The Toronto Argonauts, trailing 20-9 midway through the third quarter, came back to beat the Ottawa Redblacks 23-20 Saturday afternoon at TD Place.
Toronto Argonauts quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson went 28/44 for 293-yards, one touchdown, and three interceptions. Thompson’s touchdown happened in the fourth quarter when he scrambled out of the pocket to find Kurleigh Gittens Jr. for a 12-yard touchdown. In addition, Thompson got the two-point conversion that tied the game 20-20 with 10:23 left.
Running back, A.J. Ouellette had a big game on the ground, carrying the ball 14 times for 107-yards. DaVaris Daniels led the Argo’s in receiving with nine catches for 84-yards. Kicker Boris Bede was a perfect 5/5 with his longest field goal for 50-yards. Bede kicked the game-winning 34-yard field goal with 4:11 left that put the Argo’s up 23-20. The defense recorded three sacks, two of them by Cordarro Law, and one forced fumble.
For the Redblacks, former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Devlin Hodges got his first start. He went 8/22 for 90-yards and four carries for 25-yards. In the second quarter, the Redblacks had three big plays. A 41-yard run by Timothy Flanders, followed by a 20-yard run from Ryan Davis that set up a Caleb Evans one-yard run for a 13-6 lead with 7:14 left.
Running back Timothy Flanders led in rushing with 14 carries for 95-yards. Wide receiver RJ Harris led the receivers with two catches for 27-yards. Kicker Lewis Ward was 2/5, with his longest field goal being 25-yards, and the defense recorded two sacks, three interceptions, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery.
On special teams, kick returner DeVonte Dedmon returned a 65-yard kickoff return for a touchdown on the first play of the third quarter that extended the Redblacks lead 20-9 with 14:46 left. Dedmon had three returns for 126-yards and one touchdown.
Next week, the Toronto Argonauts host the Hamilton Tiger-Cats with first place on the line on Friday, November 12th, at 7:30 pm on ESPN+. The Ottawa Redblacks are on a bye week.
