Whyte’s overtime field goal earns Lions 41-38 victory over Ticats

HAMILTON — It wasn’t perfect but for Nathan Rourke and the B.C. Lions, it was good enough.

Rourke threw for 408 yards and two TDs as B.C. earned a 41-38 overtime win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Thursday night. Sean Whyte delivered the winning points, hitting a 19-yard field goal to cap the Lions’ first possession in extra time.

B.C. (4-5) earned its first win in three games and avenged a 37-33 home loss to Hamilton on July 27.

“It’s going to take a lot more wins like that at that quality against those type of teams for the rest of the season,” Rourke said. “It’s a good confidence-builder knowing we can play below our standard of football, make some mistakes and gut out a victory, no matter how pretty it looks.

“A win is a win, that’s a great football team we just beat.”

Hamilton (6-3) had its six-game win streak snapped.

Hamilton had the opening possession of overtime. But former Ticat DeWayne Hendrix recovered Tim White’s fumble following a completion, to the dismay of the Hamilton Stadium gathering of 24,012.

“The group focused on the things we needed to fix and we were able to implement those things when it mattered most,” said Lions head coach Buck Pierce. “I thought there was some growth.

“Obviously there’s still a lot of stuff to clean … but that’s the exciting part too. I’m proud of the way the guys finished and the poise they played with. It just felt like someone was going to step up and make a play at the end.”

Rourke finished 24-of-40 passing with an interception while rushing twice for 28 yards. Butler ran for 85 yards and a touchdown while adding four receptions for 55 yards and a TD.

Justin McInnis had eight catches for 159 yards while Ayden Eberhardt recorded three receptions for 120 yards. B.C. had 514 total offensive yards and finished four-of-five in the redzone.

Hamilton forced overtime on Marc Liegghio’s 29-yard field goal on the final play of regulation, ending a five-play, 44-yard march that began with 32 seconds remaining. It came after Rourke found Butler on a 16-yard TD pass at 14:22 to end a seven-play, 85-yard drive that began with 1:47 remaining.

Liegghio’s 43-yard field goal at 13:07 staked Hamilton to a 35-31 lead. It was set up by Julian Howsare’s interception and 32-yard return that put the Ticats at the Lions’ 38-yard line.

Liegghio banked a 43-yard field goal in off the upright at 11:01 to give Hamilton a 32-31 lead.

Whyte had put B.C. ahead 31-29 with a 39-yard field goal at 6:45. It came after Liegghio missed from 36 yards out for the single at 4:03.

Hamilton’s Bo Levi Mitchell completed 23-of-33 passes for 305 yards and three second-half touchdowns. With returner Isaiah Wooden Sr. (upper body) out in the first half, White stepped in and amassed 223 all-purpose yards (five catches for 84 yards, a two-yard run, four kickoff returns for 89 yards, three punt returns for 37 yards and an 11-yard missed field goal return).

“I’m disappointed with the loss, I’m disappointed that we didn’t reward our home crowd for the showing they gave us,” said Hamilton head coach Scott Milanovich. “But I’m not disappointed with the locker room.

“They played hard, they played their guts out. Each phase of this football team had opportunities to win it and each phase of this football team, coaches included, has to take ownership of the fact that we didn’t win. We’ll come back from this … the next couple of days they’ll get rested up and we’ll get ready for a big game (next Saturday versus Saskatchewan).”

Wooden Sr., Jevoni Robinson, Shemar Bridges and Kiondre Smith scored Hamilton’s touchdowns. Liegghio had three converts, three field goals and a single while Nik Constantinou added a convert.

Butler, with two, Jevon Cottoy, and Jeremiah Masoli had B.C.’s touchdowns. Riley Pickett added a two-point convert while Whyte booted four field goals and three converts.

At halftime, Hamilton added Miles Gorrell, a Hall of Fame offensive lineman, to its Wall of Fame.

Rourke’s 15-yard TD strike to Cottoy at 14:49 of the second quarter staked B.C. to a 13-7 halftime lead. The score flattered Hamilton, which had 61 net offensive yards and four first downs from just 16 first-half plays.

B.C. accumulated 252 yards from 29 plays and had the ball for 19 minutes 18 seconds.

Both Whyte and Liegghio had lengthy field-goal streaks end in the second.

Liegghio missed from 42-yards out with just over a minute left, his first in 34 attempts. Liegghio was hurt on the return.

Whyte looked to put B.C. ahead with a 53-yard field goal attempt earlier, but missed after 33 straight successful boots.

But the teams combined for 56 second-half points before Whyte settled the matter in overtime.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 7, 2025.

Dan Ralph, The Canadian Press