Sergio Castillo’s 23-yard field goal with 21 seconds left in the final quarter earned the Winnipeg Blue Bombers a 14-13 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in a battle of backup quarterbacks Sunday night.
Winnipeg’s Taylor Elgersma and Hamilton’s Trey Ford — both Hec Crighton Trophy winners — both played in the contest after starters Zach Collaros and Bo Levi Mitchell were knocked out with injuries.
But it was Brady Oliveira who anchored Winnipeg’s offence, registering seven consecutive carries to set up Castillo’s winning boot at 14:39 of the fourth. The Bombers’ 12-play march covered 54 yards and took 2:46 off the clock.
Collaros suffered an upper-body injury after being sacked by Hamilton’s Reggie Stubblefield early in the second quarter. Mitchell left the field in an ambulance early in the third after Winnipeg’s Jake Ceresna came down on Mitchell’s left leg while sacking the Hamilton starter.
Ford won the ’21 Hec Crighton Trophy as Canadian university football’s top player in 2021 at Waterloo. Elgersma captured the honour in 2024 at Laurier.
Winnipeg (2-2) earned its first win in three games. Hamilton (2-2) lost for the first time in three contests.
Stubblefield hit Collaros’s shoulder first and his arm appeared to then contact the quarterback’s head. Collaros, 37, who has a history of concussions, walked off the field but remained on the sidelines with his helmet on as Elgersma took over.
Collaros completed five-of-seven passes for 41 yards with an interception. Elgersma finished 11-of-15 passing for 86 yards in his first action of the season.
And Hamilton lost Mitchell just 3:24 into the third. He remained on the field for at least 10 minutes and his left leg was stabilized before he was placed on a stretcher and loaded into an ambulance that had come on to the field.
Mitchell, 36, the East Division’s top player the last two seasons, gave the crowd the thumbs up before going into the ambulance. He missed much of the 2023 season, his first with Hamilton, with a lower leg fracture.
Mitchell was 18-of-29 passing for 228 yards and a touchdown. Veteran Tre Ford, the former Edmonton Elks starter who signed with Hamilton as an off-season free agent, took over under centre, but Jake Dolegala also took snaps.
Following an 18-minute delay, play resumed. Trey Vaval’s 46-yard punt return set up Elgersma’s 31-yard TD pass to Ontaria Wilson at 4:10, cutting Hamilton’s lead to 13-11.
Ford appeared to hit Kenny Lawler with a 51-yard TD pass 22 seconds into the fourth but upon review it was ruled incomplete.
Lawler had Hamilton’s touchdown. Marc Liegghio added two field goals and a convert.
Castillo kicked two field goals, a single and convert for Winnipeg.
Castillo’s missed 56-yard field goal try went for the single at 14:23 of the second quarter, cutting Hamilton’s halftime lead to 13-4. Liegghio put Hamilton ahead 13-3 with a 20-yard field goal at 12:17, culminating a10-play, 64-yard drive.
Castillo’s 46-yard field goal at 12:33 pulled Winnipeg to within 7-3. Liegghio restored the seven-point advantage at 6:27 with a 10-yard field goal, capping another 10-play march, this one covering 90 yards.
Lawler opened the scoring with a 19-yard TD grab two minutes into the first. It was set up by Destin Talbert’s interception on Winnipeg’s first play from scrimmage.
Blue Bombers: Host the Toronto Argonauts (2-2) on Friday.
Tiger-Cats: Visit the Saskatchewan Roughriders (3-1) on Sunday, July 12.