Ticats lose Home Opener 38-12

HAMILTON — The Tiger-Cats dropped their home opener on Friday,

There were signs of hope early on as quarterback Matthew Shiltz led Hamilton to two consecutive scoring drives. Kicker Marc Liegghio connected on field goals from 13 and 39 yards out to give the Ticats a 6-0 lead early in the first quarter.

Alouettes quarterback Cody Fajardo completed 19 of 25 passes (76.0%) for 292 yards (11.7 YPA), zero interceptions and three total touchdowns (two passing, one rushing).

On the ground, William Stanback carried the ball nine times for 69 yards (7.7 YPC). Austin Mack caught five passes for 81 yards, including touchdown receptions of 48-yards and five-yards.

As the rain continued to fall on Tim Hortons Field, Hamilton’s offence continued to sputter—picking up large chunks of yards through the air but ultimately failing to convert those yards into points.

Shiltz threw for 345-yards and averaged 13.8 yards per completion. He also threw two interceptions including a late pick-six to 2022 CFL East All-Star defensive back Wesley Sutton.

Still, there were a few bright spots worth noting. The Ticats defence notched four sacks—one each from Malik Carney, Chris Edwards, Jameer Thurman and Ted Laurent. When their pass rush was firing on all cylinders, they attacked Fajardo like a pack of wolves and made their presence felt.

Duke Williams caught five passes for 102 yards. The CFL’s 2022 leader in receptions, Tim White, caught seven passes for 143 yards—44 of which came after the catch. Even on an off night, the one-two punch of Williams and White looked like one of the best receiving duos in the league.

Three games into the 2023 season, 0-3 is not the start the club or the fans were hoping for.

With the upcoming bye week giving the team time to reset and recharge, the Ticats will look to turn things around on Saturday July 8th at home vs. the now 0-2 Ottawa Redblacks.