The Ottawa Redblacks (8-3-1) hosted the Toronto Argonauts (6-6) on a rainy Saturday afternoon from TD Place Stadium in a clash of two East Division teams. This game had a playoff feel to it but the Redblacks made a statement.
First Quarter:
Toronto got the ball to start the game on their 48-yard line. They went two-and-out and punted the ball to Ottawa. Ottawa started their first possession of the game from their 19-yard line. Quarterback Dru Brown completed two passes for 31 yards and running back Khalan Laborn had one carry for two yards to reach their 52-yard line. The drive stalled and Ottawa punted the ball back to Toronto with 11:48 left of the first quarter.
Toronto started their next drive from their 24-yard line. Quarterback Chad Kelly threw the ball and it deflected off the hands of David Ungerer III and was intercepted by Damon Webb. Webb took it to the house for a pick-six 21-yard touchdown for a 7-0 lead with 11:23 left.
Toronto started its next drive from the Redblacks’ 54-yard line. On the first play, quarterback Chad Kelly’s pass was behind Richie Sindani and instead was intercepted by Brandin Dandridge returning the interception for 20 yards before he was tackled down on the Argonauts’ 50-yard line. Ottawa’s offense went three plays for 20 yards before kicker Lewis Ward made a 37-yard field goal extending their lead 10-0 with 8:32 left of the first quarter.
On the next Toronto drive, running back Ka’Deem Carey had two carries for 36 yards and quarterback Chad Kelly rushed for a gain of three yards short of the first down. Kicker Lirim Hajrullahu made a 37-yard field goal and the Argonauts trailed the Redblacks 10-3 with 6:28 left of the first quarter.
On the next two drives, both teams went two-and-out. Ottawa’s offense started their next drive on their 48-yard line. They went seven plays for 49 yards before kicker Lewis Ward made a 20-yard field goal for a 13-3 lead with six seconds left of the first quarter. On the final play, Toronto quarterback Chad Kelly threw a 41-yard pass to Makai Polk and reached the Redblacks’ 29-yard line down 13-3.
Ottawa had 94 yards on offense (87 yards passing, 7 yards rushing), five first downs, and 0 for 1 in the red zone. Quarterback Dru Brown completed 9 of 14 passes for 87 yards. Toronto had 96 yards on offense (57 yards passing, 39 yards rushing), two first downs, and no red zone opportunities. Quarterback Chad Kelly completed 3 of 7 passes for 57 yards, and two interceptions.
Second Quarter:
In the second quarter, Toronto quarterback Chad Kelly completed a 10-yard pass to Makai Polk. Next, Kelly was sacked by Cleyon Lang for a loss of three yards. Then, Kelly threw a high pass that deflected off the hands of Makai Polk and was intercepted by Damon Webb. Webb took it to the house for a pick-six 96-yard touchdown extending Ottawa’s lead 20-3 with 13:04 left. It was his second pick-six touchdown of the game.
On the next drive for Toronto, quarterback Chad Kelly completed four passes for 18 yards short of the first down and punted the ball back to Ottawa with 9:59 left before halftime. Ottawa running back Jamal Morrow rushed for a gain of six yards and caught a six-yard pass from Dru Brown to reach the Argonauts’ 50-yard line.
On the next play, Dru Brown threw a deep pass to Andre Miller. Miller turned on the jets on his way to scoring a 50-yard touchdown for a 27-3 lead with 8:23 left of the second quarter capping off a three-play drive for 62 yards.
After Toronto went two-and-out, Ottawa’s offense started from their 47-yard line. They went three plays for 18 yards before the drive stalled. Punter Richie Leone punted the ball 53 yards. The ball bounced into the end zone where Toronto returner Janarion Grant conceded the single point. It was now 28-3 Ottawa with 5:01 left before halftime.
Moving ahead into the action, Ottawa’s offense was back out on the field with 2:48 left. They went on a six-play drive for 47 yards before kicker Lewis Ward made a 51-yard field goal for a 31-3 lead with 1:14 left before halftime.
Ottawa’s defense continued to torture Toronto quarterback Chad Kelly with back-to-back sacks by Bennett Williams and Davion Taylor losing 10 yards forcing third down. Ottawa running back Khalon Laborn finished the first half with two carries for five yards and the Redblacks led the Argonauts 31-3 at halftime.
First Half Stats:
Ottawa had 230 yards on offense (209 yards passing, 21 yards rushing), 11 first downs, 0 for 1 in the red zone, and was penalized three times for 25 yards. Quarterback Dru Brown completed 17 of 24 passes (71%) for 209 yards and one touchdown. Running back Khalan Laborn had four carries for 12 yards and two catches for 14 yards.
Wide receiver Andre Miller made two catches for 59 yards and one touchdown, and Dominique Rhymes made four catches for 55 yards. Ottawa’s defense made one tackle for loss, four sacks, three interceptions, and two touchdowns. Ottawa scored 17 points off of turnovers.
Toronto had 148 yards on offense (121 yards passing, 46 yards rushing, 19 yards lost), six first downs, 0 for 1 in the red zone, and was penalized five times for 60 yards. Quarterback Chad Kelly completed 12 of 18 passes (66%) for 121 yards, three interceptions, and one carry for three yards.
Running back Ka’Deem Carey had three carries for 43 yards. Wide receiver Makai Polk made three catches for 55 yards, and Richie Sindani made two catches for 23 yards. Toronto’s defense made 23 tackles.
Third Quarter:
Ottawa got the ball to start the third quarter from their 42-yard line. Ottawa got one first down before the drive stalled and they punted the ball to Toronto with 12:14 left. Toronto started their first drive of the second half from their 44-yard line.
Wide receiver David Ungerer III started the drive with a nine-yard run, followed by running back Ka’Deem Carey’s two-yard run reaching their 55-yard line. Quarterback Chad Kelly completed three passes for 40 yards to reach the Redblacks’ 15-yard line.
On the next play, Kelly threw a pass up the middle to Tommy Nield, who ran over an Ottawa player to score a 15-yard touchdown and the Argonauts trailed the Redblacks 31-10 with 9:46 left capping off a six-play drive for 66 yards in two minutes and twenty-three seconds.
On Ottawa’s next drive, quarterback Dru Brown threw three passes for 30 yards and rushed for a gain of one yard to reach the Argonauts’ 40-yard line. On the next play, running back Khalan Labron ran for seven yards and reached the Argonauts’ 33-yard line.
Then, Labron got the ball again, running through a hole created by the offensive line on his way to scoring a 33-yard touchdown for a 38-10 lead with 5:40 left capping off a six-play drive for 71 yards.
On the next Toronto drive, quarterback Chad Kelly threw three passes for 62 yards reaching the Redblacks’ five-yard line. On third down, Kelly overthrew Tommy Nield and the Redblacks took over on their five-yard line. Ottawa went two-and-out and punted the ball back to Toronto’s 53-yard line. Toronto had the ball for the final 54 seconds. Quarterback Chad Kelly threw two passes for 12 yards to reach the Redblacks’ 45-yard line down 38-10 to end the third quarter.
Fourth Quarter:
In the fourth quarter, Toronto moved the ball up to the Redblacks’ 28-yard line before kicker Lirim Hajrullahu made a 35-yard field goal and the Argonauts trailed the Redblacks 38-13 with 13:55 left of the game capping off a seven-play drive for 29 yards.
After Ottawa went two-and-out, Toronto’s offense was back out on the field from the Redblacks’ 50-yard line. On second down, quarterback Chad Kelly threw a six-yard pass to Richie Sindani at the Redblacks’ 44-yard line. On the next play, Kelly threw an incomplete pass to Makai Polk but a defensive pass interference penalty on Damon Webb gave the Argonauts a first down.
Quarterback Chad Kelly threw a 14-yard pass to David Ungerer III to reach the Redblacks’ 20-yard line. Then, Kelly threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Damonte Coxie. Toronto went for a two-point conversion and Kelly scored and the Argonauts trailed the Redblacks 38-21 with 10:24 left of the game capping off a four-play drive for 50 yards.
Ottawa quarterback Dru Brown completed three passes for 41 yards and reached the Argonauts’ 20-yard line. On second down, Brown threw a three-yard pass to Dominique Rhymes short of the first down. Kicker Lewis Ward made a 24-yard field goal for a 41-21 lead with 7:09 left of the game.
On the next four possessions, both teams would move the ball but their drives stalled and no points were scored. Toronto got the ball with 1:50 left of the game. Quarterback Chad Kelly threw six passes for 103 yards getting them to the Redblacks’ four-yard line.
On the next play, Kelly threw a four-yard touchdown pass to Davie Ungerer III. They went for a two-point conversion and missed it. The Argonauts trailed the Redblacks 41-27 with 50 seconds left capping off a 10-play drive for 107 yards. Ottawa’s offense ran out the 45 seconds left of the game to beat the Toronto Argonauts 41-27. Ottawa remains unbeaten at home this season.
Final Stats:
Ottawa had 404 yards on offense (349 yards passing, 59 yards rushing, 4 yards lost), 19 first downs, 0 for 2 in the red zone, and was penalized four times for 35 yards. Quarterback Dru Brown completed 30 of 40 passes (75%) for 349 yards, one touchdown, and two carries for four yards. Running back Khalan Laborn had 10 carries for 47 yards, one touchdown, and five catches for 30 yards.
Wide receiver Dominique Rhymes made 10 catches for 138 yards, and Andre Miller made five catches for 95 yards, and one touchdown. Kicker Lewis Ward made 4 of 4 field goals with a long of 51 yards. Ottawa’s defense made 47 tackles, one tackle for loss, six sacks, four interceptions, one touchdown, and 10 tackles on special teams.
Toronto had 494 yards on offense (463 yards passing, 61 yards rushing, 30 yards lost), 26 first downs, 3 for 5 in the red zone, and was penalized seven times for 75 yards. Quarterback Chad Kelly completed 36 of 56 passes (64.2%) for 463 yards, three touchdowns, four interceptions, and two carries for six yards. Running back Ka’Deem Carey had five carries for 46 yards and three catches for 57 yards.
Wide receiver David Ungerer III made eight catches for 131 yards, and one carry for nine yards, while Makai Polk made seven catches for 105 yards, and Damonte Coxie made six catches for 91 yards, and two touchdowns. Kicker Lirim Hajrullahu made 2 of 2 field goals with a long of 37 yards. Toronto’s defense made 44 tackles, three tackles for loss, one forced fumble, three fumble recoveries, and nine tackles on special teams.
Next week, the Toronto Argonauts visit the B.C. Lions on Friday at 10 pm on TSN and CBS Sports Network, while the Ottawa Redblacks visit the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Saturday at 3 pm on CTV and CFL+. Subscribe to Fubo to watch all of the 2024 CFL Season. Purchase CFL tickets today on StubHub and Viagogo.
