OTTAWA — Lewis Ward went five-for-five on field goals Friday as the Ottawa Redblacks snapped a five-game losing streak with a 37-31 win over the visiting Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
Ottawa will now travel to Toronto next week for the East Division semifinal.
Redblacks quarterback Dru Brown threw for 445 yards and three touchdowns in the win. His performance included a 66-yard pass to Kahil Pimpleton with under two minutes to play, marking the seventh and final lead change of the game and giving the Redblacks a 37-31 lead following the two-point conversion.
The defence held the Tiger-Cats on a first and goal from the one-yard line as time expired stopping three run attempts.
Hamilton quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell had 425 yards through the air with a touchdown and one interception.
The lead changed hands throughout three quarters and continued into the final frame, where Ante Litre scored on a two-yard run in the opening seconds, giving Hamilton a 28-23 lead after the two-point conversion failed.
Three minutes later, Ward's 47-yard field goal trimmed the lead to 28-26. With 4:28 remaining, he connected from 32 yards out, marking another lead change and giving Ottawa a 29-28 advantage. The sixth, but not final, lead change occurred when Liegghio booted a 46-yard field goal at 12:40 of the fourth quarter, putting Hamilton ahead 31-29.
After a handful of unsuccessful drives by both teams, the Tiger-Cats opened the scoring at 8:21 of the first quarter on a 17-yard field goal off the foot of Marc Liegghio for a 3-0 lead. The lead was short-lived as the Redblacks drove the ball 80 yards on the following possession and capped it off with a 12-yard touchdown pass from Brown to Bralon Addison. The Ward conversion made it 7-3 Redblacks after one quarter.
The Redblacks upped their lead to 10-3 as Ward nailed a 23-yard field goal at 2:31 of the second quarter. The big play on the drive was a 51-yard catch-and-run from Brown to Pimpleton.
The Tiger-Cats tied the game during the first of four straight scoring drives by both teams before the end of the half. Mitchell connected with Kiandre Smith on a 12-yard touchdown pass at 9:01. A little more than three minutes later, Ward gave the Redblacks a 13-10 lead with a 31-yard field goal.
Liegghio tied the game at 13 for the Tiger-Cats with a 36-yard field goal at 13:44 and then Brown had a 42-yard run setting up a four-yard touchdown pass to Jaelon Acklin. The Ward conversion gave Ottawa a 20-13 lead but left Hamilton with just 15 seconds to work with in the half.
The third quarter began with an opening drive by the Tiger-Cats that ended in a 23-yard field goal by Liegghio at 4:17 cutting the Ottawa lead to 20-16. They then took a 22-20 lead as Greg Bell ended their second possession of the half with a 21-yard touchdown run, but the conversion attempt was wide.
In the final minute of the quarter, Ward gave the Redblacks their fourth lead of the game as his 33-yard field goal put them up 23-22.
NOTES - The Tiger-Cats won two of their three games against Ottawa this season, including a 37-21 victory on Sept. 14 that marked the start of the Redblacks' losing streak.
UP NEXT - While the Tiger-Cats' season is over, the Redblacks will travel to Toronto next Saturday to face the Argonauts in the East semifinal.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 25, 2024.
Darren Desaulniers, The Canadian Press
