Bo Levi Mitchell dominates, Tiger-Cats defeat Stampeders 42-20 (& five other thoughts)

Photo courtesy: Bob Butrym/RFB Sport Photography

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats played their final home game of the 2024 season and gave the hometown faithful at Tim Hortons Field something to cheer about with a dominant 42-20 victory over the Calgary Stampeders on Friday.

Below are my thoughts on the game.

Pitching a tent in the pocket

Bo Levi Mitchell looked like a man possessed on Friday, completing 64.8 percent of his passes for 450 yards, five touchdowns and one interception in his second game against his old club. Mitchell came into the game 424 yards short of surpassing 5,000 yards for the third time in his career and he ensured that he wasn’t leaving anything to chance next week against the Redblacks. To put into perspective how good Mitchell was against the Stampeders, he threw for over 200 yards and four touchdowns in the first half, helping the Ticats rush out to a 30-0 lead.

This game was deemed ‘meaningless’ as both the Tiger-Cats and Stampeders are set to miss the playoffs, but it was obvious from the jump that Mitchell was motivated to grab that first win against his old team.

With one game remaining, the 34-year-old has completed 395-of-578 attempts for 5,026 yards, 31 touchdowns, and 17 interceptions. For my money, Mitchell should absolutely be the East Division’s nominee for Most Outstanding Player as he’s thrown for 1,000 more passing yards than anyone else in the league and will be the only quarterback to throw for over 5,000 yards as well as 30 touchdowns.

Had Hamilton made the playoffs, I believe he’d be a shoo-in for the award but I think media, fans, opposing players and front office staff have to recognize the quality of season that Mitchell’s put together regardless if he wins the award or not.

Power duo

When your quarterback throws for over 400 yards, your receivers are going to have some gaudy stat lines.

Tim White had himself an impressive day, catching five passes for 128 yards and two touchdowns, helping him surpass 1,000 yards receiving for the third consecutive season. White currently sits at 1,126 yards on the season and I think most people would consider that to be a down year for him due to his early season struggles. It goes to show just how good White is if he can still produce close to 1,200 yards and eight touchdowns in an incomplete year.

White wasn’t the only receiver on the Ticats to have a dominant night through the air as Steven Dunbar Jr. caught seven of Mitchell’s 11 pass attempts for 146 yards and two touchdowns, putting him just 21 yards short of reaching 1,000 for the second time in his career. Hamilton will have four guys who will be right around the milestone as Dunbar Jr., Shemar Bridges (933 yards) and Kiondre Smith (881 yards) have all had strong seasons in the Ticats receiving corps.

Money Mox

Bo Levi Mitchell wasn’t the only player who was motivated to play his old team as defensive back Jonathan Moxey was suiting up for the first time against the Stampeders after he was unceremoniously released after four seasons with the Red and White. During his time in Calgary, Moxey played in 50 games registering 78 total tackles, including 70 defensive tackles, three interceptions and 23 pass knockdowns while being named a CFL West All-Star in 2022, after posting a league-leading 13 pass knockdowns.

The 29-year-old grabbed an early interception off of Matthew Shiltz, and could have had another had he not been flagged for defensive pass interference later in the game. Moxey was shifted over to cornerback from his usual strong-side linebacker spot due to an injury to Jamal Peters and helped lockdown the boundary side of the field for the Ticats. While Mitchell’s performance will get the headlines, Moxey’s game shouldn’t be overlooked.

Let that man run

I thought Greg Bell’s explosive play style was sorely missed in Hamilton’s loss to Winnipeg two weeks ago but the San Diego State product came back with a vengeance against Calgary, rushing for 139 yards on 15 carries. He averaged 9.3 yards per carry and had a long of 52 against the Stamps, both season highs.

It was the first time Bell has rushed for over 100 yards in his young CFL career, with his previous high being 99 against the Ottawa Redblacks on September 14. Bell has 767 combined yards in seven games this season and looks to be a budding star in this league for years to come if he’s able to continue his upward progression.

26 to the rafters

The Tiger-Cats announced during Friday’s game that they will retire the number of legendary player Garney Henley during the team’s home opener next season, joining Angelo Mosca and Bernie Faloney as the only members of the organization to earn the honour of having their number retired.

Henley played 16 seasons with the Tiger-Cats from 1960 to 1976. In 216 games as a defensive back, receiver and kick returner, Henley totalled 4,657 receiving yards, 5,209 yards from scrimmage, 2,944 punt return yards, 9,100 combined yards, 59 interceptions and 56 total touchdowns.

We marvel at Travis Hunter playing both sides of the ball at the NCAA level (and rightfully so), which makes it even crazier that Henley played both sides of the ball and was also a huge contributor on special teams during his time in the CFL. I wish I was old enough to see him play but as I stated in my last article, the Ticats do a fantastic job of recognizing older players and their contributions both on and off the field and connecting younger generations of fans through these celebrations.

Henley is most deserving of this honour and I hope Ticats fans show up in droves next season to celebrate the player and person he was.

Up next

The Ticats will close out the season with a road game against the Ottawa Redblacks. Head coach Scott Milanovich said he would be playing the players who gave them the best chance to win in hopes of building momentum for next season so I would suspect we see a lot of starters for Hamilton as they attempt to go 8-10 for a third consecutive season.

Troy Durrell
Troy Durrell is a University of Calgary and Southern Alberta Institute of Technology graduate. He covers the CFL and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.