Hills and Ticats grind out win over Roughriders

CFL.ca Staff

HAMILTON — Wes Hills and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats kept their playoff hopes alive with an 18-14 win over the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

Hills propelled the Tiger-Cats offence with 132 yards on 25 carries while Dane Evans added 214 passing yards on 45.8 per cent completions and a rushing touchdown.

Ticats’ kicker Seth Small hit four field goals and defensive end Malik Carney had three of the team’s seven sacks.

Cody Fajardo lead the Roughriders’ offence with 24 completions on 31 attempts for 259 yards and two touchdowns. Fajardo also lead the Riders in rushing with 22 yards.

Former Guelph Gryphon Kian Schaffer-Baker contributed 93 yards and a touchdown for Saskatchewan.

After a long conversion on second and 10, Kian Schaffer-Baker opened the scoring for the Roughriders as he fought through a tackle for the 10-yard major.

Evans and the Hamilton offence would look to respond quickly after Anthony Johnson‘s 50-yard catch would set up Evans for his first rushing touchdown of the year.

At the end of the first quarter, the teams traded turnovers as Richard Leonard intercepted Fajardo’s pass before Evans was picked off by Nick Marshall on the ensuing play.

Before the half, Evans was intercepted once again by the Riders’ defence as Pete Robertson read the screen play.

In the second half, Seth Small’s 42-yard field goal helped to cut into the Riders’ lead after a six-play drive led by Hills’ 40 yards rushing.

After back-and-forth play, Micah Johnson kept the Ticats’ hopes alive by getting home for his fifth sack of the year, before Small’s 30-yard field goal gave Hamilton its first lead of the game.

After being pinned deep in its own territory, Saskatchewan was unable to generate points, leaving the Ticats with a chance to drain the clock and extend their lead. With a 13-play drive that lasted eight minutes, the Ticats extended their lead on another Small field goal.

Saskatchewan had one final chance to win the game, but Fajardo was intercepted by Ciante Evans to seal the win.

With their fifth win of the season, the Black and Gold sit a game behind the Riders for the final playoff spot in the East.

Next week, the Ticats will take on the Calgary Stampeders while Saskatchewan heads on its final bye of the year before returning to face Calgary in a home-and-home series.

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