Running back Ante Milanovic-Litre took a direct snap and scored on a one-yard run in overtime to give the Hamilton Tiger-Cats a 32-29 win against the B.C. Lions in a nail-biting CFL game on Friday night.
On the previous play B.C. defender Ronald Kent Jr. was called for pass interference in the end zone after a review from the command centre, bringing boos from the crowd at BC Place Stadium.
Hamilton rallied from a 16-point deficit and scored two touchdowns late in the contest to win their fourth consecutive game.
With just over five minutes left, and Hamilton facing a third-and-three, quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell found Kiondre Smith in the end zone on a six-yard pass to cut the Lions lead to 23-18.
After a Lions two-and-out, Mitchell marched Hamilton down the field again, hitting Brendan O’Leary-Orange in the end zone on a 10-yard touchdown. The two-point convert was good, giving Hamilton a 26-23 lead.
With less than a minute remaining Lions quarterback Nathan Rourke connected with Keon Hatcher on passes of 23 and 15 yards to set up a 12-yard Sean Whyte field goal that tied the game 26-26.
On their first possession of overtime the Lions settled for a 24-yard Whyte field goal, giving B.C. a 29-26 lead.
Rourke scored on runs of seven and two yards for the Lions. He completed 22 of 36 passes for 264 yards and was sacked three times.
Whyte also kicked field goals of 50, 45 and 26 yards.
Running back William Stanback had 15 carries for 105 yards and went over the 1,000-yard mark for the third time in his career.
Mitchell completed 34 of 40 passes for 309 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. The Lions also sacked Mitchell three times.
Running back Greg Bell scored on a 13-yard run.
Marc Liegghio hit a 47-yard field goal.
The Lions were coming off a bye week following a 33-17 loss to Toronto. The Lions are 2-7 in their last nine games.
Earlier Friday, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (9-6) defeated the Edmonton Elks (5-11) 55-27.
The Lions (7-8) remain second in the CFL West, four points behind Winnipeg.
Hamilton (6-9) is fourth in the East.
Hamilton scored on its first possession of the third quarter cutting B.C.’s lead to 16-8. The drive was aided by a Lions roughing penalty and ended with Bell’s run. On the two-point convert attempt Mitchell pitched the ball to wide receiver Shema Bridges. He flipped the ball to receiver Tim White who threw a pass to an open Mitchell in the end zone.
The Lions answered with a drive powered by a 23-yard catch by Ayden Eberhardt and a 14-yard rush by Stanback where he carried a Tiger-Cat on his back. Rourke scored on a two-yard plunge.
The Lions scored points on their first two drives.
Terry Williams returned the opening kickoff 54 yards to the Hamilton 49. Rourke ended that drive with a seven-yard run. On B.C.’s next possession Whyte kicked a 26-yard field goal.
Early in the second quarter Rourke showed how elusive he can be, avoiding a sack by bobbing and weaving away from several Hamilton tacklers before throwing an incomplete pass.
The Hamilton offence struggled early. The Tiger-Cats went two-and-out on their first four drives and didn’t manage a first down until 3:34 of the second quarter.
The Lions went ahead 13-0 late in the second quarter after Kent Jr. intercepted a Mitchell pass. That led to a 50-yard Whyte field goal.
NOTES
To recognize Canada’s National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, Lion players wore special Orange Shirt Day warm-up jerseys that will be raffled off in support of the Orange Shirt Society and Indian Residential Schools Survivors’ Society (IRSS). … Lions defensive back Garry Peters registered a sack playing in his 100th CFL game. … B.C. had 140 yards net offence in the first quarter compared to 11 for Hamilton. … Tiger-Cats Stavros Katsantonis, Ryan Baker and Nic Cross all played football for the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds. … Bo Levi Mitchell has thrown for more than 4,000 yards for the fifth time in his career and first since 2018. … The Lions last win in Vancouver was July 13 when they beat Saskatchewan 35-20. They lost games to Winnipeg and Toronto at BC Place in a combined score of 53-28. …. B.C. defeated the Tiger-Cats 44-28 in their pervious meeting this year on July 7.
UP NEXT
Tiger-Cats: Host the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Friday, Oct. 4.
Lions: Host the Calgary Stampeders on Friday, Oct. 4.
