Redblacks beat Argonauts 29-12, jump Ticats for first in East Division

“I thought the defence played extraordinary today pitching a shut out for most of the first half and that was pretty good against a team that had been scoring touchdowns left and right.”

The Argonauts (5-8-0) have lost two straight and sit third in the division.

Toronto scored the first offensive touchdown of the game when Drew Willy threw an 11-yard pass to Kevin Elliott at 7:08 of the fourth quarter, but that only cut the Redblacks lead to 22-12 following a failed two-point conversion attempt.

Willy completed 16-of-24 passes for 153 yards after starting the second half in place of Dan LeFevour, who was 13 for 19 and 72 yards in the first half with one interception.

It was the first game action for Willy since being traded from Winnipeg 10 days ago.

“Any time you get to play it’s fun to be out there. Obviously I’ve only known these guys for 10 days, but it was fun to be out there. Wish we could have got the win obviously,” Willy said.

“I thought we did some good things in the second half but it wasn’t enough and I know some of my reads will have to get better. I’ve been studying every night since I’ve been here and just trying to keep getting better.”

A one-yard touchdown run from Ottawa quarterback Trevor Harris with two minutes to play gave the Redblacks a 29-12 lead following the conversion.

Harris completed 25 of his 35 pass attempts for 274 yards.

Milo put the first points on the board with a 19-yard field goal at 7:09 of the first quarter to give the Redblacks a 3-0 lead.

That lead was doubled to 6-0 just before the end of the quarter on a 16-yard Milo field goal.

The Argos had positioned themselves into field-goal range in the second quarter, but a 15-yard unnecessary roughness call on lineman Greg Van Roten pushed the Argos back on third down and cost the team heavily.

Liram Hajrullahu was short on the ensuing 52-yard field-goal attempt and Jamill Smith returned the ball 109 yards for a Redblacks touchdown that, once converted, gave Ottawa a 13-0 lead.

“We were waiting for our chance and we talked about that being a 10-point play because it’s three points on the missed field goal for them and then seven going back the other way, so that’s a huge momentum swing,” Redblacks coach Rick Campbell said.

Milo’s third field goal of the half, this one from 41-yards out, gave the Redblacks a 16-0 advantage at 9:25.

The Argos finally got some points on the board when Hajrullahu split the uprights from 16 yards out in the final minute of the half, cutting Ottawa’s lead to 16-3.

The Redblacks made it 19-3 when Milo completed the opening drive of the second half with a 44-yard field goal at 2:34.

The rest of the third quarter belonged to both defences as they shut down drive after drive until Hajrullahu kicked a 17-yard field goal with one minute left into the quarter.

Again the Redblacks responded with three points of their own as Milo connected from 29 yards out three minutes into the fourth quarter, upping their lead to 22-6.

“They played with a lot of passion and it’s nice to play a nice hard fought game like that and win. It’s good for our confidence,” said Campbell.

Both teams play on the road next week as the Redblacks head west to face the B.C. Lions on Saturday while the Argos go further East for a showdown with the Montreal Alouettes Sunday.

Darren Desaulniers, The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

Redblacks beat Argonauts 29-12, jump Ticats for first in East Division

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