On Monday afternoon at Tim Hortons Field, the Toronto Argonauts took on the Hamilton Tiger-Cats for the fourth time this year on Labour Day. The Argonauts have won two of the three matchups against Hamilton, and a win would increase their lead in the East Division.
In the first quarter, Toronto quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson threw a 53-yard pass to Brandon Banks before throwing a 26-yard touchdown pass down the middle to Markeith Ambles for a 7-0 lead with 9:48 left.
Jamie Newman got the start at quarterback for Hamilton. He threw a 15-yard pass to Kiondre Smith. Newman led the offense to the Argonauts’ 50-yard line when Michael Domagala made a 67-yard field goal, cutting Toronto’s lead 7-3 with 6:19 left.
Late in the first quarter, Toronto kicker Boris Bede missed a 43-yard field goal, and the ball went into the endzone and out of bounds for a single point, 8-3, with 1:31 left. Hamilton went two-and-out and punted the ball back to Toronto as the Argonauts started the second quarter with a first and ten.
Toronto running back A.J. Ouellette led the offense down to Hamilton’s 51-yard line. Then, Bethel-Thompson’s pass went off the hands of Damonte Coxie and was intercepted by Jumal Rolle, who took it to the house for a 66-yard touchdown, tying the game 8-8 with 11:16 left.
For the rest of the second quarter, both teams made some progress, but no one added any more points, and the game was tied 8-8 at halftime. Toronto had 173 yards on offense, while Hamilton had 119 yards on offense in the first half.
In the third quarter, Toronto took an 11-8 lead on a 23-yard field goal by Boris Bede with 2:19 left. Those were the only points scored in the third quarter, and Toronto had the ball to begin the fourth quarter facing third down.
After Hamilton went two-and-out, Toronto’s offense moved the ball into Hamilton’s four-yard line. The Argonauts got tricky when Bethel-Thompson handed the ball off to Kurleigh Gittens Jr., who then handed it off to Brandon Banks, and Banks avoided a tackle before scoring a touchdown for an 18-8 lead with 11:27 left.
Brandon Banks was not done. After Toronto’s Jamal Peters intercepted Jamie Newman for the second time, quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson dropped back and threw a 27-yard touchdown pass to a leaping Brandon Banks. Banks had a defender on him and made a nice leaping catch for a 25-8 lead with 7:05 left.
Late in the fourth quarter, Toronto kicker Boris Bede put the game away with a 21-yard field goal for a 28-8 lead with 1:52 left. Hamilton had one more opportunity to score, but they ran out of time, and Toronto won the game 28-8. The Argonauts remain in first place with a 6-5 record, while Hamilton drops to last place with a 3-9 record.
Toronto quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson went 22/34 for 298 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions. Running back A.J. Ouellette had 11 carries for 46 yards, while wide receiver Brandon Banks had two catches for 80 yards and one touchdown.
Toronto’s defense allowed 267 yards, 45 tackles, two sacks, four pass breakups, and two interceptions. Toronto visits Ottawa next Saturday at 2 pm on ESPN+.
Hamilton quarterback Jamie Newman was 14/25 for 171 yards, one interception, and six carries for 24 yards. Running back Sean Thomas-Erlington had three carries for 39 yards, while wide receiver Tim White had six catches for 56 yards. Hamilton’s defense allowed 371 yards, 47 tackles, two sacks, four pass breakups, and two interceptions. Hamilton is off next week.
