VANCOUVER — The past two weeks haven't been easy for the Toronto Argonauts.
First, there was the narrow loss to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Then the team dropped a decision to the Ottawa Redblacks.
On Friday, though, the Argos (7-6) halted their two-game slide in decisive fashion, downing the B.C. Lions 33-17 in Vancouver.
"Toronto's performance built on those recent losses," said head coach Ryan Dinwiddie.
“We haven't executed very well the last few weeks, but we fought hard, right? And we fought toward the end, we played a full 60 with the effort, and that execution wasn't always great," he added.
"So (tonight's) a big win for our locker room. Those guys stuck together. We had our backs against the wall, and they had their best performance.”
Argos quarterback Chad Kelly connected on 18-of-28 pass attempts for 268 yards, including a touchdown, and added a rushing major.
Lirim Hajrullahu made six field goals, including a 51-yard kick to open the scoring in the first quarter.
Toronto's defence troubled B.C.'s quarterbacks all night and registered seven sacks across the game.
“We played complimentary football," Kelly said. "I mean, the kicker, Lirim, had six field goals tonight, defence had seven sacks. It was huge for the whole team to really come out confident.”
The Lions (7-7) struggled from the outset, with four two-and-outs in the first quarter alone.
Quarterback Nathan Rourke rallied late in the first half, sailing a 31-yard pass to Justin McInnis deep in Toronto territory.
With the Lions stationed at the nine-yard line, Rourke surveyed his options before electing to take the ball himself, sprinting nine yards in for a touchdown. Sean Whyte added a convert and B.C.'s deficit shrunk to 12-10.
The Argos weren't content to close out the half with a two-point lead, however.
As the seconds ticked down, Kelly found Makai Polk midfield and the slotback took off for a 36-yard gain. The duo connected again moments later when the quarterback fired an 11-yard pass to Polk in the end zone. Hajrullahu added a single point as Toronto took a 19-10 advantage into the locker room.
Lions head coach Rick Campbell turned to veteran QB Vernon Adams Jr. to start the third quarter.
“Just looking for a spark. It’s a case of — in my opinion — having two elite CFL quarterbacks. And I told the team and I told Nathan that it wasn’t on him," Campbell said.
"I didn’t think our energy on offence was where it needs to be. And that wasn't on Nathan. We just couldn't get any flow going. And I was just literally trying to create a spark and see if we could flip the script.”
Rourke — who was six for 12 on his attempts, throwing for 110 yards — admitted he was "a little" surprised to get the hook, but wanted to be as supportive of Adams as possible.
“And hopefully I did that. Obviously, I'm not great at keeping my emotions in. I wear them on my sleeve, and so I'm obviously disappointed," Rourke said. "But we weren't playing well. As a team, we were losing. And I think everyone's kind of body language kind of showed it tonight. But I thought (Adams) did a good job under tough circumstances.”
Adams, playing his first game since suffering a knee injury on Aug. 1, had 75 passing yards and an interception on Friday.
He was in the locker room, checking on an injured teammate when Campbell pulled both Adams and Rourke aside to tell them he was making a swap at quarterback to start the second half.
"I was still ready, but just a little surprised that (Campbell) made the switch. And it felt good to get back out there," Adams said.
Campbell then turned to depth QB Chase Brice late in the fourth. The American threw for 32 yards with a touchdown.
Asked after the game how he'll handle the quarterback situation through the final four games of the season, Campbell demurred.
"I'm not here to mess with those guys," said the team's head coach and co-general manager. "I think it's a unique situation where we've got two really good guys. And we'll make sure that we're gonna do whatever's best for us to win games."
NOTES
Lions defensive back Garry Peters played his 100th consecutive CFL game. … B.C. receiver Alexander Hollins left the game with a shoulder injury in the first half and did not return. Linebacker Maxime Rouyer also left with a game-ending pectoral injury.
UP NEXT
The Argos will battle the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in Toronto next Friday. The Lions are on a bye next week and will return to play Sept. 27 when they host the Ticats.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press
