Powell's late TD keeps RedBlacks' 1st-place hopes alive

William Powell's 43-yard touchdown run with 38 seconds to play Friday gave the Ottawa RedBlacks the win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, and kept the club's first-place dreams alive.

The standout rusher finished the game with 133 yards and two touchdowns on the ground and moved Ottawa ahead of the Toronto Argonauts for top spot in the East division.

Hamilton was already eliminated from the playoffs, but certainly didn't look like a club that had nothing to play for, as the Ticats ended the opening quarter with a 16-0 lead.

A big second quarter got the RedBlacks back in the contest, as the club rode both Trevor Harris and Powell on the offensive end to make this one close.

Harris finished with 313 yards passing and two touchdowns, while Drew Tate threw a 39-yard score to Juron Criner as well.

While the Tiger-Cats dropped to 5-12 with the loss, the passing attack is certainly a positive to be taken from Friday's contest. Jeremiah Masoli threw for 426 yards and four scores, while Luke Tasker and Brandon Banks combined for 321 yards and three touchdowns receiving.

On a bye next week, the RedBlacks will now don their BC Lions gear and root for the West division club next week versus the Argos with the East title on the line. A win would be enough for Toronto to claim the honor.