Hamilton’s Chad Owens keeps ball after scoring winning TD against former team

Hamilton’s Chad Owens kept his game-winning touchdown ball. It was that big of a catch for the eight-year CFL veteran.

Owens was playing in his 100th career game on Monday, which also happened to be a matchup between his new team, and his club from the previous six years the Toronto Argonauts.

The 34-year-old ran a corner route and caught quarterback Zach Collaros’s pass over his shoulder deep in the end zone to complete a Ticat comeback in a 49-36 victory.

“(My) 100th game, first Labour Day game as a Ticat, I haven’t kept a ball for a while so I felt this was a good one to keep,” said Owens.

Hamilton had been down 27-7 early and 30-17 at the half before chipping away and pulling to 36-31 in the fourth.

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With 10:19 left in the game, Collaros hit Owens with a 28-yard pass that took Hamilton to the Argo 10-yard line. The very next play, he found Owens in the end zone and Hamilton took the lead for the first time since early in the first quarter. Andy Fantuz caught the two-point conversion and suddenly Hamilton was up 39-36.

It wasn’t the prettiest win. Toronto scored 24 points in the first half off of four Hamilton turnovers. One of them was a fumble by Owens on his own 26-yard line, which set up a Tori Gurley touchdown for Toronto.

“We definitely made it harder than it needed to be,” Owens said. “I had a penalty and fumble which I can’t have. I pride myself on being a very smart player and ball security and not taking penalties so I’m a little upset about that for myself.”

Owens finished with six receptions for 63 yards.

He downplayed the importance of playing his former team, calling it just another game. But Hamilton now holds the season series and the two teams play again on Sunday in Toronto.

Owens did acknowledge feeling the love from the Steeltown crowd on Labour Day — something he’s not used to.

“It’s unbelievable fan support,” he said. “That’s one thing you’ve always had here. Even when I was in Toronto you always knew you’d get a lively crowd. Happy to be on this side of it this time.”

Asked if this was the best Labour Day memory of his career, Owens called it “unique”.

“It’s up there because of the type of game it was. First Labour Day game as a Ticat so that’s enough, I think, in itself to put it up there. But getting the victory and staying together the way we did, I think, overall, should go down as one of the great games in Ticats history and one of the great Labour Day games as well.”

Carol Phillips, The Canadian Press