REGINA — Bo Levi Mitchell got the Hamilton Tiger-Cats started and Matt Shiltz brought them home in a convincing 38-13 CFL victory over the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Saturday.
Mitchell, playing in his first game since July 28, got the start at quarterback for the Tiger-Cats. The 33-year-old veteran has had two stints on the injured list this season and returned to the roster this week after recuperating from a fractured right leg.
Mitchell played the first quarter, completing four of six passes for 129 yards and one touchdown. He looked comfortable in the pocket and was quite accurate with his passing.
He admitted after the game that he was tempted to try and stay in the game, rather than have Shiltz take over in the second quarter.
"Obviously I was prepared to play as long as they let me, but we had a pretty good plan going forward knowing that I'd probably play a quarter," said Mitchell.
"I’m thankful I was able to go out there and make some good throws and make some good reads. It was a good confidence builder but it’s not about flashes of greatness, it's about the consistency. So, let’s just keep building on that game and putting those kinds of games together."
Tiger-Cats head coach Orlondo Steinauer also considered, however briefly, giving Mitchell additional playing time.
“I'd be lying to you if I said we weren't tempted, but we stuck to a plan that we're going to play him for a quarter. Was that tempting? Sure, but we were very pleased with what we saw,” said Steinauer.
In handing the Riders their fifth consecutive loss, the Tiger-Cats dominated the first half, taking a 25-9 lead while rolling up 345 yards of net offence. Mitchell and Shiltz combined to go 12-of-18 passing for 276 yards with three touchdowns and one interception in the half.
With Mitchell watching from the sidelines, Shiltz guided the Tigers-Cats offence impressively. In three quarters of work, Shiltz completed 16-of-19 passes for 271 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. The duo combined for 400 yards passing, completing 20-of-25 passing attempts.
While Mitchell and Shiltz were piling up big numbers through the air, running back James Butler did significant damage on the ground. He rushed for 107 yards on 25 carries and eclipsed the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the second consecutive season.
Butler, who also caught five passes for 77 yards, now has 1,049 yards rushing in 2023 after totalling 1,060 yards rushing in 2022 as a member of the B.C. Lions.
Butler’s contributions haven’t gone unnoticed by teammates.
“Rushing for over 1,000 yards, that's huge for us as an offence. We're not one dimensional now. We're able to run the football, and that opens up play action. We're able to kind of answer whatever the defence is doing and hopefully be able to dictate play on our terms. James is a huge part of that,” said Shiltz.
The victory improves the Tiger-Cats record to 8-8 and moves them into a tie for second place in the East Division with the Montreal Alouettes. At 8-7, the Alouettes have a game in hand on the Tiger-Cats. Both teams have clinched playoff berths and are now playing for the right to host the East Division semifinal on Nov. 4.
Mitchell believes the Tiger-Cats are gathering momentum and confidence as the post-season approaches.
“I think we have a hell of a team that has a great chance of winning a Grey Cup. In order to do that, we're going to have to go through two great football teams, two teams that we haven't beat yet," said Mitchell.
"So as happy as we are and as much as we're celebrating, we understand the road in front of us and we understand what it's going to take to make that happen. It's going to be an uphill battle, but I can tell you that everybody in this room believes that we can do it and we're going to keep building on that.”
The loss drops the Riders to 6-10. Saskatchewan is in third place in the West Division, four points ahead of the 4-11 Calgary Stampeders. The Riders’ current five-game losing streak is reminiscent of last season when they finished a 6-12 campaign with seven consecutive defeats.
Omar Bayliss caught two TD passes in the first half for the Tiger-Cats, a 10-yarder from Mitchell followed by a nine-yard from Shiltz, who also connected with Sean Thomas Erlington on a seven-yard scoring pass.
Third-string quarterback Kai Locksley scored on a one-yard run with 25 seconds left in the fourth quarter to give Hamilton its final margin of victory.
March Liegghio had three field goals for the Tiger-Cats. He also had a single on a kickoff.
The Hamilton offence was so efficient that it only punted once with Kare Vedvik’s lone punt coming with 9:41 left in the fourth quarter.
The Riders' offence struggled in the half, being held to 168 yards of total offence. Running back Jamal Morrow was the lone bright spot, rushing for 75 yards on 11 carries, including a 32-yard touchdown run on a third-and-one gamble with 34 seconds left in the half. Morrow finished the contest with 120 yards rushing on 18 carries.
In addition to a safety when Mitchell was called for intentional grounding while in the end zone, the Riders also got a 42-yard field goal from Brett Lauther.
UP NEXT
Both teams return to action on Friday with the Riders travelling to Calgary to face the Stampeders while the Tiger-Cats host the B.C. Lions.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 7, 2023.
Jeff DeDekker, The Canadian Press
