HAMILTON—Hamilton quarterback Henry Burris threw two touchdown passes as the Tiger-Cats kept their playoff hopes alive by winning the last football game to be played at venerable Ivor Wynne Stadium 28-18 over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in front of a sellout crowd of 29,722.

The loss eliminates the Bombers from the playoffs.

Chris Williams, Andy Fantuz and Greg Peach each scored touchdowns for Hamilton (6-11).

Winnipeg quarterback Joey Elliott and Terence Edwards each scored for the Bombers (5-12).

Hamilton kicker Luca Congi was good on two of three field-goal attempts, missing a 40-yarder that slipped off the tee, and hitting from 18 and 36 yards.

Winnipeg kicker Justin Palardy was good on his lone attempt, from 22 yards.

Burris’ two TD passes gave him 39 on the season, tying a career best.

Winnipeg’s starting QB Buck Pierce left the game after an ineffective first quarter and was replaced by Elliott, who threw for one touchdown, one interception and ran for a six-yard TD.

With identical 5-11 records at the bottom of the CFL East Division, both teams were in danger of losing the East’s third and final playoff spot to a West Division team in a crossover. Both Hamilton and Winnipeg needed to win their final two games to stay in the hunt.

Now the Ticats’ attention turns to Edmonton and Toronto. Hamilton needs the Eskimos to lose both its remaining games this season to avoid the crossover. Failing that, they need Toronto to lose this week, and then they need to beat the Argos next week by nine points or more.

It was a rainy and slick end to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats’ final game at Ivor Wynne Stadium. Although it was announced as a sellout the crowd looked spotty as many didn’t fill their seats in the downpour. The stadium was built in 1928 and will be demolished in December to make room for a new facility in time for the Pan American Games.

The Ticats announced an all-time team in the pre-game show and celebrated the 1972 Hamilton Tiger-Cats at halftime — the only Ticat team to win a Grey Cup on home turf.

Hamilton took a 22-3 halftime lead. Congi added to it with an 18-yard field goal on their opening possession of the third, a drive set up by a 41-yard punt return by Onrea Jones to the Winnipeg 31. But the Bombers answered late in the quarter with a 53-yard drive that ended with Elliott’s TD run to pull to 25-10.

In the fourth, the Hamilton defence made a stand at third-and-two at the Winnipeg 37 and the Ticats took over with three minutes left. That led to Congi’s 36-yard field goal and a 28-10 score.

Geoff Tisdale intercepted Elliott at the Hamilton 19 with 1:13 left. When the Ticat offence couldn’t run out the clock, a 39-yard punt return by Jovon Johnson set up a 41-yard touchdown pass from Elliott to Edwards with a two-point conversion to pull to 28-18 but it was too little too late.

In the first quarter, Burris hit Williams for a 19-yard touchdown pass on Hamilton’s first drive of the game to give the sophomore receiver his 15th TD of the season, tying a club record with Ronald Williams and Tony Champion.

On Winnipeg’s ensuing possession, Pierce was sacked by Brandon Boudreaux at the Bomber 26, causing a fumble that took a Hamilton bounce and was recovered at the Winnipeg one-yard line and run in by defensive end Peach, and the Ticats were quickly up 14-0.

The weather slowed their momentum on the next drive when Congi missed a 40-yard field-goal attempt low after the ball slipped off the wet tee — the second time in row that has happened. Congi could have scored a walk-off winning field goal last week against Calgary, but again the ball slipped off the tee in snowy conditions.

The Ticats put together a 68-yard drive late in the half, highlighted by a 27-yard reception by Dave Stala that put him over 5,000 reception yards for his career. Burris finished the drive with an eight-yard TD pass to Fantuz and the 22-0 lead. That gave Burris his 39th TD pass on the season, tying his career best.

Palardy’s 22-yard field goal with six seconds left in the half finished the scoring heading into the locker room.

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