The Toronto Argonauts (9-1) visited Tim Hortons Field on Monday afternoon against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (4-7) on Labour Day Weekend. This was the second meeting of the season between these two rivals. They met in Week 2 in Toronto with the Argonauts winning that game 32-14. Like their first matchup, Toronto set the tone early in the game in route to a dominant win.
In the first quarter, Toronto kicker Boris Bede made a 28-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead with 11:15 left. Then with 7:03 left, Chad Kelly tried to throw the ball to DaVaris Daniels but it was intercepted by Javien Elliott. However, Hamilton could not take advantage of the turnover and punted it back to Toronto’s Javon Leake for a return of 32 yards on the Ticats’ 31-yard line.
On the second play, Toronto quarterback Chad Kelly completed a 21-yard pass to Kurleigh Gittens Jr. on the Ticats’ two-yard line. Then, Kelly handed the ball off the Andrew Harris up the middle for the touchdown. It was now 10-0 Toronto with 4:14 left in the first quarter.
Toronto’s defense made a big play when Hamilton quarterback Taylor Powell attempted a pass to Terry Godwin but Jamal Peters made the interception before returning it for 16 yards on the Ticats’ 31-yard line.
Toronto’s offense made quick work. Chad Kelly scrambled with the ball before throwing a deep pass to DaVaris Daniels for a 31-yard touchdown. Toronto’s lead was now at 17-0 with 4:14 left in the first quarter. Toronto had the ball for the final drive but faced third down to close out the quarter. Hamilton’s offense struggled to move the ball and were down 17-0.
In the second quarter, Hamilton’s offense started to move the ball down the field but not enough to score a touchdown. Hamilton kicker Marc Liegghio missed a 57-yard field goal but did get a single point. It was now 17-1 Toronto with 4:08 left.
Toronto quarterback Chad Kelly made another mistake when he tried to throw the ball to Kurleigh Gittens Jr. but it was intercepted by Stavros Katsantonis. Hamilton running back James Butler rushed for a gain of 11 yards, and Taylor Powell threw a 12-yard pass to Terry Godwin that got them into field goal range. Kicker Marc Liegghio converted a 37-yard field goal which made it 17-4 Toronto with 1:31 left.
Hamilton had one more possession in the second quarter but did not add any more points, and Toronto took a knee that ended the second quarter.
Toronto’s offense had 144 yards in the first half. Quarterback Chad Kelly completed 6 of 13 passes (46.2%) for 105 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions, and two carries for 25 yards. Running back A.J. Ouellette had two carries for 25 yards, and DaVaris Daniels had two catches for 46 yards and one touchdown.
Hamilton had 146 yards on offense. Quarterback Taylor Powell completed 10 of 18 passes (55.6%) for 111 yards, one interception, and three carries for four yards. Running back James Butler had six carries for 38 yards, and Tim White had two catches for 47 yards.
In the third quarter, Hamilton finally found the endzone. Quarterback Taylor Powell completed a deep pass to Terry Godwin with two Toronto defenders on him for a 17-yard touchdown. Hamilton attempted a two-point conversion but did not get it. It was now 17-10 Toronto with 9:45 left.
Later in the third quarter, Toronto punter Boris Bede punted the ball 65 yards into the endzone for a single point. Toronto led 18-10 with 7:56 left. Late in the third quarter, Toronto running back A.J. Ouellette had three carries for 44 yards. Two plays later, Chad Kelly threw the ball up in the air to Damonte Coxie, who made a leaping catch for a seven-yard touchdown. Boris Bede missed the extra point. It was now 24-10 with 1:42 left. Then, just as time expired, Hamilton kicker Marc Liegghio made a 37-yard field goal which made it 24-13 to end the third quarter.
The fourth quarter turned into a slugfest. Chad Kelly completed a 25-yard pass to Damonte Coxie on the Ticats’ four-yard line. Two plays later, Chad Kelly took it in for a two-yard touchdown and a 31-13 lead with 10:48 left.
Then, Hamilton responded when quarterback Taylor Powell threw a three-yard touchdown pass to Tim White. The two would connect again for a two-point conversion which made it 31-21 with five minutes left.
On the third play from scrimmage for Toronto, they went with a trick play. Chad Kelly pitched the ball to A.J. Ouellette. He ran with the ball before throwing a 34-yard touchdown pass to Dejon Brissett for a 38-21 lead with 3:36 left.
Toronto’s defense came up with another big play. Hamilton quarterback Taylor Powell lost the ball when he was sacked by Deionte Knight and it was recovered by Folarin Orimolade. They took advantage of the turnover when Boris Bede kicked a 27-yard field goal that made it 41-21 with 1:49 left.
Hamilton quarterback Taylor Powell completed four passes for 56 yards. Then, Powell threw a two-yard touchdown pass to Terry Godwin which made it 41-28 with 11 seconds left. Hamilton failed to covert the onsides kick and Toronto went into victory formation to end the game.
The Argonauts defeated the Tiger-Cats by the final score of 41-28. They are now 2-0 against Hamilton this year and have scored 73 points against Hamilton.
Toronto’s offense had 347 yards. Quarterback Chad Kelly got off to a decent start but managed to put together another good game. He completed 15 of 23 passes (65.2%) for 201 yards, two touchdowns, two interceptions, three carries for 27 yards, and one touchdown.
Running back A.J. Oullette had 12 carries for 79 yards, completed one pass for 26 yards, and one touchdown. Wide receivers Kurleigh Gittens Jr., DaVaris Daniels, Dejon Brissett, and Damonte Coxie combined with 12 catches logging 194 yards, and three touchdowns. Toronto’s defense had 52 tackles, five sacks, one interception, one forced fumble, and three fumble recoveries.
Hamilton’s offense had 353 yards. Quarterback Taylor Powell completed 30 of 42 passes (71.4%) for 296 yards, three touchdowns, one interception, and five carries for 17 yards.
Running back James Butler had 11 carries for 63 yards and five catches for 28 yards. Wide receivers Terry Godwin and Tim White combined with 14 catches for 160 yards and three touchdowns. Hamilton’s defense had 34 tackles and two interceptions.
Next weekend, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats visit the Ottawa Redblacks on Friday at 7:30 pm on CBS Sports Network, while the Toronto Argonauts host the Montreal Alouettes on Saturday at 1 pm on CFL+. Subscribe to Fubo to watch all of the 2023 CFL Season. Purchase CFL tickets today on StubHub and Viagogo.
