TICATS 25 ESKIMOS 23

HAMILTON, Ont. (CP) – Hamilton’s offence was sputtering with a crucial piece lost to injury, but the Tiger-Cats defence held the Edmonton Eskimos at bay long enough for a comeback.

After losing running back C.J. Gable at the start of the game Saturday evening at Tim Hortons Field, the Ticats forced three turnovers and Zach Collaros connected with Brandon Banks for the winning touchdown in the fourth quarter en route to a 25-23.

“The defence was unbelievable,” said Collaros, who finished the game 25 for 35 for 275 yards with one passing touchdown, one rushing touchdown and one interception. “I gave (Edmonton) a touchdown, and if you take that away, we win this pretty easily.”

Having just returned from the disabled list, Gable suffered a shoulder injury on the team’s opening offensive series and did not return. The Ticats had not dressed a replacement.

Hamilton head coach Kent Austin said the loss of an effective running option played havoc with his playbook, and forced offensive coordinator Tommy Condell to get creative.

“That was one of the all-time top performances I’ve ever seen from a playcaller,” said Austin. “It had a cascading effect on our personnel groupings. We actually had to rename some of our groupings.”

The Tiger-Cats (4-7) held the Eskimos (8-4) to 316 total yards in the win. It was Hamilton’s second consecutive win, and their third in four games.

Hamilton has now won consecutive games against West Division opponents after beginning the season 0-6 against the West.

Edmonton quarterback Mike Reilly was 23 for 42 for 268 yards with two touchdowns, two interceptions and a fumble.

Eskimos head coach Chris Jones deemed the game winnable, but the execution just wasn’t there.

“Everything we could possibly have done to let them back into the game, we did,” said Jones. “Defensively, it looked like we hadn’t practised all week.”