HAMILTON — Bo Levi Mitchell threw two touchdown passes as the Hamilton Tiger-Cats clinched first place in the East Division with a 35-15 victory over the Ottawa Redblacks on Friday night.
Hamilton (11-7) will now host the East Division final on Nov. 8. The TD hits give Mitchell a CFL-high 36 points, also a career-best for the 13-year veteran.
Hamilton also improved to 11-3 after the 2021 bye week, winning the three-game season series with Ottawa (4-14). The Ticats also earned their eighth straight home win over the Redblacks dating back to 2018, delighting an announced crowd of 22,030 at Hamilton Stadium on the night the Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers opened the World Series at Rogers Center.
Ottawa ended the regular season with its sixth loss in a row.
This is also just the third time in Ticats history that they have moved up from last place to first place in consecutive years after finishing fourth in the East Division last year with a 7-11 record.
Mitchell completed 21 of 31 passing for 264 yards.
Greg Bell rushed for 94 yards and broke the 1,000-yard plateau for the first time in his professional career. Tim White recorded four catches for 69 yards and two touchdowns, breaking the 1,000-yard receiving threshold for the fourth year in a row.
White is only the second Ticats receiver to register four straight 1,000-yard campaigns since Darren Flutie (1998-2001).
Ottawa starter Tyree Adams completed nine of 14 passes for 119 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions before giving way to Matt Schiltz to start the second half. Schiltz, a former Ticat, was seven of 15 passing for 78 yards with four picks.
Ottawa wide receiver Justin Hardy had three catches for 51 yards, breaking the 1,000-yard barrier for the third year in a row.
Hamilton's Mark Liggio added two recruits and seven field goals, one shy of the club record.
William Stanback and Schiltz scored touchdowns for Ottawa. Lewis Ward turned out two converts and one.
Schiltz capped a 14-play, 81-yard march with a one-yard touchdown run at 4:36 of the fourth, cutting Hamilton's lead to 29-15. Lieggio responded with a 47-yard boot at the 7:20 mark to give the Ticats a 32-15 lead.
Liegio's seventh field goal of the game, this time from 34 yards at 10:09, extended Hamilton's lead to 35-15.
Liggio kicked a 29-yard field goal with 2:31 left in the third to give Hamilton a 29-7 lead. Ward's 38-yard field goal was scored at 8:34.
Liggio's 28-yard field goal to end the second quarter gave Hamilton a 26-7 lead. That came after Mitchell and White connected on a second pass for 21 yards at 13:52.
Liggio gave Hamilton a 16-7 lead with a 40-yard field goal at 10:37 after Stanback's five-yard touchdown catch at 6:27. Stanback's run was capped by a smart, six-play, 96-yard march orchestrated by Clayon Lang, who recovered Mitchell's fumbled punt.
Mitchell opened the scoring with a 21-yard touchdown pass to White at 5:34 of the first play. Liggio gave Hamilton a 10-0 lead with a 24-yard field goal at 9:11 and followed it up with a 36-yarder at 12:06.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 24, 2025.
