HAMILTON, ONT- The BC Lions have officially been handed an early-season wake-up call. Bo Levi Mitchell and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats came out firing on Friday night in Steeltown, cruising to a 41-27 victory and dropping the Lions to 0-2 on the young campaign. Now for some game takes.
A BAD START IS ONCE AGAIN THE KRYPTONITE
Mitchell hit Kiondre Smith for a 56-yard touchdown strike on the second play from scrimmage for a Ticat offence that scored majors on their first three drives of the game.
Once again, the Lion secondary struggled by allowing several big plays to the Hamilton playmakers. Mitchell completed only 15 of 18 pass attempts for 285 yards and five touchdowns. There was no sugarcoating by the visitors after this contest, one in which the defence simply didn’t perform well enough to give them a real chance.
Kenny Lawler and Kurleigh Gittens Jr. also added touchdowns, while Mitchell hit Maximillian Mang for two more. Mathieu Betts and the Lions will stew about it on the long flight home before getting back to the drawing board ahead of a big opportunity against the Calgary Stampeders one week from Saturday in Kelowna.
“Not the result we wanted, but I mean, in terms of process, I think we just didn’t show up with enough energy at the end of the day,” said Mathieu Betts.
“I’m specifically talking defence here, it’s on us, the players, to make it happen. They’ve made a lot of good plays, so they deserve a lot of credit. They played a good game offensively. It’s on us to shut it down earlier. I mean, we can’t allow this to happen in the first quarter.”
A big sequence on this night came before halftime when Silas Bolden elected to return a missed field goal out of the end zone before being stopped at the two-yard line.
Three plays later, Nathan Rourke threw an interception to Stavros Kastantonis that set up another touchdown and a 27-9 halftime lead for the home side. The Lions, to their credit, were able to move the ball early on but had to settle for three Sean Whyte field goals. Rookie Nick Cenacle scored two touchdowns in the fourth, hauling in one each from Rourke and Chase Brice. The Lions’ starting quarterback finished 24/35 for 291 yards, a touchdown and an interception.
“I think you said it, not the start we wanted, not the result we wanted, said head coach Buck Pierce.
“A lot of things to fix. We’ll get them fixed. I believe our guys are going to be able to adapt. We’ve got to tighten some things up, look at ourselves and make sure we’re doing the right things.”
Another big storyline was the growing list of injuries piling up. They were already without starting receivers Jevon Cottoy, Stanley Berryhill and Seven McGee and found out before warmups that Keon Hatcher Sr. would not play due to his lingering thigh problem. Kieran Poissant was lost in the first half after taking a shot to the lower back, while the late stages of the game saw offensive linemen Brandon Yates and Dejon Allen both go down.
“I’ve never been a part of something like this. It’s actually crazy how unlucky we’ve been this early in the season,” said Rourke.
“I don’t really know how to explain it, but there’s a huge obstacle.”
When it comes to the evaluation of who was playing, there is no time for excuses. The fact of the matter is, they need to look themselves in the mirror and be better.
“We’re in a situation where we’ve lost a couple of games and the reality is, we lost a game tonight. It should be humbling for us, we didn’t play nearly well enough to win and that’s what happens against good football teams and at the professional football level. We’re looking forward to getting back together and working after a win or a loss,” added Pierce.
“Right now, we’re a 0-2 football team,” added Betts.
“It’s on us, the players and the coaching staff, to look at ourselves in the mirror, turn this thing around and be 1-0 next week.”
Key Stats
14- Two of the Tiger-Cats’ touchdowns came after Lion turnovers: the Kastantonis interception and a turnover on downs by the Lions late in the third quarter.
444– The Tiger-Cats’ net offence in this victory.
5- Mitchell’s touchdown pass total ties a career high for the ageless pivot.
3/3- Hamilton was perfect on red zone opportunities.
120- Cenacle’s receiving yard total to go along with his two touchdowns. With the injuries mounting, he may be counted on to continue producing.
Next Up
The Lions are back home for Touchdown Kelowna, beginning next Saturday, June 27 at Save-On-Foods Field at the Apple Bowl. Kickoff is 4:00 pm. This week, the Lions released a limited number of additional tickets for both next week and Saturday, July 4 against the Edmonton Elks. Click HERE for more info.