Masoli leads Ticats past Lions in East Division semifinal

HAMILTON Jeremiah Masoli showed Sunday why he’s the East Division nominee for the CFL’s outstanding player award.

Masoli threw three first-half touchdowns to lead the Hamilton Tiger-Cats to a lopsided 48-8 East Division semifinal win over the B.C. Lions. That capped a memorable week for Masoli, who earned the outstanding player nomination as well as his first-ever division all-star nod after finishing second overall in passing (5,209 yards) in his first full season as a CFL starter.

“All those things are nice and all good but if you don’t win the Grey Cup it’s just for naught,” Masoli said. “We’re focused on our ultimate goal as a team.

“Just happy for the guys in that lockerroom to come out and have that dominating win and get that momentum and all those good vibes going.”

Masoli was 14-of-19 passing for 259 yards and helped Hamilton emphatically snap a three-game losing streak. The Ticats were the last team to reach the East final after losing their final three regular-season contests, doing so in 2015.

Retired wrestler Ric Flair whipped the announced Tim Hortons Field sellout of 23,911 into a frenzy by leading the pre-game Oskee-Wee-Wee chant. But Masoli set the tone by converting a second-and-12 situation with a 38-yard completion to Bralon Addison on the Ticats’ second play from scrimmage.