For the first time since 2019, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats did not start the season with back-to-back losses.
The Ticats spoiled the party in front of a sellout crowd with a 37-27 win over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on a rainy night Thursday at Princess Auto Stadium.
Hamilton scored three shots in the first half and led with 18 points. The Bombers scored a pair of TDs in the fourth quarter, but their comeback attempt still fell short as they lost their home opener for the second time in the last three years.
Bo Levi Mitchell had three touchdowns and threw for 287 yards as the Bombers defense stumbled in the first half for the second straight game. Hamilton led 24-10 at halftime after Mitchell scored 233 yards in the first half.
The Bombers defense had just one sack and surrendered 455 yards of net offense.
“Didn’t tackle well enough,” Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea said. “There are some plays that you wish you could get back to. Just pick some mistakes that we’re not used to making, you know. I think when they watch the film, they’ll know, and I think they know now. Things that I think are easily fixed, but tackling, at some point you just have to make the decision to finish and tackle somebody.”
Former Bombers receiver Keric Wheatfall had 102 yards receiving and Larry Rountree had 124 yards rushing for the Ticats in the win. Kiondre Smith had a pair of hits for Hamilton.
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Zach Collaros threw for 421 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. Nic Demski, Ontaria Wilson and Bryce Perkins had the hits for the Bombers. Tommy Nield had his first career game with 111 yards.
“Offensively, we just put points on the court,” Collaros said. “It starts with me, turning the football over there in the second quarter and going into the first half. You can’t do that. That’s at least three points for us. Yeah, obviously when you watch the film back and you can see a lot of them on the sideline, you wish you had a return that could have led to points. But it’s something we have to take and understand and get better at.”
With the Bombers trailing in the game, Brady Oliveira finished with just 32 yards rushing.
“When you go down, it will be difficult to run the football,” said Oliveira. “Every week will look different. I just want to win the game. We didn’t win the game today, which is a shame, but with us going down like that, it will be difficult to manage the football.
“I thought Zach played unbelievable. When he’s in that mode, you’ve got to let him go. He was throwing the ball all over the court.”
Smith’s first touchdown of the first quarter gave Hamilton a 10-3 lead.
Demski had a 41-yard touchdown run in the final minute of the quarter to give the Bombers the upper hand. But touchdowns by Maximillian Mang and Smith in the second quarter gave the Tiger-Cats the lead for good.
After Major Williams was flagged for pass interference in the end zone in the third quarter, Jake Dolegala scored on a QB steal to push the lead to 18.
Wilson and Perkins had touchdowns in the fourth quarter, but the Bombers still fell short.
The Bombers fall to 1-1 on the season.
Tiger-Cats defensive back Jamal Peters had to be carted off the field in the first quarter after taking a knee to the head, but the Tiger-Cats posted on social media that he has been cleared and released from the hospital.
The Bombers had a record 15th straight sellout dating back to the 2024 campaign.
The Bombers are on a bye next week and won’t play again until June 25 when they host the Edmonton Elks.
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