The Toronto Argonauts (1-1) visited TD Place Stadium on Saturday afternoon against their former coach, Ryan Dinwiddie, and the Ottawa Redblacks (0-2) in their first meeting of the season. This was the 28th all-time meeting between these two teams.
In the first quarter, Ottawa quarterback Jake Maier’s pass was intercepted by James Cesear at the 35-yard line. Toronto running back Samuel Hicks started the drive with two carries for nine yards to the 44-yard line. Quarterback Chad Kelly had two carries for four yards and threw two passes for 27 yards to the 35-yard line. After Hicks rushed for four more yards, Kelly threw a 22-yard pass to Kevin Mital and rushed for six yards to the three-yard line. On the next play, he threw a touchdown pass to Makai Polk for a 7-0 lead with 8:21 left.
Midway through the first quarter, Ottawa had the ball on the 42-yard line. Quarterback Jake Maier threw two passes for 19 yards, and an offside penalty on Toronto moved the ball to the 18-yard line. On the next play, Maier threw a touchdown pass to Ayden Eberhardt. The game was tied 7-7, and the drive took four plays for 42 yards.
Late in the first quarter, Chad Kelly threw three passes for 57 yards, including a 47-yarder to David Ungerer III to the 24-yard line. Then, Kelly threw a touchdown pass to Damonte Coxie for a 14-7 lead to end the first quarter.
Early in the second quarter, Toronto’s defense took a hit when defensive back Robert Priester suffered a non-contact injury to the right leg. He limped off the field and into the medical tent. Later in the second quarter, Ottawa kicker Brett Lauther made an 18-yard field goal. The Redblacks trailed the Argonauts 14-10 with 10:50 left.
Toronto quarterback Chad Kelly threw a 33-yard pass to Kevin Mital to the 37-yard line. On the next play, Ottawa defensive lineman Aiden John sacked Chad Kelly for a seven-yard loss. Kelly came back to throw a 19-yard pass to Damonte Coxie to the 25-yard line. The Argonauts moved the ball to the one-yard line. On third down, they failed to get into the endzone.
After Ottawa went two-and-out, Chad Kelly’s pass intended for Kevin Mital was intercepted by Alonzo Addae at the 47-yard line. It was his seventh career interception. For the majority of the second quarter, Ottawa’s defense kept Toronto scoreless until late in the quarter. After Chad Kelly’s pass intended for Tyler Kahmann was incomplete, Toronto challenged for defensive pass interference and won. Kelly threw two passes for 41 yards to the nine-yard line. On the next play, Kelly threw a touchdown pass to Tyler Kahmann for a 21-10 lead with 33 seconds left.
Ottawa returner Kalil Pimpleton returned the kickoff for 27 yards to the 35-yard line. Quarterback Jake Maier threw two passes to Ayden Eberhardt for 33 yards to the 42-yard line. Kicker Brett Lauther made a 49-yard field goal. The Redblacks trailed the Argonauts 21-13 at halftime.
Toronto’s offense had 271 yards. Chad Kelly had a nice first half, completing 16 of 19 passes for 237 yards, three touchdowns, one interception, and four carries for 10 yards. On the other side, Ottawa had 159 yards on offense. Jake Maier completed 11 of 18 passes for 155 yards, one touchdown, and one interception, while Ayden Eberhardt made six catches for 94 yards and one touchdown.
In the third quarter, Toronto returner Janarion Grant gave them good field position with a 30-yard return to the 47-yard line. Chad Kelly began the drive by throwing a 56-yard pass to Kevin Mital to the seven-yard line. Running back Samuel Hicks had two carries for two yards to the five-yard line. Kicker Lirim Hajrullahu made a 12-yard field goal for a 24-13 lead with 12:32 left.
Ottawa running back Greg Bell had two carries for two yards, and Jake Maier threw a 14-yard pass to Justin Hardy. On the next play, Maier’s pass was intercepted by Ethan John. However, a defensive pass interference penalty on Toronto gave Ottawa a first down at the 38-yard line.
Greg Bell rushed for two yards, but Toronto defensive end Jonathan Kongbo sacked Maier for an eight-yard loss. Kicker Brett Lauther made a 51-yard field goal. The Redblacks trailed the Argonauts 24-16 with 8:57 left.
On the second play for Toronto, Chad Kelly threw a short pass to Samuel Hicks for 14 yards to the 52-yard line. Hicks was hurt after the play. Kelly was spreading the ball around, keeping Ottawa’s defense on their toes. He threw a 25-yard pass to Makai Polk to the 27-yard line, plus an objectionable conduct penalty on Ottawa gave them 10 more yards to the 17-yard line. On the next play, Kelly ran to his right side before throwing a touchdown pass to David Ungerer III for a 31-16 lead with seven minutes left. The drive took four plays for 70 yards.
Ottawa quarterback Jake Maier threw two passes for nine yards. On third down, Maier tried to get the first down, but Toronto’s defense stopped them. Toronto took over on the 46-yard line. Chad Kelly threw a 33-yard pass down the middle to Kevin Mital to the 13-yard line.
He threw a seven-yard pass to Mital before Samuel Hicks ran for two yards to the four-yard line. However, Toronto was hit with an unnecessary roughness penalty for 10 yards. Kicker Lirim Hajrullahu made a 26-yard field goal for a 34-16 lead with 3:17 left.
Late in the third quarter, Toronto moved the ball to the 46-yard line. On the next play, Chad Kelly’s pass was intercepted by Lucas Cormier for 22 yards before getting the ball knocked out of his arm, but Ottawa recovered. Toronto challenged the play for defensive pass interference and lost.
In the fourth quarter, Ottawa moved the ball to the 32-yard line thanks to a defensive pass interference by Toronto. Kicker Brett Lauther made a 39-yard field goal. The Redblacks trailed the Argonauts 34-19 with 12:54 left.
Ottawa’s defense got the ball back when Scott Hutter intercepted Chad Kelly. Kevin Mital hurt his right leg after the play. He walked off under his own power. Ottawa moved the ball to the 21-yard line before kicker Brett Lauther made his fifth field goal of the afternoon for 28 yards. The Redblacks trailed the Argonauts 34-22 with 8:35 left.
Toronto had the ball on the 40-yard line. They moved the ball to the 51-yard line until Kelly’s pass was intercepted by Scott Hutter for the second time. Toronto offensive lineman Dakoda Shepley was ejected from the game for his second game misconduct penalty. Ottawa moved the ball to the one-yard line. Jake Maier threw two incomplete passes, and Toronto’s defense stopped Daniel Adeboboye short of the endzone. Toronto took over on the one-yard line.
On third down, Toronto gave up a safety. It was now 34-24 with 2:23 left. On the third play, Toronto defensive back Benjie Franklin intercepted Jake Maier. After going two-and-out, Ottawa returner Kalil Pimpleton had the ball stripped out by Isaac Darkangelo, and he recovered the ball.
Toronto running back Samuel Hicks had two carries for 31 yards, including scoring a 31-yard touchdown for a 41-24 lead. Lirim Hajrullahu tacked on a 43-yard field goal to end the game. The Argonauts beat the Redblacks 44-24.
Toronto’s offense had 523 yards (424 passing yards, 112 rushing yards, 13 yards lost), 26 first downs, 4 for 7 in the redzone, and the team was penalized nine times for 122 yards. Quarterback Chad Kelly completed 25 of 32 passes (78.1%) for 424 yards, four touchdowns, four interceptions, and five carries for 11 yards. Running back Samuel Hicks had 16 carries for 79 yards and one rushing touchdown.
Wide receiver Kevin Mital made eight catches for 178 yards, while David Ungerer III made three catches for 82 yards and one touchdown, Damonte Coxie made three catches for 57 yards and one touchdown, and Tyler Kahmann made four catches for 42 yards and one touchdown. The defense made 45 tackles, two tackles for loss, two sacks, two interceptions, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, and three turnovers on downs.
Next Friday, the Toronto Argonauts visit the Saskatchewan Roughriders at 9 pm on TSN, CFL+, and CBS Sports Network, while the Ottawa Redblacks visit the Montreal Alouettes on Sunday at 7 pm on TSN, CFL+, and CBS Sports Network.
Ottawa’s offense had 310 yards (281 passing yards, 46 rushing yards, 17 yards lost), 18 first downs, 1 for 4 in the redzone, and the team was penalized six times for 50 yards. Quarterback Jake Maier completed 25 of 40 passes (62.5%) for 281 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions, and two carries for 14 yards. Running back Greg Bell had 11 carries for 29 yards.
Wide receiver Ayden Eberhardt made eight catches for 129 yards and one touchdown, while Eugene Lewis made four catches for 48 yards. The defense made 51 tackles, three tackles for loss, one sack, four interceptions, and one turnover on downs.
