Marc Liegghio gives Tiger-Cats walk-off win against Elks
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats came out on top of a wild back-and-forth contest on Saturday evening which featured ten lead changes. The last of those lead changes came from the boot of Marc Liegghio who called game with a 41-yard field goal as Hamilton defeated Edmonton 29-27 at home.
The Elks weren’t able to score with their possession inside the three-minute warning, giving Mitchell and the Ticats the opportunity to put together a game-winning scoring drive. The Ticats obliged with a 12-play series which ended with Liegghio sending the Hamilton Stadium crowd to their feet.
Cody Fajardo‘s touchdown pass to Kurleigh Gittens Jr. in the third quarter looked like it would be the vital score as the second half’s only major but the Ticats would go on to score three field goals including the walk-off to get the better of their West Division opponent.
Mitchell finished 28-40 with 311 passing yards and two touchdown passes to go with one interception. Greg Bell carried the ball 17 times for 93 yards while catching seven passes for an additional 39 yards. Kenny Lawler collected a 15-yard touchdown in the second quarter to give his team a halftime lead.
Fajardo was 21-29, throwing for 280 yards and a pair of majors. Justin Rankin ran for 41 and caught a 72-yard touchdown catch in the first quarter.
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Brendan O’Leary-Orange and Bell picked up first downs on consecutive plays for the Tabbies on the game’s first drive. After four first-down pickups, an incomplete pass to Tim White across the middle meant that the tenth play of the drive would be a 45-yard Liegghio field goal.
On the next drive, Julian Howsare attacked Fajardo’s blindside, getting a strip sack on the quarterback, but thankfully for the visitors an Elks was able to recover. Stuck at second and long after losing 13 yards on the previous play, Fajardo threw a short pass to Justin Rankin who did the rest with a 72-yard score, his fourth touchdown reception of the season.
Hamilton’s offence kept things rolling on their second drive, this time getting into the red zone after Mitchell searched deep left for Kiondre Smith on a 36-yard play. Then, from 12 yards out, O’Leary-Orange maneuvered to the right pylon for a touchdown catch. Liegghio’s extra point put the home team up 10-7 late in the opening quarter.
The Elks made it four straight scoring drives out of the gate as both quarterbacks found success early. Edmonton’s pivot delivered to Gittens Jr. for a 23-yard gain but then Casey Sayles brought Fajardo to the turf on the last play of the first quarter for a loss of five. Vincent Blanchard came on the field to make a 42-yard field goal, tying the game at 10 apiece at the start of the second.
It would be the Elks who got the first defensive stop of the ballgame. A deep ball from Mitchell intended for White was nearly picked off by Jaylin Williams and then Joel Dublanko burst through for a sack on Hamilton’s quarterback, leading to a two-and-out.
A 44-yard punt return by Javon Leake helped setup the Elks at midfield for their next drive. Philip Ossai was the third Ticat to sack Fajardo, forcing Edmonton to punt it away for the first time. Jake Julien booted it out of the end zone to put Edmonton up 11-10.
After the two clubs traded field goals, the Tiger-Cats were able to get the final touchdown of the half. Mitchell and his offence worked quickly to retake the lead before halftime as Lawler capped off a 70-yard, seven-play series with a 15-yard grab. The Elks were able to reduce their halftime deficit to 20-17 courtesy of Blanchard’s 29-yard field goal, the final play of the half.
The Elks’ secondary produced the first turnover of the evening shortly after halftime. Mitchell tried to connect with Lawler down the left sideline but only found the gloves of the covering JJ Ross. Edmonton’s offence then covered 61 yards to get points off of the turnover. Gittens Jr. got low to collect a 12-yard touchdown pass from Fajardo as the Elks retook the lead at 24-20.
The hosts put together an eight-play scoring drive after getting the ball back. After Hamilton got to Edmonton’s 30, Mitchell looked to White in the middle of the field on second down but he was lit up by Williams and unable to make the catch. Liegghio’s 38-yard field goal late in the third made it a one-point game heading into the fourth.
Following a trio of punts, Hamilton was able to jump back on top early in the fourth. White picked up a pair of first downs and Lawler’s 12-yard reception brought the Tiger-Cats into Edmonton territory. Liegghio finished off the drive with a 40-yard field goal to make it 26-24 Hamilton.
The Elks responded with a field goal of their own to retake the lead late. Jamal Peters was penalized for unnecessary roughness on Arkell Smith to bring Edmonton inside Hamilton’s 10. A couple of plays later, Stavros Katsantonis got a crucial pass knockdown in the end zone to force the visitors into a field goal try. Blanchard’s chip shot put Edmonton ahead 27-26 with 4:45 remaining.
Needing to claw their way back, the Ticats came up short on their penultimate offensive possession. Scott Milanovich was unsuccessful on a challenge for defensive pass interference and then O’Leary-Orange couldn’t corral a pass from Mitchell on third down, giving Edmonton the football at midfield.
The Elks punted it away, giving the Ticats another opportunity to force overtime or find a potential game-winning score. A roughing the passer call against Jordan Williams gave Hamilton the break they needed, bringing them to midfield. Mitchell completed a pass to Tyler Ternowski to pick up a first goal and bring the Ticats into field goal range. From 41 yards out, Liegghio nailed his field goal attempt to give Hamilton the win at home.
In Week 17, the Tiger-Cats will be in Winnipeg for an afternoon game against the Blue Bombers on Saturday, September 27. The Elks will battle the Saskatchewan Roughriders at home later that evening.
