Cats take down Argonauts in Toronto to claim season series

TORONTO — The Hamilton Tiger-Cats claimed the season series against the rival Toronto Argonauts with a 47-29 victory at BMO Field on Saturday afternoon. The visitors stormed out to a 23-point lead at halftime after a fiery start from Bo Levi Mitchell and the offence. The Argonauts brought it to within 10 in the second half but Hamilton was able to survive the scare to bounce back after losing big in Winnipeg last time out.

A ruthless Hamilton pass rush brought Toronto’s pivots to the turf on eight occasions in a game where Nick Arbuckle was forced to exit with an upper body injury after taking a sack in the first quarter. In an effort not to be outdone by the defensive line, Hamilton’s secondary also got four interceptions off of Jarret Doege, who was thrown into the mix in relief of Arbuckle. Stavros Katsantonis got a hat trick of picks in Toronto, while Julian Howsare recorded four sacks in the contest.

On the other side of the football, Mitchell threw for 320 yards and four majors. Kenny Lawler collected a couple of those touchdown passes, while running back Greg Bell ran for 76 yards and a second-quarter score.

With the loss, the Argonauts were officially eliminated from playoff contention. Doege was 34-49 on the afternoon, throwing for 324 yards, two touchdowns, and four interceptions. Dejon Brissett was Toronto’s leading receiver, catching eight of nine targets for 97 yards.

RELATED

» 3 stats that defined Hamilton’s Week 18 win over Toronto

» Hamilton, Toronto by the numbers

» Depth Charts: HAM | TOR

» Game Notes: Tiger-Cats at Argonauts

Mitchell wasted no time in unlocking the Argonauts’ defence, finding a wide open Kiondre Smith down the left sideline for a 42-yard gain on the first play from scrimmage. A short opening drive would end with a 29-yard Marc Liegghio field goal after another Smith catch came up short of a first down.

The Ticats’ defence came out firing with a turnover to bring the offence back onto the field. Philip Ossai came from behind to knock down Arbuckle for a strip sack and Howsare jumped on the loose football for the recovery as Arbuckle appeared to hurt his throwing arm on the play. Lawler made a remarkable toe-tap catch on the first play of Hamilton’s second possession to bring the away team into the red zone and a couple of plays later, he caught his twelfth touchdown of the season on a five-yard completion.

Doege entered the fray for Toronto’s second series. After a pair of first-down pickups, the Argos were forced into a punt.

Mitchell and the Ticats found another big play on their second offensive trip. This time it was Brenden O’Leary-Orange on the receiving end of a Mitchell deep ball. A go route down the left sideline resulted in a 87-yard house call for O’Leary-Orange as the Ticats jumped out to a 17-0 first-quarter lead.

Third time was the charm for the Argonauts on offence as they were able to get the chains moving consistently on their third drive of the game. Brissett caught a couple of passes for first down on a nine-play drive, but Hamilton’s second sack of the day, courtesy of Howsare, resulted in a 37-yard Lirim Hajrullahu field goal to cut the deficit to 17-3 entering the second quarter.

Liegghio couldn’t reply with a field goal of his own, sending a 50-yard attempt wide left, but Hamilton’s defence was able to come up with another takeaway. Jonathan Moxey read Doege’s pass intended for David Ungerer III and leapt to make the pick. With Mitchell and company starting with strong field position once again, Bell fought through a couple of bodies to run in for a 14-yard score.

Makai Polk and Spencer Brown helped out the Argos with a couple of splash plays to begin the following drive. Doege eventually got the offence into scoring range, but Herslow saw an end-zone look bounce off his fingertips as Toronto settled for another field goal, cutting the scoreline to 24-6.

A pair of two-and-outs followed, as Ossai collected his second sack of the afternoon, this time bringing Doege down. J-Min Pelley responded with a takedown of his own for Toronto’s first sack as the two teams went scoreless across three second-quarter drives.

Mitchell and the Tabbies delivered another blow after the three-minute warning off the back of another turnover by the defence. Katsantonis made a diving grab for an interception after the ball bounced off of both the intended receiver Polk, and linebacker Kyler Fisher. With Hamilton back in possession of the football, Bell ran for a couple of first downs, and then Mitchell connected with O’Leary-Orange in the end zone who made a contested catch for his second score of the half. Hajrullahu knocked through his third field goal on the final play of the half to make it 32-9 at the break.

Coming out of halftime, the Argonauts pieced together their fourth scoring drive with Hajrullahu’s fourth field goal. After a quick score, the Toronto defence hoped to give the home team a momentum boost they despearelty needed with the unit’s first takeaway of the contest. Mitchell didn’t see the onlooking Tarvarus McFadden as he searched for Tim White, giving the Argos possession at Hamilton’s 42. Doege and the offence were able to to get a score off the turnover, this time finally finding their first touchdown as on an 18-yard passing play to Ungerer III to make it 32-19.

The two teams traded scoreless drives before Toronto was able to chip away at Hamilton’s lead once more in the third. Ossai produced a tackle for loss and his second strip sack to limit the Argonauts to a field goal. Hajrullahu made no mistake from 51 yards out, making it a 10-point game.

The Tabbies got their first major of the half early in the fourth to get into a 17-point lead and perhaps ease some nerves after a 13-0 third quarter by Toronto. Mitchell delivered to Smith for a 25-yard reception and then on the follow-up play sent a ball 34 yards for Lawler’s second score of the day.

Shortly after the touchdown. Doege threw his third interception to bring the visitors back onto the field. Katsantonis was waiting in coverage as Doege looked Kevin Mital‘s way over the middle. A Branden Dozier sack on Mitchell meant Hamilton would only come away with a field goal off of the turnover, restoring a 20-point advantage for the Tiger-Cats.

Off the back of a Toronto two-and-out, the Argos’ special teams unit was able to come away with a vital turnover. Jack Cassar ripped the football out of Isaiah Wooden Sr’s grasp on the punt return, giving the Boatmen possession at Hamilton’s 40. Stuck on Hamilton’s 15, head coach Ryan Dinwiddie elected to go for it on third down rather than settle for a field goal. That call paid off for Toronto as Mital shook off a couple of tackles en route to the end zone. Hajrullahu’s extra point made it 42-29 with 6:47 remaining.

Hamilton’s pass rush continued to be relentless, punishing Doege for their sixth and seventh sacks of the afternoon. Howsare brought Toronto’s pivot to the ground for his third sack and then Ossai followed up with his third, dragging Doege down for a safety to put two points on the board for the Ticats and give them possession. From there, they would hold on to come out of Toronto with a 47-29 win.

In Week 19, the Toronto Argonauts will hit the road to face the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Friday, October 10. The Hamilton Tiger-Cats will return home for a matchup against the Calgary Stampeders on the Saturday of Thanksgiving Weekend presented by Purolator.

Click here to read article