A second straight win has vaulted the Hamilton Tiger-Cats into sole possession of first place in the CFL‘s East Division.
Jumal Rolle returned an interception 88 yards for a touchdown early in the third quarter to secure Hamilton’s 24-7 victory over the Ottawa Redblacks in the nation’s capital in a rare Wednesday night game.
Rolle’s pick six was Hamilton’s third in their last four games after Simoni Lawrence turned the trick on Labour Day and again last week against the Calgary Stampeders.
The win boosts the Ticats’ record to 4-3 and moves them two points ahead of the second place Toronto Argonauts, who host Montreal Friday night.
Making his second straight start at quarterback, David Watford completed 15 of 25 passes for 115 yards and one touchdown amid a steady rain at TD Place Stadium in Ottawa.
Losers of their last five games, Ottawa didn’t get much production from their offence on Wednesday night and turned the ball over six times, including two fumbles and three on downs.
QB Dominique Davis was pulled from the game after he gifted a touchdown to Rolle and ended the game with a ho-hum stat line of six completions on 14 attempts for only 50 yards.
Backup Matt Nichols didn’t offer the Redblacks much of a spark as Hamilton’s vaunted defence held the 34-year-old veteran to 68 passing yards on 7 of 10 attempts.
The lone score by the Redblacks came early in the fourth quarter when CFL combined-yards leader DeVonte Dedmon returned to put 67 yards for a touchdown.
Running back Sean Thomas Erlington, who was listed as a game time decision for Hamilton, returned to action and recorded 41 rushing yards on nine carries while Watford carried the ball 10 times for 51 yards.
After going 5-for-5 on field goal attempts last week, Hamilton’s Taylor Bertolet converted three of his six kicks against Ottawa — connecting from 14, 39 and 50 yards — but missed from 34, 43 and 52 yards out.
Next up for the Tiger-Cats is a home game against the Alouettes on Oct. 2 where Hamilton has won their last 11 games dating back to the 2019 season.