The Toronto Argonauts (13-2) kicked off Week 18 of the CFL season on Friday night against the Edmonton Elks (4-12) in their second meeting of the season. They met back in Week 3 where the Argonauts won the game 41-33.
This was not just any game on Friday night. The game marked Toronto’s 150th Anniversary dating back to 1873 making them the oldest existing professional sports team in North America. When they started play in 1873, the Argo’s were members of the Argonaut Rowing Club.
The Argonauts have won 18 Grey Cup championships, the most in CFL history. In history, Toronto has won 25 Grey Cup championships including the University of Toronto Varsity Blues and Toronto Balmy Beach Beachers.
The Argonauts commemorated this special night with plenty of Toronto legends attending the game including Ricky Ray, Chad Owens, Raghib “Rocket” Ismail, Michael “Pinball” Clemens, Condredge Holloway, Damon Allen, and Terry Greer. The current Argo players wanted to give the fans and the past players a show and they did just that.
In the first quarter, Toronto running back A.J. Ouellette appeared to have scored a four-yard touchdown but the replay showed his knee hitting the one-yard line before the ball crossed the plain. Then, backup quarterback Cameron Dukes scored the touchdown with a quarterback sneak for a 7-0 lead with 9:07 left of the first quarter.
Later in the first quarter, Toronto quarterback Chad Kelly completed four passes for 30 yards leading to a Boris Bede 24-yard field goal for a 10-0 lead with 1:46 left. On the last play of the first quarter, Edmonton punter Jake Julian punted the ball 68 yards into the endzone and out of bounds for a single point. Toronto led 10-1 at the end of the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Edmonton quarterback Trey Ford completed a deep pass to Gavin Cobb for a gain of 41 yards. Two plays later, Ford completed a ten-yard pass to Eugene Lewis but they were three yards shy of the first down. Edmonton kicker Dean Faithfull made a 28-yard field goal which made it 10-4 with 9:36 left of the second quarter.
Later in the second quarter, Toronto punt returner Jevon Leake returned a punt for 41 yards before he was tackled on the Elks’ 14-yard line. Two players later, Toronto running back Deonta McMahon muscled his way in for a two-yard touchdown. Then, Toronto quarterback Chad Kelly completed a pass to Tommy Nield for the two-point conversion. It was now 18-4 Toronto with 1:57 left of the second quarter.
Late in the second quarter, Edmonton quarterback Tre Ford avoided Toronto’s blitz by scrambling around the field before throwing the ball to a wide-open Gavin Cobb for a 16-yard touchdown that made it 18-11 Toronto at halftime.
Toronto had 134 yards on offense. Quarterback Chad Kelly completed 9 of 12 passes (75%) for 101 yards, and one carry for 14 yards. Running back A.J. Ouellette had seven carries for 26 yards, and wide receiver David Ungerer III made four catches for 42 yards. Toronto’s defense made two sacks.
Edmonton had 181 yards on offense. Quarterback Tre Ford completed 15 of 17 passes (88.2%) for 180 yards, one touchdown, and three carries for 17 yards. Running back Kevin Brown had three carries for -3 yards, and Gavin Cobb had four catches for 79 yards and one touchdown. Edmonton’s defense made two sacks.
In the third quarter, Toronto kicker Boris Bede kicked a 43-yard field goal, extending Toronto’s lead to 21-11 with 10:30 left. Edmonton’s offense started to put together a nice drive when quarterback Tre Ford had two carries for 14 yards. Four plays later, Ford would rush for 15 yards before getting tackled on the Argo’s 31-yard line. On the next play, Ford attempted to complete a pass to Eugene Lewis but Wynton McManis read the play beautifully for a pick-six 83-yard touchdown which made it 28-11 with 5:21 left of the third quarter.
Late in the third quarter, Tre Ford was sacked by Jonathan Jones. On the final play, Ford’s pass intended for Kevin Brown was incomplete. The Argo’s led 28-11 with one more quarter to play.
In the fourth quarter, Edmonton punter Jake Julian punted the ball 65 yards that went into the endzone and out of bounds for a single point, making it 28-12 with 14:45 left. Toronto running back A.J. Ouellette started the next drive with three carries for 21 yards.
Three plays later, quarterback Chad Kelly threw a 35-yard pass to Tommy Nield before getting tackled on the Elks’ two-yard line. Three plays later, backup quarterback Cameron Dukes finished the drive with a one-yard touchdown for a 35-12 lead with 9:09 left in the game.
When Edmonton got the ball, quarterback Tre Ford’s pass was intercepted by Mason Pierce but the Argo’s offense could not take advantage of the turnover. Late in the fourth quarter, Toronto’s defense stopped Edmonton on third down with 2:03 left in the game.
Toronto running backs Deonta McMahon and Daniel Adeboboye finished the game with four carries for 22 yards before they went into victory formation. The Argonauts defeated the Elks by the final score of 35-12.
Toronto has done a good job rotating players when the game was nearly over to save their starters. If one player shows a sign of limping, they are taken out regardless of what time is left in the game. In addition, they did a good job honoring those who came before them to celebrate 150 years of Argo’s football.
Toronto had 313 yards on offense. Quarterback Chad Kelly completed 11 of 16 passes (69%) for 165 yards, and one carry for 14 yards. Running back A.J. Ouellette had 14 carries for 65 yards, and wide receiver Damonte Coxie made four catches for 83 yards. Toronto’s defense made 37 tackles, five sacks, two interceptions, and one touchdown.
With the loss, the Edmonton Elks are officially eliminated from playoff contention. The Elks should use the remaining two games of the season to analyze everyone who could make the 2024 roster.
Edmonton had 238 yards on offense. Quarterback Tre Ford completed 19 of 31 passes (61.2%) for 220 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions, and seven carries for 47 yards. Running back Kevin Brown had six carries for 10 yards and wide receiver Gavin Cobb had four catches for 79 yards and one touchdown. Edmonton’s defense made 42 tackles, two sacks, and one fumble recovery.
Next Saturday, the Edmonton Elks battle the Montreal Alouettes at 4 pm on CFL+, while the Toronto Argonauts battle the Ottawa Redblacks at 7 pm on CFL+. Subscribe to Fubo to watch all of the 2023 CFL Season. Purchase CFL tickets today on StubHub and Viagogo.
