Cats eliminate Bombers, clinch home field

One fourth-quarter moment told the tale on Sunday afternoon in Winnipeg.

With his club trailing Hamilton by just four points in a game it had to win, Bombers quarterback Michael Bishop rifled a pass right into the hands of defender Markeith Knowlton, who ran it back 35 yards for a touchdown.

He and a gaggle of admiring teammates then jumped into a nearby boat, there as part of a promotion, and celebrated.

Yep, they were saying it was time for the Bombers to pull out the fishing equipment because their season was pretty much over.

As if we didn't get the joke the first time, Jykine Bradley picked off another Bishop desperation try five minutes later. He ran it in, and back to the boat they all went.

Hamilton outscored the host Bombers 22-1 in the second half to wrap up its first CFL post-season berth since 2004 and first home playoff game in eight years with a 39-17 victory.

"There's so much more work to do," said Tiger-Cats head coach Marcel Bellefeuille. "We're trying to win every week now.

"I want the players to celebrate for 24 hours and then we'll get this thing back to work."

Sunday's result sent Winnipeg home for the season and, by extension, brought the B.C. Lions into the playoffs through the back door as the crossover team from the West Division.

The crossover kicks in only if the fourth-place team in one division finishes with more points than the third-place team in the other. The Lions finished with two more points than the Bombers to earn the right.

The Ticats and Lions meet next Sunday in Hamilton at 1 p.m. ET, while Calgary will host Edmonton at 2:30 p.m. MT. Saskatchewan and Montreal finished first in the West and East, respectively, and have byes to the division finals on Nov. 22.

Bishop a chancy thing

Bishop came in early in the season to provide some quarterbacking experience for a Winnipeg club that at the time was an embarrassment. And they did recover to make a run.

But as any Toronto fan can tell you, the former Argo and Saskatchewan Roughrider has always been maddeningly inconsistent. Sunday, he went 8-for-26 for 122 yards and those two interceptions.

Worse, he threw for just 10 yards in an awful second-half performance in front of what had been a loud and proud crowd.

Despite an inconsistent offence, Winnipeg coach Mike Kelly said he wants the future to include Bishop, who was parachuted into Winnipeg in July to replace Stefan LeFors after the team opened with a 1-3 record.

Kelly's job security will no doubt be one of the off-season topics in Winnipeg. When his team was 3-8 in September, there were plenty of calls for his firing. However, he reportedly has two more guaranteed years on his contract plus an option so it would be expensive to get rid of him.

Hamilton quarterback Kevin Glenn made a triumphant return to the place he'd spent five years before new Winnipeg head coach Mike Kelly decided to dump the nine-year CFL veteran last off-season.

Glenn completed 28 of 42 throws for 316 yards, one touchdown and two picks. But helped by just enough rushing to get by, the Cats had 396 yards in total offence, and that did the trick.

Jeremy Ito, cut from the practice roster on Friday by the Cats and then hustled back into the lineup when regular kicker Nick Setta hurt himself in practice, had three field goals in his CFL debut.

Bellefeuille said he still didn't know the extent of Setta's quadriceps injury and whether he would be able to play in the semifinal.

The only scoring of the third quarter came off an Ito field goal as the defences took over.

Willis penalties hurt Bombers

A pair of indiscretions by Winnipeg defensive end Odell Willis led directly to the Cats' 17-16 first half lead.

Willis was flagged for roughing the passer as Glenn made the game's first completion, and that sent Hamilton on a six-play scoring drive that ended with a touchdown scamper by the quarterback for a 7-0 lead.

With the Bombers holding a 16-14 margin and the clock ticking down on the opening 30 minutes, Willis was caught for unnecessary roughness way up field on a completion by Glenn to Drisan James.

That had the Cats on the Winnipeg six-yard line, but two tosses went incomplete and Hamilton took a field goal by Ito.

Between those two drives, Bishop threw a 60-yard, pass-and-run touchdown to Titus Ryan that temporarily made the game 7-7.

Winnipeg's second major of the first half came from Glenn himself, courtesy of an interception into the hands of Lenny Walls that was run back 56 yards for what was then a 14-7 Bombers' lead.

Glenn then hit Arland Bruce III for a major.

Hamilton had 252 total yards in the first half to the home side's 174. Little did anyone know Winnipeg would be good for only 23 more the rest of the way.