Mitchell throws two TD passes as Ticats down Redblacks 35-15 to clinch first in East

HAMILTON — Bo Levi Mitchell and Marc Liegghio made sure the road to the Grey Cup in the East Division goes through Hamilton Stadium.

Mitchell threw two TD passes while Liegghio booted seven field goals as Hamilton defeated the Ottawa Redblacks 35-15 on Friday night to clinch first in the East. With the win, the Tiger-Cats (11-7) will host the division final Nov. 8, with the winner advancing to the Grey Cup game.

“It’s the easiest way to get there (Grey Cup) obviously but we’ve got to go out and play amazing football,” said Mitchell, a two-time Grey Cup champion.

“We’ve got to stay locked in for the next week, we just can’t go out and drink and celebrate and think this thing is over. The job is nowhere close to being done.”

Mitchell finished 21-of-31 passing for 264 yards and the two TDs, which give him a league-high 36. That’s also a career best for the 13-year veteran, who’s the only CFL quarterback to start all 18 of his team’s games this season.

Liegghio’s seven field goals were one off the club record. There appeared to be a chance he’d get a shot at tying the mark late in the game but Hamilton opted to run a third-down play instead.

“To be honest, I didn’t even know (about the club record),” he said. “I heard about it after the game, obviously it probably would’ve been pretty cool but that’s something I didn’t even realize was going on during the game.”

Hamilton also improved to 11-3 coming off a bye week since 2021 while sweeping the three-game season series with Ottawa (4-14). The Ticats also earned an eighth straight home win over the Redblacks dating back to 2018, delighting an announced Hamilton Stadium gathering of 22,030.

And now Hamilton will begin preparing for the East final off a bye week having won seven-of-eight games this season versus divisional opponents. This also marks just the third time in Ticats history that they’ve gone from last to first in consecutive years after finishing fourth in the East Division last year with a 7-11 record.

But it wasn’t a clean offensive performance as twice snaps from Hamilton centre Coulter Woodmansey sailed past Mitchell. Following the second one late in the fourth quarter, Mitchell laced into Woodmansey.

“I screamed at him, I told him, ‘That’s enough. I’m tired of it.'” Mitchell said. “I talked to him in the locker-room … we’ve already moved past it.

“Your defence gets six turnovers, you can’t hand the ball back to the other team. The snap is the first and easiest part of the game. Get the ball to your quarterback and let’s go out there and play.”

Ottawa ended its regular season with a sixth straight loss and will miss the CFL playoffs for the fifth time since playing in the ’18 Grey Cup game. Head coach Bob Dyce led the Redblacks to the post-season last year (9-8-1) but is 18-39-1 in three-plus seasons at the helm.

The expectation is Ottawa will make a coaching change this off-season. That would end Dyce’s 10-year association with the franchise he joined in 2016 as their special-teams coordinator and won a Grey Cup that year.

“It’s gone up and down through that time but you’re always thankful to work with good people,” Dyce said. “I’ve worked with many good people here, made a lot of lifetime friends and you just go forward.

“Life is a journey, right? It’s kind of like a river, a lot of bends here, there and the next and you just fight through the challenging times. You don’t know where it’s going to end (or) when it’s going to end so you just be thankful for the time that you have and that’s about it.”

Hamilton’s Greg Bell ran for 94 yards, giving him 1,038 on the season, his first 1,000-yard rushing campaign as a pro. Tim White registered four catches for 69 yards and two TDs, giving him 84 receptions for 1,016 yards and seven TDs, surpassing the 1,000-yard threshold for a fourth straight year.

White is only the second Hamilton receiver to register four straight 1,000-yard campaigns after Darren Flutie (1998-2001).

Ottawa starter Tyrie Adams completed nine-of-14 passes for 119 yards and a TD and two interceptions before giving way to Matt Shiltz to start the second half. Shiltz, a former Ticat, was seven-of-15 passing for 78 yards with four picks.

Ottawa receiver Justin Hardy had three catches for 51 yards, giving him 78 receptions for 1,109 yards and eight TDs. He broke the 1,000-yard barrier for a third straight year.

Liegghio added two converts.

William Stanback and Shiltz scored Ottawa’s touchdowns. Lewis Ward kicked two converts and a single.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 24, 2025.