The Ticats hang on for a 24-23 home win over the Argonauts

HAMILTON – No official practice, no problem for Tre Ford.

The Niagara Falls, Ont., native threw for 218 yards and a touchdown and ran for a game-high 109 yards as the Hamilton Tiger-Cats defeated the Toronto Argonauts 24-23 on Saturday night.

It was Ford’s first start for the Tiger-Cats and followed a week where poor air quality relegated them to more frequent indoor walking practices.

“When you have a week like this where you don’t do a lot of exercise, having legs definitely helps,” Ford said. “It’s hard to get those third and fourth reads when you don’t practice.

“Those are the types of things you want to practice and be able to see against a defense … It was definitely nice to go out there and get a win, but I definitely want to practice next week.”

Ford completed 21-of-27 passes and his athleticism helped Hamilton (3-3) convert 15 of 23 second-down chances. The Ticats picked up their first win in three games, but their first major since starter Bo Levi Mitchell (ankle) was injured in a 14-13 home loss to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on July 5.

Hamilton won despite running with a makeshift offensive line while Trevor Reid and Quinton Barrow were injured. That forced guards Brandon Revenberg and Nate Dumoulin-Duguay to kick out, center Liam Dobson and Max Mang to guard and backup center Kris Kolankowski to replace Dobson.

However, Hamilton needed a little divine intervention for the win. Veteran Toronto kicker Lirim Hajrullahu missed a 31-yard field goal on the final play of the game as the Argos (2-4) drove 58 yards in seven plays.

“It’s not a fair game,” Hamilton coach Scott Milanovich said. “But sometimes you get what you deserve and I felt like that’s what happened tonight at the end.”

Hajrullah also missed a conversion that allowed Hamilton to hang on to its 24-23 advantage. And last week, he missed a 40-yard field goal that was returned 129 yards in a 30-21 road loss to Winnipeg.

But that certainly didn’t take away from Ford’s strong performance as he anchored Hamilton’s 157-yard rushing attack.

“There are some shots (Ford) will want to get back, but I thought, overall, the young man played extremely well,” Milanovich said. “He gave us a shot in the arm.

“He made some really good throws, obviously made some good runs. It’s huge, we needed that, we needed to get some confidence back and I thought we did that.”

Hamilton looked poised to take a 27-23 lead, but kicker Marc Liegghio missed from 49 yards out. Nick Arbuckle’s one-yard TD run at 7:25 of the fourth pulled Toronto to within 24-23, capping a 10-play, 97-yard drive that included fouls and pass interference against Hamilton.

Chad Kelly’s five-yard TD strike to David Ungerer III 46 seconds into the fourth cut Hamilton’s lead to 24-17. Kelly completed 25-of-35 passes for 322 yards with a touchdown and an interception, while Tyler Kahmann recorded six catches for a game-high 104 yards.

“It’s always tough to lose a game, but it’s never about a game, you never do,” Toronto coach Mike Miller said. “The reality is it’s a team game.

“You feel for (Hajrullah), he’s a great teammate and a guy who’s invested in our program. I know it’s very disappointing and it hurts, but unfortunately that’s part of the game.”

The game started on time despite both teams being sent to their locker rooms during warmups due to poor air quality caused by wildfires in northwestern Ontario. According to the CFL’s air quality policy, if the Air Quality Health Index reaches eight or higher according to metrics provided by Environment Canada, teams will be removed from the field.

Both teams returned to the field around 7:05 PM ET, and kickoff started on schedule. High air quality readings in southern Ontario also forced Toronto indoors for its practices last week in Guelph, Ont.

Kenny Lawler, Ante Liter and Jake Dolegala had the hits for Hamilton. Lieghio kicked the converts and a field goal.

Arbuckle had two TDs for Toronto. Hajrullahu added two conversions and a field goal.

Liegghio connected from 11 yards out at 13:33 of the third to give Hamilton a 24-10 lead. Hajrullah’s 12-yarder pulled Toronto within 21-10 at 8:50 after Dymere Miller’s 71-yard punt return.

Dolegala pushed Hamilton to a 21-7 lead with a one-yard scoring run at 6:11. It was set up by a Jamal Peters interception and return at the Toronto 31-yard line.

Litre’s one-yard TD run at 14:41 of the second gave Hamilton a 14-7 halftime lead. Ford capped a 14-play, 100-yard drive by completing six of seven passes for 42 yards and rushing three times for 21 yards.

Ford’s 25-yard strike to Lawler at 10:12 of the first made it 7-7, ending an impressive eight-play, 70-yard drive on Hamilton’s first possession. Arbuckle’s one-yard run at 5:39 capped Toronto’s opening 10-play, 64-yard drive, which was aided by a penalty by the Ticats roughing up the passer on a second sack.

UP NEXT

Argonauts: Visit the BC Lions on Saturday, July 25.

Tiger-Cats: Visit the Montreal Alouettes on Sunday, July 26.

This report from The Canadian Press was first published on July 18, 2026.

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