After first win, Tiger-Cats feeling confident with Lions set to visit

After pulling off a road win last week in Winnipeg to make up for losing the home opener the week before, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats will try to defend home field on Friday night when they take on the BC Lions.

Hamilton’s 37-27 win over the Blue Bombers featured a balanced offensive effort. Bo Levi Mitchell threw for 287 yards and three touchdowns on 19-of-24 accuracy, while Larry Rountree III racked up 124 yards on 23 carries for his first 100-yard game as a pro.

This week, Mitchell advised his teammates to not look back.

“Attack the day, attack the play,” he said. “Do everything you can do to be the best you can be on that day. We weren’t perfect … but this is a damn good football team.”

Hamilton (1-1) got a fine performance from its offensive line, which allowed just one sack against an opponent that used the pass rush as a big part of its Week 1 win in Calgary, registering four sacks. And Marc Liegghio added three field goals, including a game-sealing 23-yarder in the last minute.

Meanwhile, BC is coming off a season-opening 31-27 loss at Grey Cup champion Saskatchewan last Saturday. The Lions owned the lead until giving up a touchdown with 46 seconds left.

Adding injuries to insult, BC will be short-handed at receiver this week. Seven McGee (foot) has landed on the six-game injured list and Jevon Cottoy (thigh) wasn’t able to finish the game in Saskatchewan. Another receiver, Stanley Berryhill, was ruled out with a thigh injury as well, and wideout Keon Hatcher Sr. (thigh) is questionable after missing Wednesday’s practice.

The Lions were reduced to using backup fullback Jacob Bond at receiver on their final drive. They have signed receiver Jermaine Jackson to the practice squad but it wouldn’t be a surprise if he were elevated sooner instead of later.

“Opportunities for guys to step up, opportunities for guys that you know have been here working,” second-year coach Buck Pierce said of the receiver situation. “It’s no different than any other team.”

BC quarterback Nathan Rourke is coming off a 330-yard effort at Saskatchewan, where he also ran for a team-high 59 yards and a touchdown.

–Field Level Media