Late TD allows Argos to sail away with Touchdown Atlantic title
Wynton McManis made Touchdown Atlantic worth celebrating for Toronto Argonauts fans.
McManis returned an interception 50 yards for the touchdown to rally Toronto past the Saskatchewan Roughriders 30-24 in an entertaining but often chippy contest Saturday afternoon.
McManis stepped in front of a Cody Fajardo pass and ran untouched to the end zone at 12:54 of the fourth quarter. Moments later, McLeod BethelThompson found Brandon Banks for the two-point convert to put Toronto ahead.
Shaq Richardson cemented the win for Toronto, intercepting Fajardo with 26.8 seconds remaining before an enthusiastic Raymond Field gathering of 10,886 that was very heavy in Rider green.
“Wynton put us on his back and made that play,” Toronto head coach Ryan Dinwiddie said. “We got the two-point play and we found a way to get a win.”
But the contest was a feisty one as the two teams combined for 25 penalties and 285 penalty yards (Toronto 14 for 153 yards, Saskatchewan 11 for 132 yards). Argos defensive back Jamal Peters was ejected in the fourth after receiving his second misconduct foul.
The fireworks began during the pre-game warm-up when Williams and Richardson squared off. A video showed Williams picking up Richardson’s helmet and throwing it at him before the two players were separated.
No penalties were announced once the game began, and both Williams and Richardson played with their respective units.
Afterwards, Dinwiddie accused Williams of spitting in Richardson’s face twice — in the pre-game incident as well as in the second half. He said the two players have a history dating back two years.
“Shaq went to say something to him and he got spit in his face … and he [Williams] throws his own helmet at his face,” Dinwiddie said. “How is that not the dirtiest play I’ve ever been around? … I don’t know how you don’t get ejected for throwing a helmet at the other guy’s head.”
Saskatchewan head coach Craig Dickenson said he didn’t see the incident but promised the Riders will definitely look into it.
“We’ll look into it as thoroughly as we can and I will certainly sit down and visit with Duke,” Dickenson said. “That’s not something we’d ever tolerate. We’ll support our player but we’ll also investigate it and find out exactly what happened.”
Neither Williams nor Richardson were made available to speak with reporters after the game.
Toronto (2-2) halted an eightgame losing streak against Saskatchewan (4-2) before an enthusiastic gathering of 10,886. This marked the first-ever CFL regular-season game played in Nova Scotia.
Fajardo finished 24-of-34 passing for 284 yards with two TDs and three interceptions. He found Williams five times for 84 yards and the TD.