TICATS DO RIDERS HUGE FAVOUR

Photo: CFL.ca

HAMILTON – Lirim Hajrullahu hit a 29-yard field goal on the game’s final play to rally the Hamilton Tiger-Cats to an improbable 25-24 home win over the Edmonton Eskimos on Thursday.

Edmonton (6-4) used a 24-point second quarter to take a 14-point half-time advantage. And the Eskimos led 24-13 lead heading into the fourth.

But Hamilton (4-6) got cranked up in the final quarter. Jeremiah Masoli’s 84-yard completion to Mike Jones put the Ticats at the Edmonton 21, setting up Lirim Hajrullahu’s 28-yard field goal at 9:38 that cut the Eskimos lead to 24-16.

Masoli hit Luke Tasker with a 51-yard touchdown pass on third-and-2 at 12:23 to pull Hamilton to within 24-22 as the two-point convert was unsuccessful. That made a missed Hajrullahu 41-yard field goal attempt earlier in the quarter loom large.

With 1:32 remaining, Masoli took over at Hamilton’s 38-yard line and moved the Ticats to the Edmonton 21, where Hajruallhu had a final chance to make up for his earlier miss. With the game on the line, the veteran kicker connected.

That gave the Ticats a second win in as many games versus Edmonton. Hamilton opened its season June 22 with a 38-21 win at Commonwealth Stadium.

(The Canadian Press)