Lightning can strike often enough to delay a football game. But never twice.
Ten days after staging the biggest comeback in team history, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats fell behind 34-0 after 30 minutes and limped to a 37-11 drubbing at the hands of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. The game was delayed more than two-and-half hours due to lightning and didn’t begin until 10:08 p.m. local time (11:08 p.m. EST.)
Technically, it finished at 12:50 a.m. on Thursday but it was over long before that.
Quarterback Jermiah Masoli threw a pick six on the Ticats first play from scrimmage, then fell behind 14-0 after Bomber quarterback Matt Nichols threw his first of a pair touchdown passes.
Masoli fumbled on the next drive and that led to another touchdown. The Bombers scored again on their next possession. Then they blocked a punt and kicked a field goal. Then Masoli threw another interception and the Bombers tacked on three more.
It was 34-0 at halftime.
Masoli played terribly with three interceptions, a lost fumble and 7.1 quarterback rating in the first half and has now turned the ball over nine times in two games against the Bombers this season. The Ticats coughed it up six times in a 28-24 loss back in Hamilton on July 7 in what was a leading candidate for their worst game of the season.
Until this one, that is.
It wasn’t just the quarterback. In that awful first 30 minutes, the Ticats defence allowed Nichols, starting just his second game of the season, to complete 89 per cent of his passes, missed several tackles and lost the time of possession battle by almost six minutes. The offensive line allowed three sacks and even the Hamilton special teams, typically so reliable, looked shaky.
For those determined to find a silver lining – beyond the lightning that is – the Ticats did play better in the second half, mounting two scoring drives and holding the Bombers off the scoreboard until late in the fourth. However, given that no CFL team has ever come back from 34 points down – the record is 27 – the final two quarters were essentially extended garbage time.
At least the hardy and long-suffering Bomber fans were rewarded. More than 17,000 stuck around to watch the game and see legendary receiver Milt Stegall get added to the team’s ring of honour. It was just Winnipeg’s eighth home win since Investors Group Field opened in 2013.
And for Ticats fans tired of the Jeremiah Masoli experience – it’s certain been an up-and-down affair – it may be coming to end shortly: Ticats quarterback Zach Collaros could make his season debut a week Saturday when the Ticats travel to B.C. to face the Lions.
CFL fans clear the stands due to a threat of severe weather prior to CFL action between the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in Winnipeg Wednesday, August 3, 2016. THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods
