Argo road warriors trip at home
Throughout their month-long, record- setting road trip, the Toronto Argonauts seemed to gain momentum and grow in confidence with every come-from-behind victory.
No deficit was too big to overcome, no lead out of reach.
They trailed at the half in each of their last four games, but always found a way to bounce back — and in hostile territory, to boot.
Finally back home Friday night, the streaking Boatmen hit a wall against their most-hated rivals.
“If you keep putting yourself behind it’s going to catch up to you,” head coach Scott Milanovich said afterward.
Sluggish once again out of the gate, the Argos flirted briefly with another comeback but came up short in the end, losing 33-19 to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in front of an announced crowd of 29,852.
“It was just a sloppy performance,” Milanovich said. “Our players didn’t play their best, coaches didn’t coach their best.”
As has been their custom, the Argos mounted little in the early going and trailed 22-6 at the half as Hamilton’s defence frustrated Toronto’s sophomore quarterback, Zach Collaros, who was likely making his final start in place of injured pivot Ricky Ray.
“They do a great job of mixing up coverages and disguising it,” Collaros said.
Meanwhile, Collaros’s veteran counterpart, Henry Burris, carved out an early Ticats lead, scoring on an opening 71-yard drive to set the tone for the night. Burris earned his 50,535th passing yard on that first drive to move into fourth place on the CFL’s all-time list, overtaking the late Ron Lancaster.
Though trailing by 16 at the half, given their recent tendencies, the Argos were hardly out of it. Receiver Chad Owens — back after missing the last month with a rib injury — for one, was still confident.
“I told them at halftime, ‘I watched this team the past four weeks do what it did on the road.’ We were all, all-in at halftime,” he said. “We had that belief.”
True to form, the Argos came to life after the break.
Argos fail to secure home playoff date, but get another crack at the Tiger-Cats on Thanksgiving
Collaros sparked a spirited 80-yard drive a few yards from the Ticats’ end zone. But Hamilton’s defence held the line and once again forced the Argos to settle for a field goal.
Toronto hinted at another comeback on the ensuing Hamilton drive, sacking Burris before blocking a punt attempt and recovering the ball, paving the way for Collaros to score on a goal-line dive.
Kicker Swayze Waters added another field goal in the fourth quarter — his fourth of the game — to draw within four, but that was as close as it got for the double blue, who lost for the first time since their last home game on Sept. 3.
The Argos’ record at the Rogers Centre is 3-4, compared to 6-1on the road. Collaros says he doesn’t read much into the team’s unexpected splits.
“I don’t think anyone reads much into it. If you ask any football player, it comes down to throwing the football, catching the football, blocking, tackling, all those things. You can say what you want about being at home or on the road, that’s just an excuse. We just have to play better.”
So, the Argos failed to secure a home playoff date, and maybe that’s a good thing until they show having home-field is actually an advantage. They’ll have a chance to avenge Friday’s loss a week from Monday when they face Hamilton again, this time in Guelph, on Thanksgiving with the potential to clinch first place in the East.
“The good thing about it is we’ve got another chance (next) week,” Owens said “We can put this aside, go back to work and get ready for another game.”
The crowd, bolstered by what sounded like equal parts Argos and Ticats fans, was the largest at the Rogers Centre since the season opener.