Toronto Argonauts survive overtime to take down Blue Bombers
TORONTO — The Toronto Argonauts were the last one standing after overtime in a fierce 16-14 defensive battle with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Saturday.
Defensive back Tarvarus McFadden, who re-signed with the team only four days ago, caught a tipped pass in the fourth quarter to add the first major to the board and the defence forced a crucial turnover on downs late in the fourth quarter that stopped the Bombers from scoring to force overtime.
After a miss by Bombers’ kicker Sergio Castillo, Argonauts kicker Lirim Hajrullahu converted his field goal to give the Argonauts the win.
Toronto’s defence collapsed the pocket all evening, finishing with five sacks, including two by defensive lineman Jake Ceresna. The Boatmen also showed excellent tackle discipline by forcing three fumbles on receptions by Bombers receivers, stopping would-be long drives by Winnipeg.
The Bombers were unable to complete a comeback attempt started with a touchdown connection between Zach Collaros and Ontaria Wilson, instead dropping their sixth game of the season.
Running back Brady Oliveira rushed 13 times for 96 yards and Collaros completed 25 of 32 passes for 317 yards, a major and a pick for the 2-6 Bombers.
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The first couple of drives by each team were uneventful save for an Oliveira fumble in Argonaut territory. Instead it were the defences that kept dominating the opposing offence. Bombers’ defensive lineman Redha Kramdi registered two sacks in the first quarter alone.
The Bombers opened the scoring with a short field goal by Castillo, matched by Hajrullahu with 3:10 left in the first quarter for an early 3-3 tie.
Toronto made a swap from Cameron Dukes to Nick Arbuckle to start the second quarter, but the veteran’s first possession ended without a first down.
Another promising first-half drive by the Blue Bombers ended on a fumble. Drew Wolitarsky caught a pass from Collaros and was tackled by Argos defensive back DaShaun Amos, forcing a loose ball that was scooped up by the Boatmen.
The Bombers pivot was taken off the game after a tackle in the second, but returned later in the quarter.
Castillo gave the Bombers another lead with a 40-yard field goal halfway through the second, but Hajrullahu once again matched it to make it 6-6 with 2:51 left in the half.
Collaros led Winnipeg into Toronto territory late in the second quarter, highlighted by a connection with Oliveira for 19 yards that positioned Castillo for his third field goal attempt of the afternoon. The veteran ended up missing his kick to keep the game tied going into halftime.
Both teams traded punts for most of the third quarter, with the defences dominating the line of scrimmage and forcing quick decisions by both pivots. The Double Blue finished the first three quarters with five sacks, including two by Ceresna.
It was fitting that the first major of the game was scored by a defensive player. Collaros was looking for Nic Demski over the middle, but the ball was tipped in their air by the Argonauts and landed in the hands of McFadden who ran it back the other way for six.
The following offensive possession by Winnipeg featured another momentum-killer turnover for Winnipeg. Demski caught a pass from Collaros that would’ve resulted in a big play, but the veteran receiver lost the ball on the tackle and gave it back to the home team.
The Blue and Gold responded with a defensive play of their own. With the ball at their own thirty-yard line, Winnipeg’s defence stopped Dukes on a third-and-one attempt to force a turnover on downs and give their offence the ball back with a chance to tie the game and that’s exactly what they did.
Collaros connected with a streaking Wilson deep down the left sideline for a 55-yard touchdown that recaptured all momentum in favour of the visitors with 3:39 left in the game.
After another punt by the Argos, Winnipeg’s offence went back in and almost put the Bombers back in front. With the ball positioned on the 22-yard line of Toronto, the visitors attempted to convert a third-and-one with backup Chris Streveler but were stopped short of the line of gain for a turnover on downs to send the game to overtime.
The Bombers started with the ball, but were quickly stopped after two plays by the Argos and Castillo missed wide left from 41 yards away to give the home team a chance to win the game. Hajrullahu then split the uprights from 36 yards out to capture the win.
Winnipeg now returns home to face the BC Lions on Thursday, August 1, at Princess Auto Stadium. Toronto meanwhile goes on the road to face the Calgary Stampeders on Sunday, August 4.
