OTTAWA — Lewis Ward scored five of five goals Friday as the Ottawa Redblacks ended a five-game losing streak with a 37-31 victory over the visiting Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

Ottawa will now travel to Toronto next week for the East Division semi-final.

Redblacks quarterback Dru Brown threw for 445 yards and three touchdowns in the victory. His performance included a 66-yard pass to Kahil Pimpleton with less than two minutes remaining, marking the seventh and final lead change of the game and giving the Redblacks a 37-31 lead after the two-point conversion.

The defense held the Tiger-Cats to a first-and-goal from the one-yard line as time expired, stopping three point attempts.

Hamilton quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell totaled 425 yards through the air with one touchdown and one interception.

The lead changed hands throughout three quarters and continued until the final quarter, where Ante Liter scored on a two-yard run in the opening seconds, giving Hamilton a 28-year lead. 23 after the two-point conversion failed.

Three minutes later, Ward’s 47-yard field goal cut the lead to 28-26. With 4:28 left, he connected from 32 yards out, scoring another lead change and giving Ottawa a 29-28 advantage. The sixth lead change, but not the last, occurred when Liegghio made a 46-yard field goal at 12:40 of the fourth quarter, giving Hamilton a 31-29 lead.

After a few unsuccessful throws from both teams, the Tiger-Cats opened the scoring at 8:21 of the first quarter thanks to a 17-yard field goal on the foot of Marc Liegghio for a 3-0 lead. The lead was short-lived as the Redblacks drove the ball 80 yards on the next possession and capped it with a 12-yard touchdown pass from Brown to Bralon Addison. Ward’s conversion made it 7-3 Redblacks after one quarter.

The Redblacks increased their lead to 10-3 as Ward kicked a 23-yard field goal at 2:31 of the second quarter. The big play on the drive was a 51-yard catch-and-run from Brown to Pimpleton.

The Tiger-Cats tied the game on the first of four consecutive goals from both teams before the end of the half. Mitchell connected with Kiandre Smith on a 12-yard touchdown pass at 9:01. A little over three minutes later, Ward gave the Rouge et Noir a 13-10 lead with a 31-yard field goal.

Liegghio tied the score at 13 for the Tiger-Cats with a 36-yard field goal at 13:44, then Brown ran for 42 yards and completed a four-yard touchdown pass to Jaelon Acklin. Ward’s conversion gave Ottawa a 20-13 lead, but left Hamilton with just 15 seconds to work in the half.

The third quarter began with an early Tiger-Cats drive that resulted in a 23-yard field goal from Liegghio at 4:17, cutting Ottawa’s lead to 20-16. They then took a 22-20 lead as Greg Bell ended their second possession of the half with a 21-yard touchdown run, but the conversion attempt went wide.

In the final minute of the quarter, Ward gave the Rouge et Noir their fourth lead of the game as his 33-yard field goal put them up 23-22.

NOTES – The Tiger-Cats have won two of their three games against Ottawa this season, including a 37-21 victory on September 14 that marked the start of the Rouge et Noir’s losing streak.

NEXT – With the Tiger-Cats season over, the Rouge et Noir will travel to Toronto next Saturday to face the Argonauts in the Eastern semi-final.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published October 25, 2024.