It was a walk off win for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. And a big one at that.
Lirim Hajrullahu drilled a 29-yard field goal as time expired and the Ticats rallied from a 14-point halftime deficit to beat the Edmonton Eskimos 25-24 at Tim Hortons Field on Thursday night.
The game winner was one of four field goals Hajrullahu made in the game. He missed wide left on a 41-yard attempt early in the fourth quarter.
The Cats burst out to a 10-0 lead in the first quarter thanks to a 10-yard touchdown run by Alex Green and a 25-year field goal by Hajrullahu.
Edmonton (6-4) owned the second quarter, scoring 24 unanswered points before the break.
Eskimos quarterback Mike Reilly threw three touchdowns in the quarter, a 95-yard TD to Duke Williams and two majors (36 and 17 yards) to Derel Walker.
At halftime, the Tiger-Cats held an on-field ceremony to induct former defensive end Joe Montford onto the Wall of Honour.
Hamilton (4-6) shut out Edmonton in the second half, outscoring their western rivals 15-0 in the final two periods.
Jeremiah Masoli was intercepted twice in the first half but made up for it by throwing his only touchdown of the game to Luke Tasker, a 51-yard scoring play that cut Edmonton’s lead to 24-22 after the ensuing two-point convert failed.
With 1:32 left to play in regulation, the Ticats moved the ball to the Edmonton 21-yard line where Hajrullahu booted the game-winning field goal.
Hamilton’s victory completed a season sweep of the Eskimos. The Cats beat Edmonton 38-21 to win at Commonwealth Stadium on June 22.
The Tiger-Cats next play in the Labour Day Classic when they host the Toronto Argonauts on Sept. 3.
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