Hamilton Tiger Cats quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell (19) looks for the pass during CFL football game action against the Toronto Argonauts in Hamilton, Ont., Monday, Sept. 2, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Peter Power
HAMILTON – Bo Levi Mitchell threw for 347 yards and two TDs as the Hamilton Tiger-Cats earned a thrilling 31-28 Labour Day win over the Toronto Argonauts on Monday afternoon.
Mitchell finished 20-of-30 passing for Hamilton (3-9), which snapped a four-game losing streak. Marc Liegghioi’s 55-yard field goal at 12:23 of the fourth quarter gave the Ticats their winning margin.
Hamilton clinched the season series with Toronto (6-5) while moving six points behind the third-place Argos in the East Division standings.
Lirim Hajrullahu put Toronto ahead 28-27 with a 42-yard field goal at 4:21. He connected from 25 yards out 14 seconds into the quarter.
However, Nik Constantinou’s 74-yard single at 6:32 made it 28-28.
Hamilton’s Tim White had six catches for 180 yards and two touchdowns. Rookie Taulia Tagovailoa had the Ticats other touchdown while Liegghio booted the converts and three field goals and Constantinou added the single.
DaVaris Daniels and Chad Kelly had Toronto’s touchdowns. Hajrullahu kicked five field goals and a convert.
Kelly finished 24-of-30 passing for 322 yards with a TD and interception.
It didn’t result in a score, but Hamilton put together a smart 11-play, 58-yard drive that took 6:29 off the clock in the third. The Ticats started at their one-yard line when Jordan Bryd suffered a knee injury tracking down John Hagerty’s 69-yard punt that ended up bouncing out of bounds.
Kelly cut Hamilton’s lead to 27-22 with a 13-yard TD run at 2:20 of the third. It capped a 69-yard, four play march.
Liegghio staked Hamilton to a deserving 27-15 halftime lead with an 18-yard field goal to end the second. Mitchell was a solid 14-of-18 passing for 259 yards and two TDs, both to White, who had four receptions for 154 yards.
Toronto pulled to within 24-15 on Kelly’s 10-yard TD pass to Daniels at 12:50. Kelly tried running in for the two-point convert but was stopped short by Hamilton cornerback Jamal Peters, a former Argo.
Mitchell’s 70-yard bomb to White at 11:55 of the first put Hamilton ahead 21-3. Tagovailoa, the brother of Miami Dolphins star Tua Tagovailoa, ran three yards for the TD at 7:28 on his first CFL snap.
White caught Mitchell’s 57-yard touchdown strike to open the scoring at 1:35. It came just two plays after Richard Leonard’s interception and Toronto’s pass interference challenge was denied.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 2, 2024.
