HAMILTON — Ryan Phillips had a fumble recovery and an interception and Shaq Murray-Lawrence scored a third-quarter touchdown, as the BC Lions spoiled the Hamilton Tiger-Cats’ home-opener Friday night with a 28-3 win on Canada Day.
It was a tough evening for the kickers and Ticats quarterback Jeremiah Masoli, as strong gusts of wind made life difficult for both Richie Leone and Brett Maher while the Lions’ defence allowed virtually nothing in Masoli’s second start of the season.
With the win the Lions move to 2-0 and take over sole possession of first place in the West.
The first half was a duel of the kickers but neither Leone nor Maher could solve the swirling winds at Tim Hortons Field. Leone contributed five of the Lions’ seven first half points while Maher missed both of his field goal tries as BC took a 7-2 lead to halftime.
In the second half, while Masoli struggled to get in rhythm, national speedster Murray-Lawrence was the first to find the end zone with a rushing touchdown from a yard out. That was the difference in the game, as Jennings and the Lions played keep-away and leaned on what’s been a hot defence to earn a convincing road win.
Shawn Gore caught four passes for a game-high 116 yards while Jonathon Jennings finished with 228 yards and a touchdown on 16-of-27 passing. Masoli was intercepted twice and held to 239 yards on 25-of-37 passing. Jeremiah Johnson rushed for 76 yards on 12 carries.
With the sun out and a boisterous crowd at their back, the Ticats had the momentum early after picking up first downs from Luke Tasker and Andy Fantuz on the opening drive. But just as they looked primed to score, Masoli coughed up the football on a sack by Alex Bazzie. The Ticats recovered but Maher’s 37-yard field goal try went wide left, resulting in only a 1-0 Ticats lead.
Masoli to Tasker for eight, Masoli to Tasker over the middle for a first down. Masoli continued to work, feeling the rush on second down and delivering a pass to Fantuz at the first down marker. But on the next play, Masoli was flooded up the middle and sacked by Alex Bazzie, putting the ball on the ground. The Ticats recovered but had to try a field goal, but Maher pulled the 37-yard field goal wide left resulting in a 1-0 Ticats lead.
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Leone couldn’t muster any better on his 36-yard try, but he’d get another shot soon after when Fantuz had the ball stripped from his hands on a first-down reception only to be recovered by the veteran Phillips. The Ticats’ defence stood up, but Leone made good on his second try of the game from 44 yards out to give the Lions a 4-1 lead.
A quick two-and-out forced the Ticats to punt while Maher’s wind-assisted boot went 86 yards for a punt single, cutting Hamilton’s deficit in half. Leone’s second missed field goal led to another single soon after, restoring the Lions’ lead to three.
After a few failed attempts early on, it wasn’t until past the midway point of the second quarter that the Jennings finally hit on the long ball. The second-year pivot found Gore behind the Ticats’ secondary, leading to a 59-yard gain. Immediately after, however, Jennings lost the handle of the ball, which hit the ground and ended up in the hands of John Chick in the shadow of the Ticats’ goalpost.
The Ticats took over at their own 14 after avoiding a second-quarter hole– but Bazzie’s second sack of the night forced Hamilton to concede a safety, making it 7-2 BC.
Maher missed his second field goal of the game on the last play of the half while Rainey had Ticats fans holding their breath when he returned the kick to midfield before being caught by Hamilton’s cover team.
In the second half however the Ticats weren’t so fortunate. Leone’s second field goal of the night extended the Lions’ lead to 10-2; then the field tilted further in their favour when Masoli’s pass to Banks missed the mark and was intercepted by Phillips.
Johnson ran for a first down before back to back off-side penalties inched the Lions even further. They finished off the short drive off with a touchdown from Murray-Lawrence from a yard out, extending their lead to 17-2 over the home team.
A single on the ensuing kickoff made it 18-2, but Masoli and the Ticats’ offence continued to struggle to move the ball against a stout Lions defence. It wasn’t until under five minutes left in the third quarter that the Ticats started to show life, not surprisingly on the defensive side of the ball. With the Lions on a short field, Murray-Lawrence had the ball punched from his grasp only for Chick to pick up his second fumble recovery of the game.
With the Ticats knocking on the door, however, it was Craig Roh coming up with the sack and Maher missing the field goal, leaving the Ticats with only a point to show for their efforts.
While the Masoli and the Ticats struggled to muster much in the fourth, the Lions’ offence continued to grind, keeping the Hamilton offence on the sideline as the clock wound down.
In what was already a picture-perfect performance on the road for the Lions, Jennings and Emmanuel Arceneaux put an exclamation point on it all with a 16-yard hookup late in the fourth. The Lions added another field goal from Leone to make it 28-3.
The loss drops the Ticats to 1-1 and tied for second in the East a week after a convincing season-opening win over the Argos at BMO Field. After winning their first nine games at Tim Hortons Field, the Tabbies have lost five of their last seven at Tim Hortons Field and drop to 11-5 there since moving in on Labour Day in 2014.
The Lions, led by the CFL’s all-time coaching wins leader, look to continue their momentum and get to 3-0 with a home date against the Argos on Thursday night, while the Ticats return to Tim Hortons Field on Thursday to face the Bombers.