2 weeks Ago By Canadian Press
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..
