Vaughn is a ‘shoe-in’ for a spot in Argonauts lore
Fumble recovery and 109-yard romp stand as turning point in a championship game
Cassius Vaughn was standing near the end zone and his mind was racing.
“Zero, one, three,” he recalled thinking. “Zero, one, three.”
It’s an expression the Toronto Argonauts defence talks about all the time. He was repeating it to himself, over and over again. They can give up zero points, they can give one point, or they can give up three — but no touchdowns.
Then he saw the ball near the goal-line bouncing toward him, out of the hands of Kamar Jorden, before he touched it, tucked it in and ran a record 109 yards for his Grey Cup touchdown.
Vaughn watched the play Monday on TSN, over and over. He saw it on Instagram. Copies of it have been sent to his phone.
“I saw it, I picked it up, I just kept going,” said the defensive back, who last won a championship in high school in Tennessee. “I knew when I got that ball, ain’t nobody going to stop me. There was too much at stake. I wasn’t going to be tackled by (Stampeders) Bo Levi (Mitchell). I was thinking to myself, no way is a quarterback going to tackle me in the open field.
“I just kept going. I don’t think anybody touched me. I used to be an offensive guy — I was a running back, a receiver, a quarterback, (a) multi-sport (athlete). I picked up that ball and I knew I was scoring.”
On the day after, after the inexplicable Argonauts championship victory, after the almost-unexplainable plays that gave Toronto another CFL title, Vaughn was still trying to take stock of everything that happened.
“A lot of reminiscing going on,” said the first-year Argo, who is playing with his seventh professional team. “A lot of hugging each other, embracing the moment, knowing we did what we came to do.”
He wondered, after the fact, if he would have been able to pick up the fumble and sprint the 109 yards to score if he hadn’t changed shoes at halftime. One race down the sidelines and instead of it being Calgary 31, Toronto 16, it was Calgary 24, Toronto 24. The play changed everything, and then it was 27-24 Argos, and when Matt Black, the longtime Argo who was cut on the first day of August, intercepted Mitchell, it was game over.
There was celebration and agony, depending on your address or affiliation.
Vaughn likes to call the Argo equipment manager the bolt.
“He kept the door on the hinges,” Vaughn said. “That’s what he does. He told us early in the week, we might need different shoes. I changed at halftime — a lot of us did.
“If I don’t change my shoes, I don’t know if I would have had the traction to score. Everything about us was preparation. We didn’t leave anything to chance.”
The run by Vaughn is probably the longest and most significant in Argo Grey Cup history. Even in the reduced Argo community, this makes him a figure for the ages. Instead of a Leon McQuay fumble or a Harry Abofs muff, there is the 109 yards of Vaughn to consider, now and forever.
His father was named for Cassius Clay, and he was named Cassius for the very same reason.
“It’s not how you got the name, it’s what you do with the name that counts,” he said. “I want to make people remember. That’s the foundation of my family, the foundation of me and before me. I’m a Muhammad Ali fan. I’ll always be a Muhammad Ali fan.
“And I want to be a guy who makes a difference. I used to be an offensive guy. Being a defensive guy now, when I get the ball in my hand, I don’t think there’s an offensive guy who can tackle me. I want to put on a show.”
The show for him came Sunday in the 105th Grey Cup. It was a better play than the interception he took to the end zone off Philip Rivers years ago, or the one he scored on earlier this season.
This Grey Cup had some Eric Tillman in it. He traded Ricky Ray to Toronto. He brought Vaughn to the CFL in Hamilton after five stops in the NFL.
“He told me I’d have fun here,” Vaughn said. But the Ticats cut him in May.
“People counted me out,” Vaughn said. “People said, you’re not that good. Being able to redeem myself now means a lot. It means a lot to a lot of players on this team.”
And to coach Marc Trestman, and to Vaughn’s defensive coordinator, Corey Chamblin.
“They taught me things other coaches didn’t teach me. They are real teachers. If you only think about football, you won’t mean that much to them,” Vaughn said.
The 30-year-old called Trestman “the most mature and civilized man I’ve ever met. People got to witness a great masterpiece put together by this man.”
Now he turns to the fans of all sport in Toronto, so many of whom wouldn’t know his name before Sunday, and asks for help.
“We need support,” Vaughn said. “We need 30,000 a game. We’ve supported you in how we’ve played. Now we need you to support us. And one more thing: We need Ricky Ray back … Come back, Ricky, please.”