Lions stumble in Hamilton and slip to 0-2 to start the season

Kenny Lawler (#89) was one of Bo Levi Mitchell's favorite targets, helping the Tiger-Cats defeat the BC Lions 41-27 with four receptions for 81 yards and a touchdown.

HAMILTON — Billed as a quarterback duel, the game turned into a one-man show. Powered by an unstoppable Bo Levi Mitchell, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats handled the BC Lions 41-27 on Friday night at Hamilton Stadium.

The loss leaves the Lions with a start to forget. At 0-2, the Vancouver club is off to its worst beginning since 2019 — a stat that weighs heavily in a locker room that expected far better.

Mitchell, untouched

Hamilton's veteran gave the Lions' defence nothing to work with. Mitchell posted a perfect passer rating for the second straight game, finishing the night with 285 yards and no fewer than five touchdown passes while completing 15 of his 18 attempts. The five-touchdown effort tied his single-game career high.

The pivot was barely bothered all night. With no pressure in front of him, he took his time picking out his targets, starting with Kenny Lawler, his favourite option, who hauled in four catches for 81 yards and a touchdown. Rookie Maximilian Mang also got in on the act, with two touchdowns on the evening.

The Tiger-Cats' number 9 also wrote a page of history: Mitchell now sits at 270 career touchdown passes, which ties him for ninth all-time in the CFL with none other than Doug Flutie — and makes him the only active player on that list.

By halftime, the scoreboard already read 27-9 in favour of the home side. The Lions had actually controlled the ball, reaching the red zone on each of their first three drives, but never cracked the end zone: three Sean Whyte field goals, and that was it. The turning point came on a Stavros Katsantonis interception, followed by a 49-yard bomb to Lawler that blew the game open just before the break.

Cenacle, the silver lining

One bright spot in the gloom: Nick Cenacle. The Montrealer, a rookie out of the University of Hawaii and a fifth-round pick in the last CFL draft, was simply making his first professional regular-season appearance. And what an introduction: as the favourite target of an offence short on answers, he reeled in nine catches for 120 yards — already a 100-yard game — to go with two touchdowns.

Interestingly, his two touchdowns came from two different quarterbacks: the first on a pass from Nathan Rourke, the second from backup Chase Brice late in the contest. Enough to give Lions fans a reason to smile, and to prove that the fifth round sometimes hides a real find.

A receiving room piling up in the trainer's office

The trouble is that Cenacle finds himself almost alone. Already without Keon Hatcher Sr., Stanley Berryhill III, Jevon Cottoy and Seven McGee, the Lions watched their receiving corps thin out even further during the game. Kieran Poissant had to leave the contest, while Justin McInnis gave everyone a scare by grabbing his ankle after a play — though he gritted his teeth and stayed in the fight, a relief for an offence already low on ammunition.

With a receiving group that depleted, Rourke struggled to generate any offence. The reigning Most Outstanding Player was held under the 300-yard mark for the first time this season, completing 24 of his 35 passes for 291 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

A defence that never showed up

If the offence lacked bite, the defence was flat-out absent. The Lions' defensive line generated no pressure on Mitchell, leaving him all the time in the world to read the play and wait for his receivers to come open. And when a quarterback gets to take his time like that, the rest is predictable: BC's defensive backs were nowhere to be found, unable to cover long enough to make up for the lack of a pass rush. That's the perfect recipe for a perfect passer rating — and Mitchell didn't need to be told twice.

Up next

The good news for the Lions is that they are finally heading home. Vancouver will play its home opener in Kelowna on Saturday, June 26, against the Calgary Stampeders. It is a familiar opponent for B.C.: the Lions swept all three regular-season meetings in 2025 before edging the Stampeders 33-30 in the West Division Semi-Final. That history should provide at least a measure of confidence as they return "home" despite their shaky start to the season.

As for Hamilton, the Tiger-Cats will enjoy a Week 4 bye before hosting the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Sunday, July 5. It will be the second meeting between the two teams this season, with Hamilton already claiming a 37-27 victory in Week 2.