BC Lions vs Hamilton Tigercats - 07.27.25
VANCOUVER– On a night where the BC Lions overcame their previous first-quarter woes, it was a late fourth-quarter collapse that did them in. Bo Levi Mitchell hit Kiondre Smith for a one-yard touchdown with 16 seconds to play as the visiting Hamilton Tiger-Cats won their fifth straight, stunning the hometown Leos 37-33 in front of 22,348 fans at Save-On-Foods Field at BC Place. The visiting Cats got it done, despite trailing by ten with three minutes to play.
The loss drops the Lions to 3-5 heading into their first bye of the season, while Hamilton improves to 5-2 and remains atop the Eastern Division. Now for some game takes.
Cats Claw Their Way Back
The Lions exploded to a 14-3 lead on the back of two James Butler majors before the opening 15 minutes. The first half was also highlighted by an absolutely electric, one-handed interception in the end zone from Robert Carter Jr. When that play happened, you figured it was meant to be. The Lions’ defence then got another crucial takeaway just before the final three minutes of the game when Ronald Kent Jr. forced a fumble that Sione Tehuma scooped up. That one led to a Jeremiah Masoli touchdown plunge to put them ahead 33-23.
Mitchell then went to work, hitting Brendan O’Leary-Orange in the end zone to make it a three-point game. The winning touchdown to Smith capped an 11-play, 77-yard drive. A definite gut punch to a Lions squad that failed to capitalize on an opportunity to get back to .500.
“Ultimately, as an offence, we want to end the game with the ball. Obviously, that did not happen. We want to be able to not go two-and-out there,” said Nathan Rourke on the series before Hamilton’s winning score.
WHAT DID WE JUST WATCH 🤯🤯#BCLions | #RoarAsOne pic.twitter.com/yeDV5FgJTC
— BC LIONS (@BCLions) July 28, 2025
Rourke finished the night 20/27 for 289 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions. Keon Hatcher was his top target with 105 yards on five receptions. It was a contest in which both offences traded punches back and forth. You thought the turnovers created by the Lion defensive unit just might be the difference. It wasn’t to be.
“You know it’s going to be a close game. That’s the way games are. The way Hamilton has been playing, you knew it was going to come down to an end-of-game scenario,” said Buck Pierce.
“We’ll have to look at why certain things happened. And you know, we’ll spend the next couple of days looking at that and trying to find answers for it.”
After it seemed like the group was turning a corner with road wins at Montreal and Edmonton, dropping back-to-back home games no doubt stings. Expect the feelings to linger before they get back to work next Monday.
“I think we’re just frustrated,” added Rourke.
“We know at the end of the day; we can play better. We understand how well we can play and we haven’t been that. “It’s been frustrating for sure. You always want to go into a bye week with a win. Hopefully, it will be a productive one and we play these guys again, right? Hopefully, we can come out with a win after that.”
Key Numbers
389- passing yards for Mitchell, who appears to be ageing like fine wine in his third season with the Cats.
0- for a second straight game, the Lions failed to register a quarterback sack.
115– Butler eclipsed the century mark on the ground to go with his two majors. It was set up to be a nice little revenge story for the former Tiger-Cat. Perhaps next game…
2– catches for CFL receiving leader Kenny Lawler for just 29 yards. Keeping him in check was a big part of the game plan. Unfortunately, it came in a losing effort.
Quotable
“I just seen the ball in the air. We’re playing deep coverage. I’m just thinking ball in the air, gotta go get that ball. As you can see, my right hand was trying to come over but I really couldn’t get there, so I had to grab it with one.- Carter Jr. on his highlight-reel interception. He had a similar one at Robert Morris that he claims is still better because he had a broken hand.
“We take our bye week, and we focus on the next game. We put this behind us. The clock’s already at zero. Ain’t nothing much more we can do about this game. We’re still together. We’ve still got the brotherhood; we’ve still got the family. That’s the positive we take from this game.”- Carter Jr. on the result.
Next Up
The squad enters its first bye week of 2025 before a road rematch with the Ticats on Thursday, August 7. Kickoff at Hamilton Stadium is 4:30 pm. The Ticats continue their swing against Western clubs with a visit to 1-5 Edmonton next Saturday.