The Toronto Argonauts defeated the Ottawa Redblacks 35-16 Wednesday night from BMO Field. The Argo’s defense and special teams did most of the scoring.
Argo’s quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson went 15/21 for 181-yards, two touchdowns, one interception, and a one-yard rushing. His two touchdowns came in the third quarter. First, a 63-yard touchdown pass to D.J. Foster and a 21-yard touchdown pass to Damion Jeanpiere. Running back D.J. Foster led the team in both rushing and receiving. He carried the ball 18 times for 65-yards, five catches for 79-yards, and one touchdown.
The first touchdown of the game came on third down for the Redblacks. They were leading 6-1 when Dion Pellerin blocked Richie Leone’s punt, which Dejon Brissett recovered for the touchdown to go up 8-6 with 3:20 left in the second quarter.
The Argo’s defense intercepted Caleb Evans three times. The first interception came in the third quarter when Cordarro Law deflected Evans’s pass before it was intercepted by Dexter McCoil, who went 71-yards for the touchdown and a 21-9 lead with 7:38 left.
Late in the third quarter, Caleb Evans’s pass was intercepted by Chris Edwards, and he went 82-yards for the touchdown and a 35-9 lead with twenty-five seconds left. It was the first time since September 4th, 2006, that two Argonauts players returned interceptions for touchdowns. The defense sacked Evans twice and forced a fumble.
Redblacks quarterback Caleb Evans had a rough game in his second start. He went 23/41 for 334-yards, three interceptions, and led the rushers with six carries for 54-yards; wide receiver Ryan Davis was the go-to receiver for Evans and led the team with eight catches for 154-yards. Redblacks kicker Lewis Ward was three-for-three on the night.
The Redblack’s only touchdown came in the fourth quarter. The Argo’s were punting the ball on their own 25-yard line when Brendan Gillanders blocked Boris Bede’s punt and recovered in the endzone by Frederic Chagnon. The Redblacks were trailing 35-16 with 11:51 left in the game.
The Redblacks’ defense got to McLeod Bethel-Thompson two times, intercepted him once, one forced fumble, and two fumble recoveries.
These two teams will play again on Thanksgiving Day on Monday, October 11th. First, the Redblacks play the Montreal Alouettes at 1 pm on ESPN+, followed by the Toronto Argonauts at the Hamilton Tiger-Cats at 4 pm on ESPN+.
