Ray of hope for the Argonauts
TORONTO 27 OTTAWA 24
TORONTO — Ricky Ray and the Toronto Argonauts’ offence made good on their second chance Monday night.
Lirim Hajrullahu’s 34-yard field goal as time expired earned Toronto a wild 27-24 home win over the Ottawa Redblacks. Hajrullahu capped a nine-play, 51-yard drive after the Redblacks made it 24-24 on Trevor Harris’s 31-yard TD strike to Greg Ellingson with 2:17 remaining.
Harris’s TD pass came after Toronto’s Cody Fajardo was stopped on a thirddown gamble before a season-high BMO Field gathering of 15,801.
“Unfortunately, we didn’t get that third-down conversion but we got another chance,” said Ray. “That’s all you ask for, to be able to have the ball in your hands and have a chance to go down the field and try to get points.”
Ray snapped a 17-17 tie with a nine-yard TD strike to Anthony Coombs at 6:56 of the fourth that was set up by Marcus Ball’s interception. Ray finished 40-of-55 passing for 367 yards and two touchdowns, his fifth straight 300-yard game.
But the win was a costly one as Toronto (3-2) played the second half without linebacker Bear Woods and defensive linemen Victor Butler and Cleyong Laing. Butler suffered an apparent knee injury while Woods reportedly underwent concussion protocol and Laing left the field on a cart with a left leg injury.
And that’s a concern as Toronto begins a stretch of four games in 19 days. The Argos visit the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Saturday night.
Toronto head coach Marc Trestman said he addressed the injury situation at halftime.
“We gave clarity to exactly what was going on in the game,” he said. “We had three starters down, that the guys who were next man up had to be ready to play.
“And on special teams and the offensive side of the ball we had to pick up and hold our end of the bargain and have the defence’s back. This was a team win . . . we found a way to win and that’s important.”
Ottawa (1-4-1) completed its third game in 11 nights and fourth in 18. But the defending Grey Cup champions showed tremendous grit, making it 17-17 on Josh Stangby’s 15-yard run and Mossis Madu’s two-point convert just 1:03 into the fourth.
“Every game we play this year literally comes down to the wire,” said Ottawa head coach Rick Campbell. “I think it’s unfair to make players play that many games in a row . . . but all we were thinking about was how to win this game.”
Harris finished 16-of-26 passing for 184 yards with two TDs and an interception. Ellingson, who came in as the CFL’s receiving leader, had three catches for 59 yards and the touchdown.
“I know how close we are,” Harris said. “It’s just one of those things that sucks when you lose.
“It’s frustrating, it’s deflating. I think a break will be awesome.”