HAMILTON – The Hamilton Tiger-Cats delivered their first win of the season on WestJet Canada Day Weekend, shutting down a Montreal Alouettes team missing Davis Alexander, and handing them their first loss of the year.
Bo Levi Mitchell became the fastest quarterback in CFL history to reach 100 wins, putting together a clean game from the pocket and converting twice from the red zone. On the other side of the football Hamilton’s defence had their best performance of the season, limiting McLeod Bethel-Thompson in his first start as an Al, forcing four turnovers along the way.
CFL.ca brings you three key stats from the Hamilton Tiger-Cats’ win over the Montreal Alouettes.
WESTJET CANADA DAY WEEKEND
» Tiger-Cats defence shuts down Alouettes to earn first win of season
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100 – BO LEVI MITCHELL WINS
Mitchell threw just one incompletion in the second half of Hamilton’s Friday night victory, throwing for 247 yards and two touchdowns in what was his 100th win in the CFL.
Mitchell’s second-quarter passing score to Kenny Lawler was the first half’s only touchdown, giving Hamilton a slender lead at the break. Midway through the fourth, Mitchell’s five-yard pass to Tim White opened up a 15-point advantage for the hosts.
2 – HAMILTON DEFENSIVE TOUCHDOWNS
With scores hard to come by, the first touchdown after halftime was going to feel momentous for either team. Holding an 11-7 lead late in the third, Hamilton was able to find that crucial score.
Rookie Devin Veresuk would be the one to come up with the big play on defence. He got his first career interception and touchdown after snagging a ball which bobbled off the hands of Travis Theis, running for 36 yards on the play. Then late in the game with Montreal down by eight and trying to tie things up, Julian Howsare hopped on Bethel-Thompson’s lost fumble in the end zone to seal the win.
38 – MONTREAL RUSHING YARDS
Montreal wasn’t able to get anything going on the ground in a game where they were missing their starting quarterback. Bethel-Thompson would finish the game as the Als’ leading rusher, a stat the Ticats would’ve certainly taken before Friday’s contest.
Linebacker Veresuk led the Hamilton defence with eight tackles, and Jamal Peters had five of his own to go with his interception. Trailing for the entire second half, Montreal was forced into throwing the football more and more as the game went on, but Hamilton’s secondary kept their opposing wideouts under wraps.