HAMILTON – Heading into Tim Hortons Field with a record of 6-0 in his career in the Labour Day Classic, Bo Levi Mitchell notched win No. 7 over the Toronto Argonauts as he led the Hamilton Tiger-Cats to a 31-28 win.
Mitchell threw for 347 yards and two touchdowns, both of which being grabbed by Tim White who tallied 180 yards on the day, while Greg Bell led the ground game with 78 yards on nine carries.
Chad Kelly threw for 322 yards, a touchdown and an interception and DaVaris Daniels tallied one touchdown and 74 yards through the air for the Argos with Ka’Deem Carey tallying 78 yards on 12 carries rushing.
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Just over a minute and a half into the game, Mitchell connected with White for a 57-yard score, capitalizing on a momentum shift as Richard Leonard grabbed an interception to give the Ticats the ball back.
Forcing a punt from the Argos defensively, Hamilton’s next drive saw Mitchell use his legs for a 14-yard first down as well as extending the drive with throws to Steven Dunbar Jr. and Greg Bell for a first down each.
The Ticats tallied another touchdown as former University of Maryland quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa rushed into the end zone himself for three yards, recording his first CFL touchdown.
Despite a solid run game plan, the Argonauts would settle for a field goal for their first points of the game, with Lirim Hajrullahu putting a 47-yard attempt through the uprights.
Mitchell wasted no time on the next drive, taking just one play to find White for his second of the day, a 70-yard touchdown reception that put the Ticats up by 18 points in the first quarter.
Needing to put points on the board, Hajrullahu would successfully put a 23-yard kick through for the Argos, but Marc Liegghio responded with a 38-yard kick of his own on Hamilton’s next drive to keep the lead extended.
A 36-yard kick from Hajrullahu, his third of the game, would be Toronto’s only points on the board until the Argos tallied their first touchdown of game thanks to DaVaris Daniels grabbing a 10-yard reception, but the two-point conversion attempt was unsuccessful for Toronto, overturned after initially being ruled in.
Liegghio’s 19-yard chip shot for Hamilton would close out the first half with the momentum on Hamilton’s side, but the Argos moved downfield quickly with 28 yards from Deonta McMahon followed by a 15-yard grab by Daniels before Kelly rushed 13 yards into the end zone.
Toronto’s defence held the Ticats scoreless in the quarter and forced two punts, and a 25-yard Hajrullahu field goal to start the fourth quarter suddenly turned a nearly 20-point deficit for Toronto into a two-point game, with the ball back in Toronto’s hands after sacking Mitchell on Hamilton’s first drive of the quarter.
Hajrullahu continued to play hero, as his 42-yard kick marked 13 unanswered points for the Argos who had their first lead of the game with just over 10 minutes to play.
Unable to convert on second-and-14, the Ticats needed a massive kick from Liegghio, who nailed a 55-yard attempt to give Hamilton a three-point lead with 2:36 left on the clock.
Hamilton’s defence forced a two-and-out after a sack and forcing an incompletion, enough to give the offence a chance to move downfield to run out the clock and hang on for the win that kept Mitchell’s Labour Day record undefeated.
The Ticats will be on bye during Week 14 action, while the Argonauts will head on the road again as they travel to TD Place Stadium to face off against the Ottawa REDBLACKS at 1:00 p.m. EDT on Saturday, Sept. 7.
