Harrison Frost, Kenny Lawler power Tiger-Cats past REDBLACKS

OTTAWA — A big outing from Harrison Frost and Kenny Lawler helped the Hamilton Tiger-Cats to a 34-16 road win over the Ottawa REDBLACKS on Friday night football. The duo combined on two touchdowns in the second half as the Ticats' defence shut out their opponent after the break.

Lawler finished with his best stat line of the season, compiling 132 yards and two touchdowns on six receptions while Frost completed 28 of his 35 pass attempts for 342 yards on the night. Lawler's first major at the end of the third quarter gave Hamilton their first lead and there was no looking back from there as Hamilton ended a five-game slide.

With Ottawa up 16-13 at the break, both offences stalled coming out of halftime. That changed when Frost and the Tabbies put together an 11-play, 92-yard scoring drive. Frost connected with Lawler for a five-yard major to put Hamilton on top 20-16.

The duo stayed hot on Hamilton's ensuing possession, with Frost firing to Lawler for a 41-yard touchdown, making it a two-score game at 27-16.

Disaster stuck for the REDBLACKS as their first turnover of the game sealed the deal for the Ticats. Hamilton's Mitchell Agude stripped McLeod Bethel-Thompson and made the fumble recovery, giving Hamilton possession at Ottawa's 41. Jake Dolegala then got into the end zone for his second major of the evening to secure the victory for the Tabbies.

Ottawa was up 10-3 after the opening quarter after a flea flicker led to an impressive contested catch by Cade McDonald, setting up a short-yardage score by Bryson Barnes. The REDBLACKS would settle for a pair of Paul Geelen field goals in the second quarter but couldn't find any points in the second half as they dropped their 15th in a row this season, setting a new CFL record for consecutive losses to start a campaign.

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SCORING PLAYS

• Paul Geelen 44-yard field goal (11:46, Q1) | OTT 3, HAM 0

• Marc Liegghio 28-yard field goal (6:06, Q1) | OTT 3, HAM 3

• Bryson Barnes one-yard rushing touchdown (2:33, Q1) | OTT 10, HAM 3

• Paul Geelen 17-yard field goal (12:14, Q2) | OTT 13, HAM 3

• Jake Dolegala one-yard rushing touchdown (9:09, Q2) | OTT 13, HAM 10

• Paul Geelen 49-yard field goal (5:30, Q2) | OTT 16, HAM 10

• Marc Liegghio 38-yard field goal (2:52, Q2) | OTT 16, HAM 13

• Harrison Frost five-yard touchdown pass to Kenny Lawler (00:00, Q3) | HAM 20, OTT 16

• Harrison Frost 41-yard touchdown pass to Kenny Lawler (9:04, Q4) | HAM 27, OTT 16

• Jake Dolegala one-yard rushing touchdown (2:58, Q4) | HAM 34, OTT 16

NEXT UP

The Tiger-Cats will help kickoff Mobil Thanksgiving Weekend when they host the Edmonton Elks on Friday, October 9. Hamilton saw their playoff hopes dashed when they fell to Edmonton in overtime in Week 17.

Later on Friday, the REDBLACKS will go up against the BC Lions in Vancouver. The REDBLACKS have dropped three of their past four meetings with the Lions.