BREAKDOWN IN TORONTO
Argos come back to defeat Redblacks
ARGOS 42, REDBLACKS 41
It was absolutely crushing, gut wrenching — a game that somehow, someway got away, a game the Ottawa Redblacks never should have lost.
But they did.
With one second left, the Toronto Argonauts got a touchdown pass to Armanti Edwards from McLeod Bethel-Thompson, a 30-year-old starting his first CFL game.
And it was 42-41 for the home side at BMO Field with just a kickoff remaining. Game over.
“It got away,” said Redblacks coach Rick Campbell. “Credit them, they made plays to win the game. We never viewed it that we had the game in the bag. It’s the CFL and a lot of stuff happens — that’s why people like this league.”
Redblacks quarterback Trevor Harris was locked and loaded, throwing for 381 yards.
Diontae Spencer (145 yards in pass receptions) also had a huge game and scored his team’s first special-teams touchdown of the year with an 87-yard scamper on a punt return.
The defence made big plays, too, but couldn’t stop the Argos when it counted most.
“It’s one of those things (that stays with you) if you let it,” said Harris. “It’s going to bother us for a day or so ... if it doesn’t, then shame on us. This stings, it’s a punch in the gut. But it’s not going to define our team and spill over. You have to let it hurt because it does.”
It took the Redblacks just five plays and 3:02 to score the first points of the game. A nice touch by Harris found Spencer open 43 yards down the field. Two plays later, Harris found Brad Sinopoli in the end zone for a touchdown pass.
Brendan Gillanders ran the ball in for the two-point convert and it was 8-0 for the Redblacks.
After Rico Murray stepped in front of a Bethel-Thompson pass for the interception, Harris found Spencer for a 31-yard reception.
But on the next play, Greg Ellingson caught a pass, then coughed up the ball with Toronto recovering on its own 36. The Argos got a first down, but then were forced to punt.
What would have been good field position for Ottawa after a 21-yard return by Spencer was wiped out by two penalties — holding and facemasking.
Ottawa started on its five-yard line and Richie Leone punted from his end zone. Toronto’s Martese Jackson returned the ball 46 yards before he was tripped up by Kevin Brown at the Ottawa four-yard line. Two plays later, James Franklin, who had been the Argos’ starting quarterback following an injury to Ricky Ray, leaned into the end zone from a yard out for the touchdown. A convert cut the deficit to one. Sinopoli bulled his way to a 27-yard gain and Ottawa had the ball on the Toronto 44.
After a short William Powell run, Harris found Gillanders in the flats for a 13-yard gain.
On a screen pass up the middle, Gillanders gained nine more yards. After a pass-interference call on former Redblacks defensive back Abdul Kanneh in the end zone on R.J. Harris, Dominque Davis got into the end zone for the touchdown from the one-yard line. The two-point convert failed and it was 14-7 early in the second quarter.
After another Redblacks march, which included a onehanded grab by Sinopoli, Leone launched a low punt that Jackson couldn’t field and it bounced into the end zone, where a hustling Antoine Pruneau, who had left earlier with an injury, knocked the ball forward and it was recovered by Anthony Cioffi for an Ottawa touchdown. With the convert, it was 21-7.
With less than two minutes left in the first half, Toronto gambled on third-and-two from the Ottawa 39, but a wall of defenders led by Mike Wakefield pushed James Wilder Jr. back at the line of scrimmage.
After an Ottawa punt, the Argos again coughed it up when Wilder’s fumble on a hit by Avery Williams was recovered by Jonathan Rose at the Toronto 17. Harris swung the ball out to Spencer, who had come in behind Harris on a fake handoff. Spencer sped into the end zone for the touchdown and the convert made it 28-7 with 31 seconds left.
Jackson spun off a couple of tackles for a 47-yard kickoff return. But time ran out on the Argos before halftime.
On the opening drive of the second half, Bethel-Thompson found S.J. Green open in the end zone for a touchdown. The convert made it 28-14.
After a big gain to Spencer was wiped out by a holding penalty, Gillanders got 17 yards, then Harris caught a 27-yard pass to push the ball into Toronto territory. After an unsuccessful challenge by Campbell (looking for a pass-interference or illegal contact call), Lewis Ward booted a 17-yard field goal.
Spencer, who had left the field with what appeared to be an injury, showed how dangerous he can be with a football in his hands when he turned on the jets and scored on a punt return. It was 38-14.
Kanneh, with an interception, gave the Argos the ball on the Ottawa 52 with eight seconds left in the third quarter.
The Argos gambled on thirdand-two on the Ottawa 11 — with McLeod-Thompson finding Green for a touchdown.
The convert attempt hit the upright and fell to the ground. It was 38-26.
Ottawa got a big 40-yard gain from Harris, who looked like he was tripped up by the feet of offensive lineman Sir Vincent Rogers downfield. Ward booted a 15-yard field goal.
On a huge third-and-four, Bethel-Thompson scrambled out of the pocket and got the first down. A sack by AC Leonard on the next play and an incompletion forced the Argos to boot a 32-yard field goal.
Jackson squirted past several tacklers for a 70-yard punt return to the Ottawa 20 with 3:48 left. On the next play, Wilder ran into the end zone and it was 41-36 with the convert.
Down by five points, the Argos had one last drive.
With 29 seconds left and thirdand-inches on the Ottawa 35, Franklin got the first down, setting up the last-second heroics.