The Toronto Argonauts (5-0) visited Tim Hortons Field on Friday night against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (2-4) for the second time this season. In their first meeting, Toronto beat Hamilton 32-14 at BMO Field in Week 2. The Ticats lost quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell in that game.
On the second play for Toronto, Chad Kelly threw the ball high in the air where Dejon Brissett made a spectacular one-handed catch for 50 yards. Then, Kelly threw a seven-yard pass to DaVaris Daniels before A.J. Ouellette rushed the ball twice for nine yards inside the Ticats’ one-yard line. Two plays later, backup quarterback Cameron Dukes scored the touchdown with a quarterback sneak for a 7-0 lead with 11:27 left.
Hamilton’s offense led by Taylor Powell went on the field for their first series. Powell threw an 11-yard pass to Duke Williams. The Ticats reached Toronto’s 52-yard line before the drive stalled and he punted the ball back to the Argonauts.
Toronto’s offense did not have much success in their second drive thanks to a sack by Hamilton’s Jameer Thurman forcing them to punt the ball on third down. Both offenses did not do much for the rest of the first quarter with the Argonauts leading the Ticats 7-0. Hamilton had the ball on their 19-yard line to begin the second quarter.
Hamilton did not have much success to start the second quarter and punted the ball back to Toronto. Toronto quarterback Chad Kelly threw three passes for 46 yards plus two penalties by Hamilton put them on the Ticats’ nine-yard line. On the next play, Kelly fired the ball down the middle to Kurleigh Gittens Jr. on the numbers for the touchdown. It was now 14-0 Toronto with 10:42 left.
Toronto’s defense made a big play when Taylor Powell’s pass was deflected by Royce Metchie before being intercepted by Jamal Peters for a 39-yard touchdown. However, an illegal blocking penalty by Toronto wiped the touchdown off the boards but they got to keep the ball at the Ticats’ 32-yard line. Chad Kelly did not waste any time when he threw a 32-yard touchdown pass to DaVaris Daniels but Boris Bede missed the extra point. It was 20-0 Toronto with 8:38 left.
Later in the second quarter, Hamilton got on the board when kicker Marc Liegghio made a 19-yard field goal. It was now 20-3 with 1:50 left. Toronto tried to put more points on the board but ran out of time. They led 20-3 at halftime.
Toronto dominated the first half with 259 yards on offense. Quarterback Chad Kelly completed 15 of 19 passes (79%) for 248 yards, two touchdowns, and one carry for two yards.
Running back A.J. Ouellette had five carries for 20 yards, while wide receivers DaVaris Daniels, Kurleigh Gittens Jr., Dejon Brissett, and Damonte Coxie combined for 12 catches logging 200 yards, and two touchdowns.
Hamilton had 137 yards on offense. Quarterback Taylor Powell was not doing a bad job completing 13 of 19 passes (68.4%) for 129 yards, and one interception. Running back James Butler had six carries for eight yards and wide receiver Duke Williams had five catches for 52 yards. The penalties hurt the Ticats committing seven of them for 50 yards.
Early in the third quarter, the team teams traded field goals. First, Hamilton kicker Marc Liegghio converted a 32-yard field goal that made it 20-6 with 13:35 left, and Toronto kicker Boris Bede kicked a 17-yard field goal which made it 23-6 with 9:35 left.
For the rest of the third quarter, Toronto had two sacks by Folarin Orimolade and Jared Brinkman. Late in the third quarter, Hamilton started to put together a nice drive. However, after James Butler ran for a four-yard play an unnecessary roughness penalty on Hamilton moved them back to Toronto’s 17-yard line to begin the fourth quarter.
Hamilton could not find the endzone to start the fourth quarter and Marc Liegghio made a 25-yard field goal. Toronto led 23-9 with 9:35 left. Hamilton’s defense kept them in the game making several stops which forced Toronto to punt the ball. However, the offense struggled to take advantage of them until late in the game.
Hamilton quarterback Taylor Powell threw three passes for 40 yards plus on top of a nine-yard gain. On first down from Toronto’s 13-yard line, Powell was looking for someone to throw the ball to but the pocket started collapsing, so he took off for a 13-yard touchdown. Marc Liegghio missed the extra point. It was now 23-15 with 4:41 left.
With it being a one-score game, Chad Kelly knew that this drive needed to result in a touchdown. He started the drive by throwing a 32-yard pass to DaVaris Daniels, followed by two A.J. Ouellette rushes for 11 yards to the Ticats’ one-yard line. Chad Kelly punched it in on the next play with a quarterback sneak. Toronto led 30-15 with 2:03 left.
Late in the game, Toronto punter John Haggerty punted the ball for 58 yards. The ball bounced into the endzone for a single point, making it 31-15 with 21 seconds left. Hamilton quarterback Taylor Powell threw a nine-yard pass to Terry Godwin that ended the game.
The Argonauts defeated the Hamilton Tiger-Cats by the final score of 31-15. It’s their first 5-0 start since 1960. Chad Kelly continues to make highlight reel plays that are terrific exposure for the CFL. He finished the night completing 20 of 27 passes (74%) for 306 yards, two touchdowns, four carries for 18 yards, and one touchdown.
Toronto is a good football team. You can see that there is a bond between the players and coaches. The players are playing hard and making smart decisions on the field. Sure, they did commit six penalties which need to be worked on but otherwise, they are poised to make another Grey Cup run. If this keeps up, head coach Ryan Dinwiddie should be the coach of the year.
Toronto running back A.J. Ouellette had ten carries for 84 yards, and the combination of DaVaris Daniels, Kurleigh Gittens Jr., Dejon Brissett, and Damonte Coxie had 14 catches for 242 yards. This receiving core is dangerous and the Ticats’ secondary had a hard keeping up with them. Had it not been for the Ticats’ front four defensive linemen, Kelly would’ve had more passing yards. Toronto’s defense allowed 339 yards, with 42 tackles, three sacks, and one interception.
For Hamilton, quarterback Taylor Powell did not do a bad job in his first CFL start. He completed 27 of 41 passes (65.9%) for 283 yards, one interception, four carries for 37 yards, and one touchdown. He faced a tough Toronto defense and at times the pocket collapsed and he had to make quick decisions with the ball. I like his potential and hopefully, he will have a good game next week at Ottawa.
Running back James Butler had eight carries for 14 yards, wide receiver Terry Godwin had nine catches for 103 yards, and wide receiver Duke Williams had six catches for 65 yards. Hamilton’s defense allowed 403 yards, with 39 tackles and two sacks.
Next Friday, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats battle the Ottawa Redblacks at 7:30 pm on CFL+, and the Toronto Argonauts are on a bye week. Subscribe to Fubo to watch all of the 2023 CFL Season. Purchase CFL tickets today on StubHub and Viagogo.
