The Toronto Argonauts (5-5) hosted the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (4-7) on a rainy Saturday night at BMO Field in their second meeting of the season. The game was delayed for over an hour due to lightning in the area. The game did not start until shortly after 8 pm.
Hamilton got the ball to start the game on the 24-yard line. They went two-and-out. Toronto had the ball on the 52-yard line. Running back Isaiah Smith had two carries for eight yards, and Chad Kelly threw two passes for 15 yards to the 35-yard line. On the next play, Kelly faked a handoff before running to his right side. He threw the ball to a wide-open Damonte Coxie for a 35-yard touchdown. Kicker Brady Lidster’s extra point was blocked. The Argonauts took a 6-0 lead with 10:21 left on a five-play drive for 58 yards.
Later, Toronto kicker Brady Lidster made two field goals for 49 yards and 47 yards for a 12-0 lead with 1:25 left. Hamilton had the ball on the 40-yard line. Tre Ford threw a 53-yard pass to Keric Wheatfall to the 17-yard line, followed by Ford throwing a nine-yard pass to Maximilian Mang to the eight-yard line. Then, running back Larry Rountree III found an open hole to score the touchdown. The Tiger-Cats trailed the Argonauts 12-7 to end the first quarter on a three-play drive for 70 yards.
In the second quarter, Toronto went two-and-out. Hamilton had the ball on the 24-yard line. Two plays in, Tre Ford threw a 34-yard pass to Kiondre Smith to the 50-yard line. Hamilton moved the ball to the 32-yard line before kicker Marc Liegghio made a 40-yard field goal. The Tiger-Cats trailed the Argonauts 12-10 with 7:49 left.
Toronto had the ball on the 40-yard line. Chad Kelly threw four passes for 28 yards and had a carry for six yards to the 36-yard line. Nick Arbuckle rushed for two yards, and Isaiah Smith rushed for two yards to the 32-yard line. On the next play, Kelly’s pass intended for Tyler Kahmann was picked off by Stavros Katsantonis for a 10-yard return to the 18-yard line.
Hamilton’s offense gained two yards before a couple of penalties set them back, and they went two-and-out. Chad Kelly threw two passes for four yards before kicker Brady Lidster made a 24-yard field goal for a 15-10 lead with 1:33 left.
Hamilton had the ball for the rest of the second quarter. They moved the ball to the one-yard line before Jake Dolegala was pushed into the endzone for the touchdown. The Tiger-Cats took a 17-15 lead at halftime on a nine-play drive for 70 yards.
Hamilton’s offense had 214 yards. Quarterback Tre Ford went 9 of 14 for 170 yards, and three carries for 22 yards. Running back Larry Rountree III had six carries for 20 yards and one rushing touchdown. Wide receiver Kiondre Smith made four catches for 77 yards, and Keric Wheatfall made one catch for 53 yards.
Toronto’s offense had 175 yards. Quarterback Chad Kelly went 14 of 18 for 147 yards, one touchdown, one interception, and one carry for six yards. Running back Isaiah Smith had five carries for 11 yards, and Qualan Jones had two carries for nine yards. Wide receiver Damonte Coxie made three catches for 48 yards and one touchdown, while Tyler Kahmann made three catches for 31 yards.
Toronto got the ball to start the third quarter from the 39-yard line. The Argonauts moved the ball to the 12-yard line before Chad Kelly threw the ball right down the middle to Kevin Mital for the touchdown. The Argonauts took a 22-17 lead with 9:01 left on a 10-play drive for 71 yards.
Later, Toronto had the ball on the 37-yard line. On the fourth play, Chad Kelly threw a 21-yard pass to Tyler Kahmann to the 42-yard line. The Argonauts continued to move the ball to the 24-yard line before kicker Brady Lidster made a 32-yard field goal for a 25-17 lead with 2:07 left.
Hamilton had the ball for the rest of the third quarter. Tre Ford threw a 45-yard pass to Keric Wheatfall, and rushed for 11 yards to the 14-yard line. Ford was sacked on the next play by Bubba Bolden for a 12-yard loss. On second and long, Ford threw a seven-yard pass to Kiondre Smith to the 19-yard line to end the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, Hamilton kicker Marc Liegghio made a 26-yard field goal. It was now 25-20 with 14:35 left. Later, Toronto had a chance to get those three points back, but kicker Brady Lidster missed a 33-yard field goal. Toronto’s defense quickly got the ball back when Shawn Lemon hit Ford just as he was ready to throw the ball. There was a scramble before it was recovered by Jonathan Kongbo at the 33-yard line.
Chad Kelly threw a six-yard pass to Kevin Mital to the 27-yard line. Then, he got Hamilton’s defense to bite when he did a pump fake before throwing a touchdown pass to a wide-open Damonte Coxie for a 32-20 lead with eight minutes left.
After Toronto’s defense stopped Hamilton on third down, the Argonauts had the ball on the 38-yard line. The offense moved the ball to the one-yard line, where Chad Kelly scored the touchdown for a 39-20 lead with 2:50 left on an eight-play drive for 66 yards.
Hamilton had the ball for the rest of the game. On the final play, Tre Ford threw a 27-yard pass just short of the endzone. The Argonauts beat the Tiger-Cats 39-20.
Toronto’s offense had 434 yards (289 passing yards, 145 rushing yards), 26 first downs, 2 for 2 in the redzone, and the team was penalized one time for five yards. Quarterback Chad Kelly completed 26 of 34 passes (76.4%) for 289 yards, three touchdowns, one interception, two carries for seven yards, and one rushing touchdown. Running back Isaiah Smith had 15 carries for 99 yards, and Qualan Jones had nine carries for 37 yards.
Wide receiver Damonte Coxie made four catches for 75 yards and two touchdowns, while Tyler Kahmann made seven catches for 74 yards, and Kevin Mital made seven catches for 53 yards and one touchdown. The defense made 35 tackles, one tackle for loss, four sacks, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery.
Hamilton’s offense had 401 yards (356 passing yards, 73 rushing yards, 28 yards lost), 17 first downs, 2 for 3 in the redzone, and the team was penalized nine times for 55 yards. Quarterback Tre Ford completed 19 of 32 passes (59.3%) for 356 yards, and four carries for 33 yards. Running back Larry Rountree III had nine carries for 32 yards and one rushing touchdown.
Wide receiver Keric Wheatfall made three catches for 124 yards, and Kiondre Smith made six catches for 111 yards. Kenny Lawler made four catches for 57 yards. The defense made 50 tackles, two tackles for loss, and one interception.
Next Saturday, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats visit the Calgary Stampeders at 3 pm on TSN and CFL+, followed by the Toronto Argonauts visiting the Saskatchewan Roughriders at 7 pm on TSN and CFL+.
