For the first time since 2019 the Hamilton Tiger-Cats didn’t start the season with back-to-back losses.
The Ticats spoiled the party in front of a sellout crowd with a 37-27 victory over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on a rainy night Thursday at Princess Auto Stadium.
Hamilton scored three first half touchdowns and led by as many as 18 points. The Bombers scored a pair of TDs in the fourth quarter, but their comeback attempt still fell short as they lost their home opener for the second time in the last three years.
Bo Levi Mitchell had three passing touchdowns and threw for 287 yards as the Bombers defence stumbled in the first half for the second game in a row. Hamilton led 24-10 at the half after Mitchell posted 233 yards passing in the opening half.
The Bombers defence had only one sack and surrendered 455 yards of net offence.
“Didn’t tackle well enough,” said Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea. “There’s some plays you’d like to have back. Just sorta some mistakes that we’re not used to making, you know. I think when they watch the film, they’ll know, and I think they know now. Things I think are easily fixed, but tackling, at some point you just got to make the decision to wrap up and tackle somebody.”
Former Bombers receiver Keric Wheatfall had 102 yards receiving and Larry Rountree had 124 yards rushing for the Ticats in the win. Kiondre Smith had a pair of touchdown catches for Hamilton.
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Zach Collaros tossed for 421 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. Nic Demski, Ontaria Wilson, and Bryce Perkins scored the touchdowns for the Bombers. Tommy Nield had his first career hundred-yard game with a game-high 111 yards receiving.
“Offensively, we just left points on the field,” said Collaros. “It starts with me, turning the football over there in the second quarter and going into halftime. You can’t do that. That’s at least three points for us. Yeah, there’s a couple obviously when you look back at the film and you could see a lot of them at the sideline, you wish you had back that could lead to points. But it’s something we got to take and figure out and get better.”
With the Bombers falling behind in the game, Brady Oliveira finished with just 32 yards rushing.
“When you get down, it is going to be hard to run the football,” Oliveira said. “Every single week it’s going to look different. I just want to win the game. We didn’t win the game today which is unfortunate, but with us getting down like that it is going to be hard to run the football.
“I thought Zach played incredible. When he’s in the mode like that, you got to let him go. He was throwing the ball all over the field.”
Smith’s first touchdown in the opening quarter gave Hamilton a 10-3 lead.
Demski had a 41-yard touchdown catch in the final minute of the quarter to give the Bombers the upper hand. But touchdowns by Maximillian Mang and Smith in the second quarter gave the Tiger-Cats the lead for good.
After Major Williams was flagged for pass interference in the end zone in the third quarter, Jake Dolegala scored on a QB sneak to push the lead up to 18.
Wilson and Perkins had touchdowns in the fourth quarter, but the Bombers still fell short.
The Bombers fall to 1-1 for the season.
Tiger-Cats defensive back Jamal Peters had to be stretchered off the field in the first quarter and after taking a knee to his head, but the Tiger-Cats posted on social media that he’s been cleared and released from the hospital.
The Bombers had a record 15th consecutive sellout going back to the 2024 campaign.
The Bombers are on a bye next week and don’t play again until June 25 when they host the Edmonton Elks.
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