with a 54-yard connection to 12. On the next play, Mitchell hit Robinson for a touchdown. Punter Nikolas Constantinou, temporarily filling in for Liegghio, added the convert to make it 14-13 Ticats.
The Lions responded with a long drive of their own, culminating in a five-yard TD run by Butler, his third in two games against his former team. Whyte's convert made it 20-14 for B.C.
Hamilton's next drive was highlighted by a long circus catch by Kenny Lawler (which may have hit the ground, though the Ticats rushed to the line of scrimmage and got another play off before the previous one could be reviewed). Mitchell connected with Bridges on a short three-yard slant, with the recovered Liegghio back to add the convert to give Hamilton a 21-20 lead.
With 3:12 left in the quarter, Ticats rookie Ronan Horrall (a UBC product) recovered a muffed punt, giving Hamilton the ball on the B.C. 15. Two plays later, Mitchell found Smith for an eight-yard TD and Liegghio's convert upped the Hamilton margin to 28-20.
A long kickoff return by Seven McGee and a nifty second-down scramble from Rourke set B.C. up inside the Hamilton five. Backup QB Masoli came in and produced a three-yard rushing touchdown and fullback Riley Pickett rumbled in for a two-point convert to even things at 28-28 after three quarters.
Early in the fourth, Liegghio yanked another field goal attempt wide left, with Hamilton settling for a single to lead 29-28.
B.C. responded with another Whyte field goal, this time from 39 yards out, to put B.C. ahead 31-29 with 8:15 to play.
Liegghio restored the Hamilton lead, doinking a 43-yarder through off the left upright to put the Ticats ahead 32-31 with 4:03 left on the clock.
With B.C. driving and looking to retake the lead, Rourke was intercepted by Julian Howsare, who returned the pick 35 yards to the B.C. 38. Hamilton has the best turnover ratio in the CFL this season at plus-10.
The Ticats turned it into three more points, with Liegghio connecting from 43 yards out to make it 35-31 with 1:53 to play.
A long Rourke-Justin McInnis hookup on third down kept B.C.'s ensuing drive alive and with 38 seconds left, Rourke found Butler with a perfect strike in the right side of the end zone to put B.C. back ahead. Whyte's conversion gave B.C. a 38-35 lead.
Hamilton immediately marched back down the field and as time ran out, Liegghio's 29-yard field goal was true, forcing overtime at 38-38.
The Ticats got the ball first in OT. Tim White caught a deflected pass from Mitchell, but B.C. forced a fumble and recovered, setting up Whyte's 20-yard, game-winning field goal.
B.C. hosts the Montreal Alouettes on Saturday, Aug. 16 (4 p.m.). The Ticats visit the Saskatchewan Roughriders (noon) the same day.
NOTES: B.C. ended Hamilton's six-game winning streak... Butler made his first trip back to Hamilton after spending 2023 and 2024 with the Tiger-Cats... Hamilton came from behind to win the first meeting between the teams, 37-33, in Week 8. Mitchell has thrown for 300-plus passing yards in four straight games and seven times on the season... McInnis finished with eight catches for 159 yards and Eberhardt had 120 yards on three receptions.
