Bo Levi Mitchell won in his return to the Tiger-Cats’ lineup, but suffered a serious injury to his lower right leg, as Hamilton beat the Ottawa Redblacks 16-12 at TD Place Stadium Friday night.
Mitchell, who missed the previous four games with an abductor injury, threw for 353 yards and two touchdowns including a 75 yard TD to receiver Kai Locksley to give the Cats a 16-9 lead in the third quarter.
However, the Ticats No. 1 quarterback was intercepted five times in his first start since Week 2, and was hurt again just before the end of the game.
After Hamilton made what turned out to be a game-winning defensive stop on a third and two play from inside their own five yard line, Mitchell attempted a quarterback sneak to move the ball away from the Ticats’ endzone.
With about a dozen seconds left in the game, Redblacks linebacker Jovan Santos-Knox landed on Mitchell’s right ankle at the two-yard line and the QB was carried off the field by his teammates.
On Saturday, the Cats announced that Mitchell would be placed on the six-game injured list for the second time this season.
Two of Mitchell’s five interceptions were converted into field goals by Ottawa’s Lewis Ward, who accounted for all of the Redblacks’ points in the game, going 4-for-4 on the night.
Ottawa QB Dustin Crum was held in check by Hamilton’s defence and completed 13-of-21 passes for 148 yards and one interception. Crum also ran the ball 13 times for 82 yards.
The Ticats recorded a season high seven sacks on Crum, including two each by defensive ends Malik Carney and Tre Crawford.
The game was paused just two minutes into the contest when lightning was spotted near the stadium and both teams were pulled off the field for what amounted to a 58-minute weather delay.
Hamilton next plays host to the Montreal Alouettes at Tim Hortons Field on Aug. 5.
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