Argos knock Ticats out of playoffs
TORONTO 43 HAMILTON 40: Subs lead the way to eliminate archrivals in wild finish
TORONTO — Chad Owens and the Toronto Argonauts are heading into the CFL playoffs on the craziest of rolls.
Owens broke the CFL’s singleseason all-purpose yards record and Swayze Waters booted a 51-yard field goal with no time remaining as the short-handed Argos, minus 11 regulars, rallied for a wild 43-40 win over Hamilton on Thursday night that eliminated the archrival Tiger-Cats from playoff contention.
Toronto (9-9) rested 10 starters — including quarterback Ricky Ray — and linebacker Brandon Isaac served a one-game suspension for an illegal hit last weekend against Saskatchewan’s Darian Durant. But that didn’t deter the Argo subs, who surged to a stunning 20-3 first-quarter advantage before Waters’ game-winning boot brought the season-best Rogers Centre gathering of 27,283 to its feet on Fan Appreciation Night.
“When they scored to tie it up at the end I knew we were going to have a chance, so I went on the sidelines, hit a few into the net and tried to prepare myself,” said Waters. “You have to prepare for that situation all the time because that’s why they have you here, to make kicks and win games.
“But it doesn’t happen very often, so I was excited to be able to put it through the pipes ... it gives us momentum heading into the playoffs.”
Toronto will host either Edmonton or Saskatchewan in the East Division semifinal on Nov. 11. Hamilton’s loss clinched a playoff berth for the Eskimos, who can finish third in the West by downing Calgary on Friday and having the B.C. Lions beat the Riders on Saturday.
Should Edmonton lose or Saskatchewan win, the Riders will take third and the Eskimos will travel to Toronto and face their former starter in Ray. The Esks were 2-0 this season against the Argos, who obtained Ray from Alberta last December.
“That was a clutch kick,” Argos head coach Scott Milanovich said of Waters’ winning boot. “I mean you have (Chris) Williams back there ... with the game on the line.
“We’re playing better, there’s no doubt about that. I know offensively we’ve picked up the pace the last three weeks. I think we’ve got our confidence back. If you have a great quarterback and some confidence, you’ve got a chance to win.”
The Ticats (6-12) played all of their regulars and with good reason: they desperately needed the win to keep their slim playoff hopes alive. But Hamilton continually shot itself in the foot against the Argos’ B-team, which played veteran Jarious Jackson and rookies Trevor Harris and Zach Collaros at quarterback in the contest, with Collaros’ 13-yard TD pass to Sammy Tranks putting the home team ahead 37-26 at 3:38 of the fourth.
Starter Henry Burris, 37-of-55 passing for a career-high 497 yards and four TDs, pulled Hamilton to within 40-33 with 2:47 remaining with a three-yard TD strike to Avon Cobourne. After two incompletions that took just 26 seconds by Collaros, the Ticats got the ball at the Toronto 39-yard following a 35-yard punt return by Williams with 2:15 to play.
Burris and Williams then hooked up on five-yard touchdown pass — giving him a career-high 43 this season — that tied the score 40-40 with 1:10 remaining. Burris finished the season with 5,367 yards passing — another career high — while Williams had four catches for 104 yards and two TDs, boosting his clubrecord total to 18.
But Collaros took over at the Toronto 42 with a minute remaining and marched the Argos to the Hamilton 44 to set up Waters’ winning boot.
Hamilton ends the season the CFL’s worst road team with a 1-8 record and, after a 3-2 start to the season, went a dismal 3-10 the rest of the way.