Hamilton Tiger-Cats' Kenneth George Jr. (3) tackles Edmonton Elks' Kurleigh Gittens Jr. (19) during first half CFL action in Edmonton, Sunday, July 28, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson
EDMONTON – Bo Levi Mitchell passed for 316 yards and five touchdowns, including two to Tim White, as the Hamilton Tiger-Cats won their second game in a row, defeating the hapless Edmonton Elks 44-28 on Sunday.
The Tiger-Cats improved to 2-5.
The Elks are still winless on the year, falling to 0-7, and 0-2 under interim head coach Jarious Jackson, who replaced Chris Jones.
Edmonton now has a depressing 2-28 record at home since Oct. 26, 2019.
The Elks got on the board with their opening drive, getting a 26-yard field goal from Boris Bede.
Hamilton’s first possession was not as successful, as Mitchell was intercepted by Elk Marcus Lewis at the Edmonton 49, eventual leading to a 47-yard field goal by Bede.
The Ticats responded with a 45-yard field goal by Marc Liegghio with three minutes remaining in the opening frame, and he added another one from 47 yards to close out the quarter and tie the game 6-6.
Edmonton regained the lead on a pair of punt singles, with Hamilton then getting a single of its own off of a kickoff.
The Tiger-Cats finally stopped the scoring by dribs and drabs when Kobe Jones blocked a punt which was recovered by DQ Thomas with 2 1/2 minutes left in the first half. That led directly to a 12-yard touchdown pass from Mitchell to Jevoni Robinson.
Hamilton completely took charge almost immediately after as Jamal Peters picked off Elks quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson. That led to a monster 66-yard passing play from Mitchell to Luther Hakunavanhu for a touchdown with a minute to play in the second quarter and a 21-8 lead at halftime.
The Ticats continued the onslaught to start the third, as Mitchell found White down the sidelines for a 12-yard passing major.
The drubbing continued with three minutes left in the third, as Mitchell went deep for a 59-yard touchdown pass to Kiondre Smith.
Hamilton made it 41-8 to start the fourth on a seven-yard touchdown pass to White.
Much to the delight of the Edmonton crowd, the Elks finally brought in backup QB Tre Ford and he engineered a long drive, culminating in a five-yard TD pass to Kurleigh Gittens Jr. The two-point convert attempt failed.
Liegghio added a 35-yard field goal.
Ford’s second possession was just as successful, another long drive capped off by a 20-yard touchdown pass to Gavin Cobb. The two-point convert pass to Eugene Lewis was good.
Edmonton’s Darrius Bratton recovered a fumble at the Hamilton 20, leading to another Ford TD pass, a 12-yarder to Lewis.
Ford ended up with 121 passing yards and three TDs in less than a quarter of play, to Bethel-Thompson’s 85 yards passing.
NOTES
The teams split their seasonal series last year, with each winning in the other team’s stadium “¦ Hamilton injuries included OL Dayton Black (Achilles), DB Stavros Katsantonis (leg), DL Luke Brubacher (hamstring) and WR Branden O’Leary-Orange (hamstring) “¦ Out for Edmonton were DL Sam Acheampong (knee), DB Scott Hunter (knee), LB Michael Brodrique (groin) and OL Hunter Steward (head) “¦ The last home win for Edmonton over Hamilton was on Aug. 4, 2017 “¦ Edmonton came into the game with 10 consecutive losses. All six of their previous losses this season were one possession games, including five consecutive defeats by six points or less “¦ Cats QB Mitchell is off to a great start. His 12 touchdown passes coming into the contest were already the most he’s thrown since 2019.
UP NEXT
Tiger-Cats: Host the Montreal Alouettes (6-1) on Friday.
Elks: Visit the Saskatchewan Roughriders (5-2) on Saturday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 28, 2024.
