Two teams fighting for second place in the CFL East Division will meet Saturday when the Toronto Argonauts visit the Ottawa Redblacks.
Both are coming off road losses. The Argonauts (6-5) are on a short week after Monday’s 31-28 setback against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. The Redblacks (7-3-1) fell 38-12 to the BC Lions on Aug. 31, their first loss since July 5.
Toronto fell behind 21-3 in the first quarter to Hamilton before rallying to take a 28-27 fourth-quarter lead on Lirim Hajrullahu’s fifth field goal. The Tiger-Cats answered with a 74-yard single by Nik Constantinou and Marc Liegghio’s game-winning 55-yard field goal.
Making his second start of the season for the Argos, Chad Kelly passed for 322 yards with one touchdown and one interception and also rushed for a score.
“We’re just not there yet. We’re an average football club,” Toronto coach Ryan Dinwiddie said, per TSN. “Luckily, we have a few more weeks to get to where we need to be. The fight is there. The execution has got to just be a little bit cleaner.”
Ottawa also fell into a deep hole early, trailing the Lions 24-3 midway through the second quarter. However, unlike during most of their six-game unbeaten stretch, the Redblacks struggled with discipline and defense. They had 12 penalties for 144 yards and were outgained 444-247 by BC.
Dru Brown completed 21 of 33 passes for 206 yards with a touchdown against the Lions. He was sacked four times and Ottawa rushed for just 44 yards.
The Redblacks made a surprising move Tuesday by releasing leading rusher Ryquell Armstead, who ranked fourth in the CFL with 623 yards through 11 games.
“Ultimately we felt it was in the best interest of the team,” Ottawa coach Bob Dyce told reporters. “We tried, as did he, to make this work, and ultimately it didn’t. I thank him for his efforts, the energy he brought to practice, the games this season, and being part of our success.”
The Redblacks signed former Saskatchewan running back Jamal Morrow.
Ottawa is 5-0-1 at home and Toronto is just 1-4 on the road.
The Redblacks and Argonauts will meet again in Toronto on Oct. 19, the penultimate week of the regular season.
–Field Level Media
