Argos can clinch playoff spot with home win . . . in Hamilton
Given the season Trevor Harris and the Argonauts have endured, it’s only fitting the CFL club can clinch a playoff spot away from Rogers Centre.
Toronto (9-5) can punch its postseason ticket Saturday with a ‘home’ win over the Calgary Stampeders (11-4). The contest will be played at Hamilton’s Tim Hortons Field because of scheduling issues at Rogers Centre, with the Blue Jays in the playoffs.
It will be the third Toronto home game relocated from Rogers Centre this year. The Argos’ season-opening 26-11 win over Edmonton came in Fort McMurray, Alta., due to the Pan Am Games and scheduling issues at the domed facility.
Apotential scheduling conflict with the Jays forced the Argos to relocate their Oct. 6 game against Ottawa to TD Place, which they won 38-35. On Friday, Toronto announced its Oct. 23 home contest versus Montreal will also be played in Hamilton because of the baseball playoffs.
Toronto’s scheduled home game Oct. 30 against B.C. also remains in question but Harris, who has thrown a CFL-high 31 TD passes, said the team is at a point now where it doesn’t care where it plays.
“A lot of people might say, ‘They’re just saying that,’ but it really doesn’t,” he said. “On very rare occasions do you win the Grey Cup at home so you have to put yourself in difficult situations.
“Getting to do that early in the season and throughout the year has been an advantage for us.”
Toronto head coach Scott Milanovich said having to play in Hamilton isn’t too bad.
“This has been the least invasive road home game we’ve had,” he said. “Guys get to sleep in their beds and it’s a fairly normal routine. We haven’t played very well there, maybe that’s the one negative.”
The Argos are 0-2 at Tim Hortons Field. They lost13-12 to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the first-ever game at the facility Sept.1, 2014, then dropped a 42-12 decision there Sept. 7.
Calgary coach/GM John Hufnagel, in his final season on the sidelines, needs one more win to hit 100 for his coaching career. Earlier this week, he praised the Argos for succeeding despite their challenges.
“It’s a great accomplishment that they’ve achieved by not allowing the distractions and the inconvenience to affect their play on the field,” he told reporters.
The Argos have won three straight and are tied with Hamilton atop the East Division standings. They are 5-2 versus West Division opponents but lost 25-20 to Calgary at McMahon Stadium on July 13.
Grey Cup MVP Bo Levi Mitchell threw for 303 yards and two TDs with an interception. Tailback Jon Cornish ran for 56 yards and a TD on 14 carries while receiver Eric Rogers had six catches for 114 yards and a touchdown.
Cornish (neck) won’t play Saturday. Neither will receiver Jeff Fuller (foot), offensive tackle Dan Federkeil (hamstring) and newly acquired running back Jerome Messam.