The Hamilton Tiger-Cats (3-3) hosted the Toronto Argonauts (2-4) on Saturday night at Hamilton Stadium in their first meeting of the season. Tre Ford got the start for the Tiger-Cats. Both teams came into this game losing their last two games.
Toronto got the ball to start the first quarter on the 46-yard line. On the second play of the game, Chad Kelly threw a 15-yard pass to Damonte Coxie to the 49-yard line. Kelly threw two more passes for 18 yards, and running back Isaiah Smith had three carries for 15 yards to the one-yard line. Nick Arbuckle scored the touchdown to put the Argonauts up 7-0 with 9:08 left on a 10-play drive for 64 yards.
It was Hamilton’s turn. They had the ball on the 40-yard line. Tre Ford threw a 19-yard pass to Larry Rountree III to the 51-yard line. Ford threw three more passes for 17 yards and rushed for 10 yards to the 25-yard line. On the next play, Ford started running up the middle for throwing a 25-yard touchdown pass to Kenny Lawler. Lawler had to jump to make the touchdown catch. The game was tied 7-7 with 4:32 left to cap off a five-play drive for 77 yards.
Toronto got the ball on the 34-yard line. Chad Kelly threw an eight-yard pass to David Ungerer III to the 42-yard line, and Samuel Hicks rushed for seven yards to the 49-yard line. On the next play, Hamilton pressured Kelly, with Reggie Stubblefield sacking Kelly for a nine-yard loss that ended the drive. Hamilton had the ball for the rest of the first quarter.
Running back Larry Rountree III rushed for five yards and caught a seven-yard pass from Tre Ford to the 30-yard line. Ford concluded the first quarter by running for 13 yards to the 43-yard line. Hamilton had 90 yards on offense. Tre Ford went 5 of 6 for 61 yards, one touchdown, and two carries for 23 yards. Toronto’s offense had 55 yards. Chad Kelly was 4 of 7 for 41 yards.
In the second quarter, Hamilton continued to move the ball to the 41-yard line until Tre Ford’s pass intended for Kenny Lawler was intercepted by Benjie Franklin for an eight-yard return to the 29-yard line. Lawler slipped trying to make the cut that allowed Franklin to make the interception.
For the majority of the second quarter, both teams were able to move the ball, but were unable to put points on the board. Late in the second quarter, Hamilton had the ball on the 10-yard line. Tre Ford and company led the offense to the one-yard line. Running back Ante Milanovic-Litre scored the touchdown to give the Tiger-Cats a 14-7 lead with 19 seconds left.
The drive took 14 plays for 100 yards. Toronto quarterback Chad Kelly threw a 14-yard pass to Makai Polk to the 50-yard line. Kicker Lirim Hajrullahu attempted a 58-yard field goal. He missed it wide left. The Tiger-Cats led 14-7 at halftime.
Hamilton’s offense had 227 yards. Tre Ford went 14 of 18 for 138 yards, one touchdown, one interception, and six carries for 68 yards. Running back Larry Rountree III had six carries for 20 yards, and six catches for 38 yards. Wide receiver Kurleigh Gittens Jr. made three catches for 35 yards, and Kenny Lawler made one catch for 25 yards and one touchdown.
Toronto’s offense had 118 yards. Chad Kelly went 7 of 13 for 84 yards. Running back Samuel Hicks had four carries for 25 yards, and Makai Polk made two catches for 42 yards.
In the third quarter, Toronto quarterback Chad Kelly’s pass intended for Damonte Coxie was intercepted by Jamal Peters for a 13-yard return to the 31-yard line. Hamilton running back Larry Rountree III had two carries for 11 yards to the 20-yard line.
Tre Ford threw a nine-yard pass to Kenny Lawler, and Jake Dolegala rushed for a yard to the 10-yard line. On the next play, Toronto was called for a face mask penalty after Isaac Darkangelo yanked Dolegala’s facemask, placing the ball on the one-yard line. On the next play, Dolegala scored the touchdown. The Tiger-Cats led 21-7 with 8:32 left. The drive took six plays for 31 yards.
For the rest of the third quarter, Toronto kicker Lirim Hajrullahu made a 12-yard field goal, and Hamilton kicker Marc Liegghio made an 11-yard field goal. The Tiger-Cats had a comfortable 24-10 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
In the fourth quarter, Chad Kelly threw a 14-yard pass to Makai Polk to the five-yard line. Then, Kelly avoided the blitz before throwing a five-yard touchdown pass to David Ungerer III. It was now 24-17 with 14 minutes left to cap off a six-play drive for 70 yards.
Hamilton struggled in the fourth quarter, giving the ball back to Toronto with 11:54 left. Chad Kelly threw six passes for 67 yards and rushed for 11 yards to the four-yard line. Two plays later, Nick Arbuckle scored a one-yard touchdown. Kicker Lirim Hajrullahu could’ve tied the game, but he missed the extra point. The Argonauts trailed the Tiger-Cats 24-23 with 7:19 left to cap off a nine-play drive for 97 yards.
For the rest of the game, Hamilton kicker Marc Liegghio missed a 49-yard field goal with 5:29 left. Toronto would get one more shot to win the game with 1:14 left. The Argonauts moved the ball to the 24-yard line. Lirim Hajrullahu attempted a 31-yard field goal, but he missed it wide left. The Tiger-Cats survived to beat the Argonauts 24-23 to end a two-game losing streak, while Toronto’s losing streak is now at three games.
Hamilton’s offense had 367 yards (218 passing yards, 157 rushing yards, 8 yards lost), 26 first downs, 2 for 3 in the redzone, and the team was penalized four times for 43 yards. Quarterback Tre Ford completed 21 of 27 passes (77%) for 218 yards, one touchdown, one interception, and 10 carries for 109 yards. Running back Larry Rountree III had 13 carries for 44 yards, and seven catches for 36 yards.
Wide receiver Kurleigh Gittens Jr. made five catches for 57 yards, while Keric Wheatfall made four catches for 52 yards, and Kenny Lawler made two catches for 34 yards and one touchdown. The defense made 39 tackles, one tackle for loss, two sacks, and one interception.
Toronto’s offense had 395 yards (322 passing yards, 95 rushing yards, 22 yards lost), 27 first downs, 3 for 4 in the redzone, and the team was penalized six times for 54 yards. Chad Kelly completed 25 of 35 passes (71.4%) for 322 yards, one touchdown, one interception, and two carries for 29 yards. Running back Samuel Hicks had seven carries for 47 yards.
Wide receiver Tyler Kahmann made six catches for 104 yards, while Damonte Coxie made five catches for 75 yards, and David Ungerer III made three catches for 23 yards and one touchdown. The defense made 48 tackles, two tackles for loss, two sacks, and one interception.
Next Saturday, the Toronto Argonauts visit the B.C. Lions at 7 pm on TSN, CFL+, and CBS Sports Network, while the Hamilton Tiger-Cats visit the Montreal Alouettes at 7 pm on TSN, CFL+, and CBS Sports Network.
