EDMONTON — The Hamilton Tiger-Cats scored 24 unanswered in the third quarter in the eventual 37-29 win over the Edmonton Elks at Commonwealth Stadium on Thursday.
Hamilton’s offence came alive late in the first half and continued its dominance in the second half against a Green and Gold team still searching for their first home win since Oct. 12, 2019.
Quarterback Matthew Shiltz scored a rushing touchdown and pushed the ball down the field to wide receivers Tim White and Tyreik McAllister before leaving the game with an injury late in the third quarter. Backup Taylor Powell filled in for Shiltz and connected on a 17-yard touchdown pass to White on his first possession of the game.
Running back James Butler showed off his explosiveness in both the ground and passing game while also adding a rushing major in the second consecutive winning effort for the 2-3 ‘Cats.
Kicker Marc Liegghio was a perfect three-of-three for the visitors.
Elks’ quarterback Taylor Cornelius had a 54-yard touchdown pass to receiver Kyran Moore, but also threw two interceptions, including a pick six to defensive back Stavros Katsantonis, and ended up being pulled for Jarret Doege in the second half. The backup led the Elks to a couple of scoring drives in the fourth quarter, including a touchdown pass to wide receiver Steven Dunbar Jr.
Running back Kevin Brown added a major of his own as Double E dropped to 0-6.
After a back-and-forth first half, the Tabbies dominated the final two quarters of what was the 100th matchup between the two teams.
The Elks started with great field position after Tyler Ternowski muffed a short opening kickoff and Jordan Reaves jumped on it. Starting across midfield, Edmonton put together a scoring drive with both running backs getting involved. First it was Brown, then Shannon Brooks getting carries out of the backfield. Cornelius also added a first down of his own on the ground, but ultimately they had to settle for a field goal as rookie Dean Faithfull made it 3-0 for the home team.
That was the only scoring of the quarter as both teams traded punts a few times in the first 15 minutes. A promising march by the ‘Cats in the second quarter saw Shiltz overcome second-and-long twice after a couple of sacks, but ultimately having to kick the ball back to the Green and Gold once more.
Cornelius and the offence finally broke the stalemate halfway through the second quarter with another scoring drive. Edmonton’s pivot connected with four different players to move the ball all the way to Hamilton’s 26-yard line. A sack by defensive lineman Ted Laurent on second down forced the home team to go for their second field goal attempt and extend the lead to 6-0.
The best play of the first half came with 2:56 to go as Shiltz found White behind Edmonton’s defence for 54 yards to set up first-and-goal from the eight-yard line. From there it was just a matter of handing it off to Butler and watch him break a few tackles for his first touchdown of the season and the game, 7-6.
It seemed like Cornelius and the Double E would retake the lead late in the first half after putting together a long drive of their own. A pass interference call – after a challenge by head coach Chris Jones – on a Cornelius pass for Dunbar Jr. set them up across midfield. The following play had Brown finding a hole and rushing for 49 yards all the way to Hamilton’s 10. Two plays later Edmonton’s pivot was looking for No. 7 once more but after the receiver tipped the ball the other No. 7 – Tabbies’ defensive back Javien Elliott – scooped it up and kept his team ahead.
Butler then kickstarted the following march with a long run of his own, gaining 37 yards and adding to the visitors’ momentum late in the second quarter. No. 9 added a few more yards to get it close enough for Liegghio to extend the lead to 10-6 heading into halftime.
Double E opened the second half with a bang. Cornelius found Dunbar Jr. over the middle for 18-yards before threading the needle to Moore for 54 yards and the major, retaking a 13-10 lead early in the third quarter.
McAllister answered with a big play of his own, going for a 46-yard return and setting the Tabbies up across midfield for their first drive of the half. A pass-interference penalty then gave the visitors first-and-10 from Edmonton’s 13-yard line and Butler took it upon himself to make it first-and-goal from the three. Shiltz capped it off with a run through the middle to push the ‘Cats over the Elks once more, 17-13.
The following drive had Cornelius desperately trying to escape a sack and throwing the ball away, but it landed right on Katsantonis’ hand for an easy pick-six that pushed the lead to 24-13.
Hamilton extended their lead with Liegghio’s second field goal of the game that made it 17 unanswered points for the visitors.
Shiltz went down with 1:44 to go in the third quarter after a hit by defensive lineman Sam Acheampong and Powell came in to finish a scoring drive with a 17-yard touchdown pass to White that pushed the lead to 34-13.
Doege came into the game in place of Cornelius on the next drive and connected with Mitchell deep down the right sideline for a big gain. He then connected with Dunbar on a comeback route just shy of the end zone before Brown punched it in to cut the lead to 34-19 with 11:41 to go in the fourth quarter.
Liegghio made it a three-possession game again with a 22-yard field goal with 7:44 left on the clock.
Doege connected with Dunbar Jr. in the end zone with under a minute to go and Faithfull added another late field goal after an onside kick for the final score of the game.
It was the 20th straight home loss for the Green and Gold, the longest losing streak in CFL history as the North Albertans haven’t won a game in Edmonton in 1,370 days.
Double E has the edge in the head-to-head with a 60-39-1 record against Hamilton.
The Elks go on the road for Week 7 as they travel to Winnipeg to take on the Blue Bombers on Thursday, July 20. The Ticats meanwhile return home to host the Toronto Argonauts on Friday, July 21.
TORONTO – Reigning PWHL MVP and scoring champ Natalie Spooner will miss the start of the regular season for the Toronto Sceptres, general manager Gina Kingsbury announced Tuesday on the first day of training camp.
The 33-year-old Spooner had knee surgery on her left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) after she was checked into the boards by Minnesota’s Grace Zumwinkle in Game 3 of their best-of-five semifinal series on May 13.
She had a goal and an assist in three playoff games but did not finish the series. Toronto was up 2-1 in the semifinal at that time and eventually fell 3-2 in the series.
Spooner led the PWHL with 27 points in 24 games. Her 20 goals, including five game-winners, were nine more than the closest skater.
Kingsbury said there is no timeline, as the team wants the Toronto native at 100 per cent, but added that “she is doing really well” in her recovery.
The Sceptres open the PWHL season on Nov. 30 when they host the Boston Fleet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board declined Friday to confirm media reports that India has decided against playing any games in host Pakistan during next year’s Champions Trophy.
“My view is if there’s any problems, they (India) should tell us in writing,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Lahore. “I’ll share that with the media as well as with the government as soon as I get such a letter.”
Indian media reported Friday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated its concerns to all the Champions Trophy stakeholders, including the PCB, over the Feb. 19-March 9 tournament and would not play in arch-rival Pakistan.
The Times of India said that “Dubai is a strong candidate to host the fixtures involving the Men in Blue” for the 50-over tournament.
Such a solution would see Pakistan having to travel to a neutral venue to play India in a group match, with another potential meeting later in the tournament if both teams advanced from their group. The final is scheduled for March 9 in Pakistan with the specific venue not yet decided.
“Our stance is clear,” Naqvi said. “They need to give us in writing any objections they may have. Until now, no discussion of the hybrid model has happened, nor are we prepared to accept one.”
Political tensions have stopped bilateral cricket between the two nations since 2008 and they have competed in only multi-nation tournaments, including ICC World Cups.
“Cricket should be free of politics,” Naqvi said. “Any sport should not be entangled with politics. Our preparations for the Champions Trophy will continue unabated, and this will be a successful event.”
The PCB has already spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi which are due to host 15 Champions Trophy games. Naqvi hoped all the three stadiums will be ready over the next two months.
“Almost every country wants the Champions Trophy to be played here (in Pakistan),” Naqvi said. “I don’t think anyone should make this a political matter, and I don’t expect they will. I expect the tournament will be held at the home of the official hosts.”
Eight countries – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan – are due to compete in the tournament, the schedule of which is yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council.
“Normally the ICC announces the schedule of any major tournament 100 days before the event, and I hope they will announce it very soon,” Naqvi said.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Ottawa‘s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand are through to the doubles final at the WTA Finals after a 7-6 (7), 6-1 victory over Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Australia’s Ellen Perez in semifinal action Friday.
Dabrowski and Routliffe won a hard-fought first set against serve when Routliffe’s quick reaction at the net to defend a Perez shot gave the duo set point, causing Perez to throw down her racket in frustration.
The second seeds then cruised through the second set, winning match point on serve when Melichar-Martinez couldn’t handle Routliffe’s shot.
The showdown was a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which Melichar-Martinez and Perez won in a super tiebreak.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will face the winner of a match between Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, and Hao-Ching Chan and Veronika Kudermetova in the final on Saturday.
Dabrowski is aiming to become the first Canadian to win a WTA Finals title.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
