WINNIPEG — Kiondre Smith’s pair of first half touchdowns powered the Hamilton Tiger-Cats over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 37-27 Thursday night from Princess Auto Stadium.
The Canadian receiver finished with five catches for 92 yards to go along with the two majors. Despite both of the 26-year-old’s scores coming in the first half, it was the Blue Bombers who opened the scoring midway through the first quarter with a Sergio Castillo field goal.
The rest of the opening frame featured shots back-and-forth. For Hamilton, Bo Levi Mitchell and Smith connected in the end zone to cap off a four-play touchdown drive, all before the Bombers answered with a three-play scoring drive themselves, with a 41-yard touchdown by Nic Demski the exclamation point to take back a 10-7 lead.
Winnipeg chipped away at Hamilton’s lead in the third quarter, but only just a chip. Castillo’s second field goal of the night was the only score in the change-of-pace third, as the Tiger-Cats lead 24-13 after three.
The touchdowns returned in the fourth, as a Jake Dolegala quarterback sneak extended Hamilton’s lead to 31-13, before an Ontaria Wilson five-yard touchdown catch and a Bryce Perkins sneak for Winnipeg cut the the lead to one-score.
Ultimately, a late Smith catch to set up another Liegghio field goal would seal the deal for Hamilton, as the Scarborough, Ont. native’s pair of touchdowns and Hamilton’s early lead was too much to overcome for Winnipeg.
RELATED
» Depth Charts: HAM |WPG
» Game Notes: Tiger-Cats at Blue Bombers
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SCORING PLAYS
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- Sergio Castillo 19-yard field goal (05:16, Q1) | WPG 3, HAM 0
- Bo Levi Mitchell 11-yard touchdown pass to Kiondre Smith (02:56, Q1) | HAM 7, WPG 3
- Zach Collaros 41-yard touchdown pass to Nic Demski (00:51, Q1) | WPG 10, HAM 7
- Bo Levi Mitchell four-yard touchdown pass to Max Mang (08:00, Q2) | HAM 14, WPG 10
- Bo Levi Mitchell 23-yard touchdown pass to Kiondre Smith (02:33, Q2) | HAM 21, WPG 10
- Marc Liegghio 53-yard field goal (00:06, Q2) | HAM 24, WPG 10
- Sergio Castillo 45-yard field goal (10:55, Q3) | HAM 24, WPG 13
- Jake Dolegala one-yard touchdown run (14:47, Q4) | HAM 31, WPG 13
- Zach Collaros 5-yard touchdown pass to Ontaria Wilson (09:35, Q4) | HAM 31, WPG 20
- Marc Liegghio 46-yard field goal (04:33, Q4) | HAM 34, WPG 20
- Bryce Perkins one-yard touchdown run (2:13, Q4) | HAM 34, WPG 27
- Marc Liegghio 23-yard field goal (00:36, Q4) | HAM 37, WPG 27
NEXT UP
Hamilton will head back home to host the BC Lions to kick off Week 3 on Friday, Jun. 19. After a bye in Week 1, BC kicks off their season in Regina this weekend before continuing east on the road to Hamilton.
For Winnipeg, Week 3 brings a bye for the Blue Bombers before returning to action to begin Week 4, as they host the Edmonton Elks on Thursday Jun. 25. The pair of teams last matched up in Week 19 of 2025, when Edmonton won 25-20 at home over Winnipeg.
