The Hamilton Tiger-Cats found themselves in the win column for the first time in 2024 after an exciting 27-24 victory over the Toronto Argonauts Saturday night at Tim Hortons Field.
Below are my thoughts on the game.
Off to the races
Hamilton has struggled to score points early in games this season and coming into their Week 7 matchup, the Tabbies had only scored a combined 11 points in the first quarter while allowing a whopping 53. That changed on Saturday as the Ticats found themselves up 7-0 on their second offensive possession, thanks to a blocked punt by Ante Milanovic-Litre that was capped off by a nine-yard James Butler rushing touchdown one play later.
Maybe more importantly, they didn’t allow Toronto to garner a single point in the quarter and got a raucous crowd at Tim Hortons Field into the game early, an energy they kept up throughout the remainder of the contest. Hamilton’s strong start didn’t stop there as they went up 17-0 and were able to ride that lead the rest of the way to victory.
Can’t block me
Hamilton’s defensive line was terrific against Toronto. Former Argonaut DeWayne Hendrix had his best game in black and gold, registering two tackles and a sack while causing havoc beside all-star Casey Sayles, who was his usual game-wrecking self. They routinely put pressure on Toronto quarterback Cameron Dukes and overall made life miserable for the Argonauts’ offence for much of the contest.
The play of the line opened up opportunities for other defensive players too, as D.Q. Thomas notched his first sack of the season and Kyle Wilson forced a fumble that resulted in a Destin Talbert touchdown. If Hamilton can get more performances like that from their front seven over the next 12 games, the Ticats’ defence will be in a much better spot than they were through the first five.
He’s more than just a Butler
James Butler had himself another solid game on Saturday. After finishing Week 5 with nine receptions for 108 yards and a touchdown, he followed that up with 11 carries for 50 yards with an average of 4.5 yards per rush and four receptions for 53 yards and a touchdown.
Butler being able to rush for the tough yards and break off a couple of decent runs is huge for the success of Hamilton’s offence as it allows offensive play caller Scott Milanovich to call a more balanced game while keeping the opposition from pinning its ears back and putting pressure on Bo Levi Mitchell.
Two of Butler’s best two games last season were against Hamilton’s next opponent, the Edmonton Elks, where he rushed for 241 combined yards and two touchdowns on 28 carries. If last season was any indication, Butler’s strong play should continue into next week.
Familiar face
There were several players on both sides who were facing their former team for the first time. Richie Sindani, Fraser Sopik and Lirim Hajrullahu are now in double blue with Deionte Knight, Brandon Barlow, DeWayne Hendrix, Trevor Hoyte, and Jamal Peters now donning the black and gold.
It was apparent Peters was fired up to play his old teammates on Saturday as he laid the lumber on a few different Argonauts receivers, bringing that tough, hard-hitting, smash-mouth mentality that Ticats fans got accustomed to seeing from their defence. The stat sheet says he only finished with three tackles, but his impact on the game went beyond statistics.
Hendrix was very good, while Barlow and Hoyte both chipped in as well with a combined five tackles. Overall, I think the five former Argos were pleased with how the result turned out.
Special teams, special plays, special players
Davon ‘Smoke’ Harris has been a nice addition to the Hamilton special teams unit since being inserted into the lineup against B.C. The diminutive returner returned four kickoffs for 53 yards and five punts for 96 yards, including a 38-yard field-flipping return while averaging close to 20 yards per opportunity. Harris also saw his first action on offence, catching one pass for eight yards.
Hamilton wasn’t getting much from the return game early in the season as Lawrence Woods III struggled, but it appears the Steeltown faithful might have a new returner that will get them out of their seats on a weekly basis.
Back to back
After missing two games with injury, Canadian wideout Luther Hakunavanhu has quietly made an impact in the Ticats’ offence. The numbers aren’t eye-popping, as he only has four receptions on seven targets for 48 yards, but the six-foot-four target from York University has scored touchdowns in back-to-back games, including a 23-yard reception late in the third quarter to put Hamilton up 27-10.
Hakunavanhu has previous chemistry with Bo Levi Mitchell from their time together in Calgary so that could be a connection worth keeping an eye on as the season progresses.
Tackling machine
Linebacker was a question mark for Hamilton heading into 2024 as the team lost future Hall of Famer Simoni Lawrence and irascible SAM Chris Edwards to retirement, as well as all-star middle linebacker Jameer Thurman to Saskatchewan. While the group has had some struggles this year, I think third-year man Kyle Wilson has stepped up nicely to fill the void of the three departures.
Wilson finished Saturday with eight defensive tackles and a forced fumble, bringing his season total to 39 through six games, tops in the CFL. Wilson is on pace for 117 tackles this season, which would be more than any Ticats linebacker finished with last season and the first to go over the century mark since Jovan Santos-Knox in 2022. What makes the achievement even more impressive is a lot of pundits weren’t expecting Wilson to make his return from last season’s Achilles injury until late July or early August.
Wilson has to be Hamilton’s early favourite for Most Outstanding Defensive Player and if he keeps up his pace — the Ticats get back into the playoff conversation — he could be in the discussion to be the East Division representative for the award.
Not relying on Bo
A pleasant surprise this season has been the play of Bo Levi Mitchell. I may sound like a broken record saying that but the 34-year-old gunslinger has had a M.O.P. start to his season as he’s on pace for close to 6,000 yards and 35 touchdowns.
Mitchell was solid on Saturday, completing 68.9 percent of his passes for 270 yards with one touchdown and one interception. What was different from the previous games this season was Mitchell was able to manage the game instead of trying to force the ball downfield in search of an explosion play because Hamilton was playing from behind.
Statistically, it wasn’t his best game of the season but I’m sure Mitchell and the Ticats will take the trade off of less gaudy numbers for more victories.
Up next
Hamilton travels to Edmonton next Sunday to face the winless Elks at Commonwealth Stadium. They look to put together consecutive wins for the first time since Week 17 and 18 last year after they defeated Calgary and Saskatchewan in back-to-back weeks. Hamilton and Edmonton split the season series in 2023, with Hamilton winning on the road 37-29 in July before dropping the rematch 24-10 in a lightning-delayed game at Tim Hortons Field.
The game could go a long way in determining if the Ticats have righted the ship to get back into the East Division race or if this victory over Toronto was just a blip on the radar.
