HAMILTON – Quarterback Jeremiah Masoli completed 31-of-41 passes for 369 yards and a touchdown to lead the Tiger-Cats past the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 31-17 on Friday in Hamilton’s home opener.
Canadian Mercer Timmis ran in two touchdowns for the Tiger-Cats (2-1), while Lirim Hajrullahu connected on four field goals.
Running back Andrew Harris led Winnipeg’s (1-2) offence with 66 yards and a touchdown. Kicker Justin Medlock had a field goal and two converts.
Rookie QB Chris Streveler rushed in a touchdown but managed only 146 passing yards a week after he was one of the CFL’s top performers with 246 passing yards and three TDs in a 56-10 rout in Montreal.
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Masoli has passed for more than 300 yards in eight consecutive games, tying Montreal’s Anthony Calvillo (2012) and Edmonton’s Mike Reilly (2015-16) for second most in CFL history.
Montreal’s Sam Etcheverry (1956) and Saskatchewan’s Kent Austin (1991) are tied for first all time with nine.
Masoli aired out a 25-yard pass to Toliver with less than five minutes left in the third quarter to make it 28-10. That touchdown pass took Masoli to 308 yards in the game to move up in the record books.
“He’s been the best quarterback in the league, I think, for the last 12 games,” said Hamilton head coach June Jones after practice on Thursday. “I don’t think he even thinks about it, he just wants to win.”
Hajrullahu poured it on with eight seconds left in the third quarter, making a 38-yard field goal for a 31-10 lead.
Streveler called his own number with 4:38 left to play in the game, rushing 15 yards for a touchdown. Medlock’s conversion cut the lead to 31-17. The 58-yard, five-play drive ended six consecutive two-and-outs for the Blue Bombers.
That was Winnipeg’s last gasp in the game as the Ticats would hold the Bombers scoreless the rest of the way.
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Winnipeg opened scoring in the first quarter, as Marcus Sayles intercepted a Masoli pass at Hamilton’s 15-yard line, taking it back 38 yards to put the Blue Bombers into scoring positon. Three plays later, Harris dove across the goal-line for a one-yard touchdown. After Medlock’s convert, the Bombers led 7-0.
Masoli responded with an 88-yard drive that was capped by a one-yard TD plunge by Timmis, who’s from nearby Burlington, Ont. Hajrullahu’s kick after tied it with 1:33 to go in the quarter.
Medlock connected on a 38-yard field goal 3:48 into the second quarter to re-establish Winnipeg’s lead.
A 50-yard Hajrullahu field goal – with the wind at his back – tied it up just over two minutes later to salvage a 38-yard drive that sputtered out before the Ticats could get near the red zone.
Hamilton slotback Sean Thomas-Erlington made Winnipeg defensive back Taylor Loffler look silly in a highlight-reel play, hurdling over his tackle in a 23-yard rush. It was a critical play in a 76-yard drive by the Tiger-Cats that led to a 17-yard Hajrullahu field goal and a 13-10 lead.
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Hajrullahu added to that lead in the dying seconds of the half, booting the ball 42 yards for a field goal.
Timmis scored his second touchdown of the game 5:20 into the second half, his fourth of the season, on a four-yard run. He was virtually untouched as he dodged Winnipeg’s defence to make it 22-10. Masoli’s pass to Jalen Saunders for a two-point conversion was incomplete.
After two straight games on the road the Bombers return home to host the B.C. Lions next Saturday.
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