Veteran Bo Levi Mitchell throws five TD strikes as Ticats maul Argos

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TORONTO — Bo Levi Mitchell threw five touchdown passes to lead the Hamilton Tiger-Cats past the Toronto Argonauts 51-38 on Friday night.

Mitchell cemented the win with a 16-yard touchdown pass to Kiondre Smith at 4:29 of the fourth quarter that put Hamilton ahead 44-26. It came after Toronto had pulled to within 37-26.

Mitchell completed 19-of-24 passes for 332 yards with no interceptions and became the 11th player in CFL history to crack the 40,000-yard plateau. The 35-year-old native of Katy, Texas, improved his career record against Toronto to 16-2.

Toronto pulled to within 44-32 on Khalan Laborn’s one-yard run at 8:01. Following consecutive procedure penalties, Nick Arbuckle’s pass for the two-point convert was incomplete.

Then Hamilton’s Isaiah Wooden Sr. returned the kickoff 86 yards for a touchdown at 8:47.

Hamilton (2-2) has won its last four games against Toronto (1-4) after going 3-0 last year against the defending Grey Cup champions. The Argos also dropped to 0-3 at home, to the dismay of a BMO Field gathering of 12,701.

Hamilton earned its first road victory of 2025 and only its second win in its last eight visits to BMO Field.

Arbuckle finished 27-of-38 passing for 339 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Arbuckle’s six-yard TD pass to Kevin Mital at 14:08 rounded out the scoring as the two-point convert was unsuccessful.

Kenny Lawler, with three, Tyler Ternowski and Greg Bell had Hamilton’s other touchdowns. Marc Liegghio booted six converts and a field goal.

Kevin Brown, Janarion Grant and Damonte Coxie scored Toronto’s other touchdowns. Lirim Hajrullahu added two converts and two field goals.

One play after Toronto punter John Haggerty was flagged for an illegal kick, Mitchell hit Lawler on a 46-yard touchdown pass at 11:08 of the third. That put Hamilton ahead 37-19 as the convert was unsuccessful.

Arbuckle countered with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Coxie at 14:57 to cut Hamilton’s lead to 37-26.

Bell capped Hamilton’s opening possession of the third with a six-yard TD run at 6:34. But Grant returned the ensuing kickoff 99 yards for the touchdown at 7:09, cutting Hamilton’s advantage to 31-19 as the two-point convert was unsuccessful.

Mitchell’s three first-half TD passes staked Hamilton to its 24-13 halftime lead. The Ticats averaged nine yards per play in the opening half and were a stellar seven-of-10 on second down.

Mitchell was 11-of-14 passing for 186 yards as Hamilton’s offence amassed 207 net yards (compared to 132 for Toronto).

Hajrullahu’s 53-yard field goal at 12:42 of the second cut Hamilton’s lead to 24-13. Mitchell ended a nine-play, 70-yard march with a 25-yard touchdown pass to Ternowski at 7:06 to put the Ticats ahead 24-10.

Hajrullahu’s 50-yard field goal at 1:40 had pulled Toronto to within 17-10. Mitchell found Lawler on a 79-yard TD strike at 13:31 of the first that put Hamilton ahead 17-7.

It followed Liegghio’s 44-yard boot at 10:13, which was set by Wooden Sr.’s 51-yard punt return. Lawler made it 7-7 with a 25-yard TD catch at 6:21 that immediately followed former Argo DaShaun Amos’s interception.

Brown opened the scoring with a two-yard run at 3:21 that capped a six-play, 68-yard drive to start the contest.

UP NEXT

Tiger-Cats: Host the Ottawa Redblacks on Saturday, July 12.

Argonauts: Visit the Montreal Alouettes on July 17.