The Toronto Argonauts (2-0) hosted the Edmonton Elks (0-3) on Saturday night from BMO Field in front of 10,857 fans. It was a homecoming for several former Toronto players including quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson, Kurleigh Gittens Jr., Boris Bede, Javon Leake, Shane Richards, Sam Acheampong, and Josh Haggerty.
The Argonauts won their last three meetings against Edmonton but the Elks have won two of its last three visits to BMO Field. This game was like watching two boxers going at it from the bell. Both teams laid it all out on the field. The fans and viewers were treated to a very entertaining football game.
First Quarter:
In the first quarter, Edmonton quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson threw a 30-yard touchdown pass to Dillon Mitchell. Bethel-Thompson’s throw was low but Mitchell did a great job securing the catch and putting Edmonton up 7-0 with 9:37 left.
Toronto got off to a slow start early in the first quarter punting the ball twice to Edmonton. On their third series of the game, Toronto went heavy with the running game. Running back Ka’Deem Carey carried the ball three times for 22 yards.
On the fourth play of scrimmage, quarterback Cameron Dukes handed the ball off to Deonta McMahon. McMahon got a couple of nice blocks from the offensive line opening a hole on the left side. McMahan used his speed and dangled around a couple of Edmonton players on his way to scoring a 44-yard touchdown and the game was tied 7-7 with 3:41 left.
Edmonton got the ball with 3:19 left in the first quarter. They used all of the time going on a six-play drive for 79 yards ending when quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson throwing a six-yard touchdown pass to Eugene Lewis for a 14-7 lead as time expired to end the first quarter. Toronto quarterback Cameron Dukes completed 3 of 3 passes for 23 yards, and Edmonton quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson completed 9 of 11 passes for 127 yards and two touchdowns.
Second Quarter:
In the second quarter, Toronto mixed up the playbook with running and passing plays. They went on a seven-play drive for 60 yards ending with quarterback Cameron Dukes throwing a 21-yard touchdown pass to Rasheed Bailey and the game was tied 14-14 with 10:40 left.
Later in the second quarter, Toronto quarterback Cameron Dukes threw a nine-yard pass to Dejon Brissett before getting tackled on the Elks’ 40-yard line by Elliott Brown. In that tackle, Brissett injured his left knee and had to be helped off the field. He did not return to the game. With 3:41 left, Toronto was on the Elks’ seven-yard line. Quarterback Cameron Dukes scored a seven-yard rushing touchdown with a quarterback draw giving the Argonauts a 21-14 lead with 3:26 left.
Late in the second quarter, Edmonton punter Jake Julien punted the ball 60 yards before the ball went into the endzone and out of bounds for a single point. The score was now 21-15 Toronto with 2:06 left. Edmonton got one more chance to add more points before halftime. On the final play of the second quarter, quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson was sacked for a six-yard loss by Jake Ceresna. The Argonauts led the Elks 21-15 at halftime.
First Half Stats:
Toronto had 183 yards on offense (92 passing yards, 109 rushing yards, 18 yards lost). Quarterback Cameron Dukes completed 9 of 10 passes (90%) for 92 yards, one touchdown, one carry for seven yards, and one touchdown. Running back Deonta McMahon had three carries for 55 yards, and one touchdown, while Ka’Deem Carey had 10 carries for 47 yards, and made two catches for 13 yards.
Wide receiver Rasheed Bailey made one catch for 21 yards, and one touchdown, and Dejon Brissett made two catches for 20 yards. Toronto’s defense made one sack and one tackle for loss.
Edmonton had 200 yards on offense (186 passing yards, 20 yards rushing, six yards lost). Quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson completed 15 of 20 passes (75%) for 186 yards, and two touchdowns. Running back Kevin Brown had five carries for 20 yards and made one catch for one yard.
Wide receiver Dillon Mitchell made four catches for 84 yards, and one touchdown, while Eugene Lewis made three catches for 32 yards and one touchdown. Edmonton’s defense made two sacks.
Third Quarter:
Early in the third quarter, both defenses made quick work of the offenses. With 9:35 left of the third quarter, Edmonton defensive back Loucheiz Purifoy intercepted Cameron Dukes’ pass intended for Tommy Nield and returned it for 18 yards before going out of bounds on the Argonauts’ 23-yard line.
Three plays later, Edmonton turned the turnover into points when quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Hergy Mayala giving the Elks a 22-21 lead with 7:38 left of the third quarter.
Edmonton’s lead did not last long. Toronto went on an eight-play drive for 89 yards ending when running back Ka’Deem Carey scored a four-yard rushing touchdown. Then, the Argonauts successfully converted a two-point conversion by Cameron Dukes for a 29-22 lead with 1:43 left in the third quarter.
Toronto’s defense made quick work forcing Edmonton to go two-and-out. On the last play of the third quarter, Toronto quarterback Cameron Dukes threw a six-yard pass to Daniel Adeboboye before getting tackled on their 28-yard line.
Fourth Quarter:
In the fourth quarter, Toronto ended up punting the ball back to Edmonton. With 13:25 left, Edmonton quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson threw a 71-yard pass to Dillon Mitchell. Mitchell got up and kept running scoring a touchdown. However, after further review, Mitchell was down on the Argonauts’ 35-yard line and it ended being a catch for 36 yards.
Two plays later, Edmonton quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson threw an eight-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Kurleigh Gittens Jr., and the game was tied 29-29 with 12:22 left in the game.
Later in the fourth quarter, Toronto went on a six-play drive for 69 yards ending when quarterback Cameron Dukes threw a 36-yard touchdown pass to Damonte Coxie putting Toronto back in the lead 36-29 with 9:23 left in the game.
Edmonton responded on their next drive. Quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson started the drive completing five passes for 52 yards and running back Jevon Leake had a carry for six yards. On the next play on the Argonauts’ 23-yard line, Bethel-Thompson’s pass intended for Hergy Mayala was initially ruled incomplete. However, head coach Chris Jones challenged the play for defensive pass interference and won the challenge where the ball was placed on the Argonauts’ two-yard line. Two plays later, Edmonton backup quarterback Dakota Prukop scored a one-yard touchdown and the game was tied again 36-36 with 3:30 left.
Late in the fourth quarter, Toronto punt returner Janarion Grant returned punter Jake Julian’s punt for 17 yards to the Elks’ 45-yard line. With 57 seconds left, Toronto had running Ka’Deem Carey carry the ball three times for 15 yards to get into field goal range. With one second left, Toronto kicker Lirim Hajrullahu kicked the game-winning 37-yard field goal and the Argonauts defeated the Elks 39-36.
Final Stats:
Toronto had 374 yards on offense (214 passing yards, 186 rushing yards, 26 yards lost). Quarterback Cameron Dukes completed 18 of 21 passes (86%) for 214 yards, two touchdowns, four carries for 17 yards, and one touchdown.
Running back Deonta McMahon had four carries for 50 yards, one touchdown, and made one catch for 10 yards while Ka’Deem Carey had 19 carries for 104 yards, one touchdown, and made three catches for 17 yards.
Wide receiver Damonte Coxie made three catches for 58 yards, and one touchdown while Makai Polk made three catches for 28 yards. Kicker Lirim Hajrullahu made one field goal for 37 yards. Toronto’s defense made 34 tackles, nine tackles on special teams, one tackle for loss, and one sack.
Edmonton had 371 yards on offense (342 passing yards, 35 rushing yards, six yards lost). Quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson completed 28 of 38 passes (74%) for 342 yards, and four touchdowns. Running back Kevin Brown had seven carries for 27 yards and made three catches for 27 yards while Jevon Leake had one carry for six yards, and made four catches for 26 yards.
Wide receiver Dillon Mitchell made five catches for 120 yards and one touchdown, Hergy Mayala made five catches for 72 yards and one touchdown, Eugene Lewis made three catches for 32 yards, and one touchdown and Kurleigh Gittens Jr. made six catches for 52 yards and one touchdown.
There were no field goal attempts by Boris Bede. Edmonton’s defense made 44 tackles, 11 tackles on special teams, two tackles for loss, one interception, and three sacks.
Final Thoughts:
Toronto quarterback Cameron Dukes continues to be consistent on the field. In two games this season, he’s completed 39 of 48 passes (81%) for 468 yards, five touchdowns, nine carries for 54 yards, and two touchdowns. Toronto has a good quarterback but they have to realize that other teams are watching him.
Dukes is this year’s version of Dru Brown and if he keeps putting numbers like these up, don’t be surprised even when Chad Kelly returns that Toronto will keep Dukes as their starting quarterback, or else you might hear rumors of other teams looking to trade for him or sign him in the offseason. Dukes will have a huge test coming up next week against Montreal.
For Edmonton, yes, it stinks that this team is 0-3. However, they put up a fight in this game and it’s only a matter of time before they get that first win of the season. I would still like to see the team incorporate quarterback Tre Ford in the games like using him for trick plays. Edmonton needs to be creative with the playbook to keep their opponents on their toes. Edmonton will have a tough test next week against B.C.
Next Thursday, the Edmonton Elks visit the B.C. Lions at 10 pm on TSN and CFL+ while the Toronto Argonauts host the Montreal Alouettes on Friday at 7:30 pm on TSN and CFL+. Subscribe to Fubo to watch all of the 2024 CFL Season. Purchase CFL tickets today on StubHub and Viagogo.
