Article by Josh Thomas
They don’t ask how, they ask how many.
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats did not bring their best game to Edmonton, but managed to escape with a 28-24 win on Saturday.
Big second-half performances from Kiondre Smith and the Tiger-Cats defence propelled Hamilton to their sixth straight win over three hours after the opening kick, thanks to a weather delay.
Here are my thoughts on a wacky one.
Fast-paced first quarter
Isaiah Wooden opened the festivities in Edmonton with a bang, taking the opening kickoff 75 yards to the Edmonton 29. Two plays later, Kiondre Smith was celebrating in the endzone.
Edmonton responded with a methodical drive starting at their own 38 and culminating in a touchdown.
The next time Hamilton touched the ball, they drove the field and Greg Bell scampered in to make it 14-7.
By the time the first quarter ended, I wondered if either defence would make a stop all game. The teams looked a little more settled in the second quarter, and Edmonton was the only team to find the endzone, heading into the locker room tied 14-14 at the half.
Unusual missed connections
For all of the offence both teams provided, there were a few costly gaffes on both sides of the ball in this one.
Kenny Lawler was wide open by a good five yards or more when Bo Levi Mitchell outright missed him on a deep ball, which fell short and luckily bounced off the helmet of a recovering Elks defender.
That was a huge miscue, which proved to be the difference between Hamilton heading into halftime tied or with a lead. Fortunately, Edmonton was also in a giving mood and had a costly drop of their own (more on that later).
Touchdown … nevermind … turnover
We have to find a way to get scoring plays reviewed before teams are lined up for a kickoff.
Section X had finished high-fiving around me, and the Elks’ entire touchdown song had played through when the PA announcer informed both teams that Elks backup quarterback Cole Snyder did not break into the end zone in the second quarter.
Credit to Hamilton’s defence for getting the stop on second down and coming back to finish the job. This was a humungous goal-line stand.
A tale of two halves for the defence
Hamilton looked out of sorts in the secondary and was unable to stop the Elks from moving the ball for the first two quarters of the game.
In the second half, and particularly after a lengthy rain delay toward the end of the third quarter, the Tiger-Cats’ defence was much closer to their usual selves.
The defence allowed 21 of the 24 points they gave up by the 13-minute mark in the 3rd quarter. They allowed one field goal the rest of the way despite the Elks starting at or within two yards of their own 40 twice, and at their own 50 once.
One of those drives was extended by a ridiculous effort from Elk’s punter Cody Grace to recover his own punt at the Hamilton 28. Still, the defence bent but didn’t break, conceding a field goal.
The defensive performance in the second half was the difference for me in this one.
Kiondre heating up
The last two weeks have been the Kiondre Smith show when it comes to the receiving corps. While Kenny Lawler has been more subdued, Smith has taken the spotlight with a handful of monster catches.
A drive extender near the goal line, his touchdown reception, and a catch in traffic on second-and-long come to mind when thinking about his seven-reception, 138-yard performance.
The latter of the three big plays was the nicest in my opinion, as Smith took a big hit as soon as he made the play, but was able to maintain possession.
When they needed it most
Down three after giving the ball back to the Elks, Hamilton flat out needed to avoid giving up seven to stay in the game.
Cue the Bakersfield Bandit.
Stavros Katsantonis gave Hamilton the ball back two plays into the drive with his third interception of the season. This one was not the most impressive of the three, but it sure was the biggest.
Catching a break
Edmonton fans, my heart goes out to you. The makings of a game-winning drive were all there. Cody Fajardo extended it with his legs, the Elks were moving the ball, then they called the perfect play in the red zone and had a guy wide open.
When I say wide open, Fajardo had Kaion Julien-Grant with at least two steps on his DB. At least.
The ball got there before any Ticat DB made a play on it; it was a guaranteed touchdown.
Then it wasn’t. Julien-Grant straight up dropped the football. Unlike him, and an incredibly fortunate break for Hamilton. A major would have put a lot of pressure back on the Ticats’ offence. Instead, Hamilton was left with third-and-10 and an opportunity to force a turnover on downs with around a minute to go.
It was one they would cash in on. Ball game.
Sliding into ninth overall
Bo Levi Mitchell did not take long to go from 10th on the all-time passing list to ninth, surpassing Doug Flutie early in this one.
Mitchell finished the game with 350 yards and three touchdowns. I don’t think we need to be having a conversation about him scaring the top two on the list yet, but with the way he’s playing, Mitchell is not done climbing the ranks.
The cardiac Cats
While there were plenty of highs throughout this one, the lows were there, too. It wasn’t a great first half of football from the defence, and the offence felt a little hiccup prior to the rain delay to end the third.
The Tiger-Cats have been the best fourth-quarter team in the CFL this season, and when the dust settled, they found a way to get it done again.
They got better as the fourth quarter went on and made every ‘have to have’ play they needed along the way, on both sides of the ball. The Katsantonis interception, a handful of first downs on second-and-long, a touchdown drive, a stop on Edmonton’s would-be game-winning drive, and a first down to ice it.
Hamilton got all of the above in a three-minute span to end this contest.
The best teams show up during winning time, and winning time is when Hamilton is at their very best.
