Tre Ford, Marc Liegghio lead Hamilton Tiger-Cats to 35-22 win over Ottawa Redblacks

HAMILTON – The Ottawa Redblacks’ bitterly disappointing season is over but Kalil Pimpleton doesn’t want his teammates to forget it.

Tre Ford threw two TD passes and Marc Liegghio kicked seven field goals to power the Hamilton Tiger-Cats past Ottawa 35-22 on Saturday afternoon. It was the Redblacks’ 17th loss in 18 CFL games this season and 23rd in 24 contests dating back to last year.

And that alone should be more than enough motivation for Redblacks players this off-season.

“I don’t see why it wouldn’t,” Pimpleton said. “Let’s call it how it is, the 2026 Ottawa Redblacks are probably going down as one of the worst teams in sporting history.

“And if that doesn’t motivate you, I don’t know what else can. Who wants that on their name? Nobody. But since it is on our name, let’s make up for it. Let’s turn this around and not have it again.”

Ottawa was coming off its first win of the year, a 40-39 decision over the Toronto Argonauts. But the Redblacks committed four turnovers (fumble, two interceptions, downs) and had a punt partially blocked that Hamilton converted into 20 points (two touchdowns, two field goals).

Pimpleton has been one of Ottawa’s few bight spots this season. On Saturday, he had four kickoff returns for 98 yards, giving him 1,834 on the year, breaking Ian Smart’s CFL mark of 1,805 set in 2008.

“It means a lot,” Pimpleton said. “It says Kalil Pimpleton but that’s the 2026 Ottawa Redblacks that did that.

“I’m just forever grateful to be able to go down in history with my brothers with those numbers.”

Ottawa’s numbers since reaching the 2018 Grey Cup are dismal. The team has made the CFL playoffs just once (2024) and amassed a 28-93-1 record, posting double-digit losses six times.

And a 1-17 mark isn’t what head coach/GM Ryan Dinwiddie had in mind when he joined the Redblacks before the 2026 season. Over five years with Toronto, Dinwiddie led the Argonauts to two Grey Cups and was the 2023 CFL coach of the year.

“I think we’re going to be better and we’ve got to find ways to get better,” Dinwiddie said. “I think there’s some good players in that locker room, some good coaches in there, too.

“We’ve got to find solutions to fix this ship. This is not where we want to be. We’ve got a lot of work to do.”

This week, Ottawa hired Mike Morreale as its new president. Morreale not only won two Grey Cups as a CFL player but co-founded the Canadian Elite Basketball League in 2017 and served as commissioner until October 2025.

“We’ve sat down twice and had good conversations,” Dinwiddie said. “I think he’s got a lot of knowledge, been successful in everything he’s done and we’re going to work together to right the ship.

“The off-season starts (Sunday).”

Hamilton (6-12) earned just its second win over the final eight regular-season games. Both were against Ottawa as the Ticats claimed a 34-16 decision at TD Place on Oct. 2.

“It wasn’t the year we wanted as a team,” said Ticats receiver Jaelen Gill. “We just wanted to go out with a bang, have a good last game for the fans and city of Hamilton.

“We just wanted to go out there and put our best foot forward, play physical, play fast … and show what we’ll be bringing into next year.”

Liegghio finished one field goal short of Paul Osbaldiston’s club record. Ford completed 18-of-25 passes for 170 yards while rushing eight times for 52 yards.

Ottawa’s Bryson Barnes was 13-of-26 passing for 163 yards and two interceptions. Barnes threw for 339 yards and two TDs last week against Toronto in his first CFL start.

Veteran Jake Maier, who was 0-12 earlier this year as Ottawa’s starter, completed 13-of-15 passes for 131 yards in the fourth quarter. Maier had TD passes of five yards to Ayden Eberhardt and three yards to Justin Hardy.

Gill and Larry Rountree III scored Hamilton’s touchdowns. Liegghio added the converts.

Ottawa’s Paul Geelen kicked three field goals and a convert.

Rountree’s five-yard TD grab at 14:40 of the third moved the Ticats up 35-9. It followed Ryan Baker’s partially blocked punt.

Liegghio’s 37-yard field goal at 5:02 moved Hamilton ahead 25-9. He connected from 42 yards out at 6:42.

The kickers dominated the opening half with eight combined field goals, the last being Liegghio’s 53-yard boot to end the half. That gave Hamilton a 22-9 lead as the Ticats scored 10 points off three Ottawa turnovers.

Geelen hit a 28-yard kick at 14:33 after Liegghio’s 22-yard field goal at 13:43. It was set up by Isaiah Wooden Sr.’s 45-yard punt return.

A scrambling Ford found Gill on a 16-yard TD pass at 10:49 to put Hamilton up 16-6. It followed Wynton McManis’s 33-yard interception return.

Liegghio gave Hamilton a 9-6 lead with a 40-yard field goal at 4:18. It came after Barnes was stopped on third-and-one at Ottawa’s 39-yard line.

Geelen made it 6-6 with a 53-yard field goal at 14:20 of the first after Liegghio’s 46-yarder at 11:26. Liegghio connected from 34 yards out at 7:17 after Geelen’ s 28-yard field goal at 3:57 opened the scoring.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct., 24, 2026.