In a season that has included an 0-8 start and a 60-1 to loss, Friday night’s defeat to the Calgary Stampeders featured the most unbelievable moment yet.
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats lost 28-25 to the Stamps after taking a 62-yard pass interference penalty on the second-to-last play of the game, then surrendering a chip shot field goal with zeros on the clock.
“It was a broken and when the ball went up… there really are no excuses, man,” said safety Courtney Stephen, who was flagged. “I let my team down and I didn’t make the play.”
They spend the rest of the night at the mercy of Ottawa: if the Redblacks win against Saskatchewan in the late game, Hamilton’s post-season chances are fully extinguished. If the Riders win, the Ticats are still alive.
So either the Hamilton Tiger-Cats are out of playoffs or they’ve dodged a major bullet. (UPDATE: The Redblacks won and the Ticats are out.)
If it was the Ticats final meaningful game of 2017, it certainly had a playoff feel.
After losing to the Stamps 60-1 back in July – the low point of the team’s 0-8 start – and early on, it looked like another blowout was in the offing. The Ticats spotted Calgary an 11-0 lead, giving up a punt block for a touchdown then turning the ball over on a Masoli interception.
But the defence buckled down and the offence found its footing, putting together two touchdown drives in the first 30 minutes. A pair of two-point conversions fell short, however, and Calgary led 14-12 at the half.
Hamilton got their second turnover of the game midway through the third, forcing a fumble and returning it to the Calgary 13. The Ticats went for it on third-and-one from the Stampeder four-yard line but instead of sneaking it, Masoli threw incomplete to Tasker.
The defence got Masoli the ball back with good field position, however, and new kicker Kenny Allen drilled it from 32 yards out to give the home side a one-point lead heading into the fourth. It was only the second time all year the Stampeders trailed after 45 minutes.
Calgary quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell, who was not his superlative self on this night, still managed an all-world throw when it mattered most, connecting with receiver Kamar Jorden – who made a sensational grab – in the front corner of the end zone. A two-point conversion gave the Stamps a late seven-point lead.
But Masoli orchestrated a 13-play, 90-yard drive and, with a huge assist from the command centre on a June Jones challenge in the end zone, scored with under a minute left. Allen hit his first-ever CFL extra point to tie it.
Then the dagger: Ticat Courtney Stephen took a 62-yard pass interference penalty with no time on the clock to set up a short field goal with zeros on the clock. 28-25, final.
The Ticats travel to Montreal next Sunday to take on the Alouettes in a game that could be the next in a long series of must-win affairs. Or it could mean nothing at all.
