After losing to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats last week 32-19, the Toronto Argonauts got a second chance Friday night in a rematch at BMO Field. The winner of this game would claim first place in the Eastern Division.
Late in the first quarter, quarterback Nick Arbuckle advanced the team down to the Tiger-Cats’ ten-yard line on the Argo’s second possession of the game. On second down, Arbuckle’s pass to D.J. Foster was initially ruled incomplete.
However, Argo’s head coach Ryan Dinwiddie challenged the play for defensive pass interference. After further review, the call was overturned, and the ball was placed at the one-yard line. This set up a Nick Arbuckle one-yard touchdown run that put the Argo’s up 7-0. The score remained 7-0 at the end of the first quarter. The Tiger-Cats had the ball to start the second quarter.
On second down, Tiger-Cats quarterback Dane Evans threw an interception to Argo’s linebacker Henoc Muamba to set up the Argo’s offense at the Tiger-Cats’ 47-yard line.
On the third play, quarterback Nick Arbuckle tossed the ball to D.J. Foster, who fought off a couple of Tiger-Cats players and scored for a 40-yard touchdown. The Argo’s lead was now 14-0 with 13:04 left in the second quarter.
Trailing 14-0, the Tiger-Cats moved the ball on the next series. Quarterback Dane Evans threw three consecutive passes before finishing the drive with a 39-yard touchdown pass to Papi White, which cut Argo’s lead 14-7. Neither team did much the rest of the second quarter, and the game remained in the Argo’s favor 14-7 at halftime.
In the middle of the third quarter, Argonauts kicker Boris Bede extended the Argo’s lead 17-7 on a 26-yard field goal with 8:29 left in the third quarter. Both offenses stalled the rest of the third quarter, and the Argo’s led 17-7 with one more quarter to go.
On the Tiger-Cats first possession of the fourth quarter, they were able to move the ball to the Argo’s 20-yard line before kicker Michael Domagala made a 28-yard field goal that cut the Argo’s lead 17-10 with 10:55 left in the game.
Both teams’ defenses stepped up in the fourth quarter, not allowing anyone to move the ball. Then, with six minutes left in the game, Tiger-Cats quarterback Dane Evans suffered a hip injury after being sacked by Shawn Oakman. Tiger-Cats backup quarterback David Watford went in for Oakman and played the rest of the game.
With under three minutes left in the game, the Tiger-Cats marched to the Argo’s 21-yard line. Then, running back Sean Thomas-Erlington rushed in for a 21-yard touchdown run to make it a one-point game. However, on the extra point, kicker Michael Domagala missed the extra point when the ball hit the right post. As a result, the Argo’s led 17-16.
The Tiger-Cats had one more chance to win the game, but they came up short, and the Argonauts defeated the Tiger-Cats 17-16 to take first place.
Argo’s quarterback Nick Arbuckle finished the game 23/37 for 236-yards, one touchdown, two interceptions, nine rushing yards, and one rushing touchdown. John White led the team in rushing with 12 carries for 84-yards, and D.J. Foster led the Argo’s receiving core with three receptions for 63-yards and one touchdown. The defense recorded four sacks and one interception.
For the Tiger-Cats, quarterback Dane Evans finished the night 19/27 for 192-yards, one touchdown, and one interception and led the team in rushing with three carries for 32-yards. Tim White led the team in receiving with four receptions for 55-yards. The defense recorded two interceptions and no sacks.
Next week, both teams play on Friday, September 17th, with the Tiger-Cats hosting the Stampeders at 7 pm on ESPN+, while the Toronto Argonauts play the Saskatchewan Roughriders at 9:45 pm on ESPNews.
