Week 18 @ BC Lions – BC Place, October 23
Result: 13-40 (Loss)
Top Performers:
- Mathews (HAM): 22/32, 270 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs
- Harris (BC): 16 att, 119 yards, 2 TDs
- Tasker (HAM): 5 rec, 93 yards, 1 TD
- Phillips (BC): 1 tackle, 2 INTs
Just three plays into the second meeting between the Tiger-Cats and Lions, Jeff Mathews and Luke Tasker connected for a 64-yard touchdown, giving the Ticats an early 6-0 lead. On the ensuing drive, the Lions managed to flip the field position before punting the ball, forcing the Ticats to concede a safety on their next possession.
Chris Rainey’s 67-yard return on the Ticats following kickoff set Jonathon Jennings up for a 20-yard touchdown pass to Shawn Gore, putting BC up 8-6. The remainder of the first quarter featured little to write home about— mainly two-and-outs and punts—but the Lions would return to the scoreboard on another touchdown pass, immediately following a forced fumble deep in Hamilton territory.
Early in the second quarter, Jennings and Chris Rainey connected on the rookie quarterback’s third touchdown toss of the contest, giving the Lions a 23-6 lead. A punt single from Richie Leone closed out the first-half scoring with a 24-6 advantage for BC. Despite recording five more minutes of possession in the half, the Ticats trailed by 18 points; in total, the Lions needed just four offensive plays on their three touchdown drives in the half.
The Lions picked off Mathews twice in the second half and forced a turnover on downs, while Andrew Harris found the end zone for two rushing TDs to effectively squash any comeback attempt by the Ticats. Harris rushed for 111 yards, while Hamilton’s offence was held to just 180 total yards in the half. The Lions won by a final score of 40-13, holding the Ticats to their second-lowest single-game score of the season.
Turning Point: A forced fumble deep in Hamilton territory set the Lions offence up for their second one-play touchdown drive of the first half. The score would give them just a nine-point lead, but the Lions would only build on that foundation, never looking back on their way to a 27-point victory.
Week 19 vs. Ottawa Redblacks – Tim Hortons Field, November 1
Result: 6-12 (Loss)
Top Performers:
- Mathews (HAM): 20/35, 160 yards, 2 INTs
- Powell (OTT): 15 att, 87 yards
- Sinkfield (HAM): 8 rec, 55 yards
- Kanneh (OTT): 6 tackles, 1 INT, 1 FF
With two weeks remaining in the 2015 season, the Tiger-Cats and Redblacks— tied for the East Division lead— were slated to face off in a home-and-home to determine the division’s regular-season winner and home-field advantage in the playoffs.
The Ticats defence came up big early in the first meeting between the two teams, halting the Redblacks first three drives in the red zone to hold them to just three field goals in the first quarter. The second quarter saw the Ticats offence push back with two field goals of their own, narrowing the Ottawa lead to 9-6 after a defensive first half. The Redblacks had 182 total yards of offence in the half, but managed just 21 yards on 3-of-8 passing after crossing over the Hamilton 30-yard line. The Ticats also struggled deep in opposition territory, managing just five yards on four plays inside the Redblacks’ 30-yard marker.
A 71-yard drive early in the third quarter gave the Ticats a scoring opportunity from the Redblacks 10-yard line. Ottawa defensive back Abdul Kanneh made an acrobatic interception on an end zone-bound pass from Jeff Mathews, though, holding the Ticats off the scoreboard on the drive. Neither team’s offence managed to work the ball past the opposition’s 50-yard line for the rest of the third quarter.
After Ottawa added another field goal to double their lead early in the fourth quarter, the Ticats manufactured another drive with touchdown potential. After a 67-yard march got them to the Ottawa 8-yard line, this drive was derailed by an end zone interception as well, this time by John Boyett.
Ticats defensive back Brandon Stewart answered the Redblacks interception with a pick six on the very next play; however, the play was called back on two penalties, negating the touchdown but not the interception. The CFL later announced that neither infraction was indeed a penalty, but that did not restore the six points to Hamilton’s side of the scoreboard.
Starting quarterback Jeff Mathews— who made five starts for the Ticats in the second half of the season — was removed from the game late after suffering a head injury. Backup Jacory Harris and the Black and Gold offence managed to push the ball into Ottawa territory in the waning moments of the game, but their efforts ultimately fell short at the Redblacks 23-yard line as the clock expired.
Turning Point: Back-to-back plays in the fourth quarter ultimately changed the outcome of the game for the Ticats. With the opportunity to tie up the contest with a score, Jeff Mathews’ second red zone interception of the game gave the Redblacks a chance to essentially ice the contest with another score of their own. Brandon Stewart made an immediate impact play on the other end of the field, returning a Burris pass for a Hamilton touchdown, only to have the score erased by penalty flags. If the Ticats were able to score a major on either play, the first game of the home-and-home with Ottawa likely would have had a different victor.
Week 20 @ Ottawa Redblacks – TD Place, November 7
Result: 28-44 (Loss)
Top Performers:
- Burris (OTT): 28/37, 368 yards, 6 TDs, 1 INT
- Powell (OTT): 17 att, 119 yards
- Ellingson (OTT): 8 rec, 182 yards, 3 TDs
- Norwood (HAM): 4 tackles, 1 INT, 1 FF
The Tiger-Cats travelled to Ottawa in the final week of the season, needing a win by at least six points to secure first place in the East Division and a home playoff date for the East Final. The Redblacks simply needed a win or a loss by fewer than six points to clinch the same fate for themselves.
Henry Burris and the Redblacks offence struck early and often in the backend of the season-ending home-and-home. A field goal from Chris Milo kicked off the scoring for the Redblacks, while Burris and receiver Greg Ellingson connected for touchdowns twice in the frame, exiting the first quarter with a 17-0 lead.
Jacory Harris began the game under centre for the Black and Gold, but Jeremiah Masoli entered in the second quarter, a move which seemed to breathe life into the unit. Along with the help of an Eric Norwood interception return to the goal-line and a long Terrell Sinkfield punt return, Masoli and the Ticats offence stormed back for 20 consecutive points in the second quarter. Justin Medlock was successful on two field goals in the quarter, adding six points on top of Masoli’s one-yard touchdown run and three-yard touchdown pass to Andy Fantuz to take a 20-17 lead.
Trailing by three at halftime, Ottawa stormed out of the gates in the second half; less than 10 minutes into the frame, Burris had found Patrick Lavoie for his second touchdown of the season, and Ellingson for his third of the game to open up a 31-20 lead. The Ticats pulled back within five points when Rico Murray recovered and returned the team’s second onside punt touchdown of the season.
After Murray’s surprise touchdown Burris and the Redblacks answered with yet another passing touchdown, opening the lead back to 13 points in the fourth quarter. Brandon Banks took the ensuing extra point attempt all the way to the Redblacks end zone for the first missed convert return score in CFL history, adding two points for Hamilton on a 127-yard return.
Banks’ return was the final score for the Ticats, while Ottawa would add another major to finish the game with a 44-28 advantage. In the two-point series, the Redblacks outscored Hamilton 56-32 to secure a berth in the East Division Final.
Turning Point: While a number of specific plays were highly impactful, the turning point in this game was the pace that was established from the get-go. The game quickly turned into an offensive shootout, something which Coach Kent Austin hoped to avoid with injuries preventing both Zach Collaros and Jeff Mathews from suiting up. Austin made it clear after the game that he felt his team was not prepared to match the Redblacks in an offensive affair, and they unfortunately were dragged into it from the beginning in Week 20.
East Semi-Final vs. Toronto – Tim Hortons Field, November 15
Result: 25-22 (Win)
Top Performers:
- Masoli (HAM): 12/18, 141 passing yards, 12 att, 58 rushing yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT
- Gable (HAM): 15 attempts, 89 yards
- Spencer (TOR): 8 receptions, 84 yards
- Laurent (HAM): 3 tackles, 2 sacks
The East Semi-Final pitted the Tiger-Cats and Argonauts in their fourth meeting of 2015 and first playoff duel since 2013.
Veteran kicker Justin Medlock began a memorable day for himself and the Ticats with a 55-yard field goal in the first quarter. The long field goal, which was two yards shorter than Medlock’s season-high, was the second longest field goal in CFL playoff history and gave the Ticats an early 3-0 lead.
A second field goal from Medlock— this one from just 22 yards out—was the lone remaining score in the first quarter, giving the Ticats a 6-0 lead after 15 minutes. The Argos got on the board with a 51-yard field goal from Swayze Waters in the second quarter, proceeding to jump into the lead on a Brandon Whitaker rushing touchdown from two yards out. The Ticats ended the half with fewer than 80 total yards of offence and just six first downs, trailing the Argos 10-6.
After the teams traded interceptions between the 30-yard lines to begin the third quarter, the Argos notched their third consecutive score. Ricky Ray was able to extend a goal-line play to buy just enough time to find Chad Owens in the front of the Hamilton end zone, opening up an 18-6 Toronto lead.
Ticats quarterback Jeremiah Masoli—making his first start of the 2015 season and his first career playoff start— was briefly pulled from the game after an interception in the third quarter. After a three-series hiatus, Masoli returned to the field following the Ray touchdown, hoping to lead the Ticats on an improbable comeback.
On his first drive back, Masoli capped off an 87-yard march with a 42-yard passing touchdown to Bakari Grant. The Argos would add a point on the first of two missed field goals for Waters, but would give up another two points on a conceded safety; with 12:07 remaining, the Argos led 19-15. A big return from Brandon Banks on the subsequent kickoff, aided by a face masking penalty, gave the Ticats great field position on their next drive. Five rushing plays later Masoli would add a rushing touchdown to his previous passing TD, pushing the Ticats into a three-point lead.
He missed another 40-yard field goal attempt into the wind with 2:40 remaining, but Waters would not make a mistake on his second game-tying effort, evening up the score at 22-22 with 49 seconds remaining. The Ticats offence took over possession and drove the ball 40 yards in 46 seconds, setting up a potential game-winning kick for Medlock. The veteran kicker delivered with ease, completing the Ticats comeback victory (25-22) and booking them a ticket to Ottawa for the East Final.
Turning Point: When Ricky Ray’s touchdown pass gave the Argos an 18-6 lead, the Ticats looked to be up against the ropes, down 12 points with a sputtering offence. Jeremiah Masoli re-entered the game after a rough start had led to his removal, hoping to change the script in his first career playoff start. Masoli was able to do just that, re-writing himself in as the hero; from his re-insertion until the end of the game the young quarterback completed 7-of-7 passes for 115 yards and a touchdown, while rushing for another 17 yards and a TD on five carries.
East Final at Ottawa Redblacks – TD Place, November 22
Result: 28-35 (Loss)
Top Performers:
- Masoli (HAM): 30/42, 349 pass yards, 10 att, 44 rush yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT
- Powell (OTT): 13 att, 60 yards, 1 TD
- Ellingson (OTT): 5 rec, 186 yards, 1 TD
- Laurent (HAM): 2 tackles, 2 sacks
Just two weeks removed from back-to-back meetings to close out the regular season, the Tiger-Cats and Redblacks met yet again in the East Final. The meeting was the first East Final played between the two teams since 1981, when the Ticats and Roughriders squared off in a 17-13 Ottawa win.
The Ticats opened the scoring, capping off a six-minute drive with a Justin Medlock chip shot for three. Ottawa answered right back with a short rushing touchdown by Will Powell, moving the ball 75 yards on just seven plays to take a 7-3 lead. A pinpoint pass from Luke Tasker to Andy Fantuz on a trick play set Jeremiah Masoli up for his first touchdown of the game, as the Ticats quarterback re-established a Hamilton lead.
Henry Burris moved the Redblacks back into the driver’s seat in the second quarter, scrambling right and weaving his way to the end zone from nine yards out. The lead changed hands for a fifth and sixth time before the end of the half; Masoli and Tiquan Underwood connected for a 66-yard TD with just over three minutes to go, but a field goal and safety from the Redblacks gave them a 19-17 halftime lead.
The Redblacks added to their halftime lead with two field goals in the third quarter, extending their advantage to nine points midway through the frame. An acrobatic touchdown reception by Tasker was erased on an offside penalty, forcing the Ticats to settle for three on the drive and close the lead to 25-20.
Chris Milo’s fourth field goal, his third of the second half, gave the Redblacks an eight-point advantage again with 6:12 remaining in the game. On the Ticats next drive Medlock’s 43-yard attempt to match Milo’s field goal missed wide, recording just a single point to move Hamilton back within seven points of the Redblacks.
After the defence forced an Ottawa two-and-out, Masoli and Tasker collaborated on a three-play, 50-yard scoring drive which was capped by an impressive diving catch by the Ticats leading receiver. With 1:28 remaining and the game knotted at 28-28, the Redblacks took over possession at their own 32-yard line.
Ted Laurent— who had been dominant as a pass rusher all game— drew a chop block penalty from the Redblacks on the first play of the drive, setting the Ottawa offence back 15 yards. However, on a shocking play, Henry Burris and Greg Ellingson connected for a 93-yard pass to immediately take back the one-score lead.
The Ticats offence was unable to conjure up their own magic on the final drive, as the Black and Gold fell just short of their third straight Grey Cup berth with a 35-27 loss.
Turning Point: After scoring a game-tying touchdown and forcing a 2nd-and-15 situation for the Redblacks offence, the Ticats looked to be in optimal position to get the ball back and have a shot at a game-winning drive. However, the Redblacks worked some magic to complete a 90+ yard pass on second down, taking the lead and effectively clinching a berth in the Grey Cup.
