Battle on the Gridiron: Second half offensive surge lifts Argos over REDBLACKS

Toronto
Argonauts

Final

Sat Jul 8

	1	2	3	4
tor	0	1	12	13
ott	11	1	0	13

Ottawa
Redblacks

Attendance: 24,347

Second half offensive surge lifts Argos over REDBLACKS

CFL.ca Staff

OTTAWA — The Toronto Argonauts battled back after a nearly scoreless first half to better the Ottawa REDBLACKS 26-25 in an all-Ontario matchup at TD Place.
S.J. Green could not be contained, racking up an astounding 210 yards and one touchdown on 10 catches.
Greg Ellingson was equally impressive for the REDBLACKS with 170 yards and one touchdown on 10 receptions.
Victor Butler terrorized Trevor Harris all night, recording three quarterback sacks.
It was a tale of two halves for the Argonauts, who managed just a single through the first two quarters before an offensive explosion in the second half that saw them score three majors.

The REDBLACKS capitalized on the Argonauts penalty troubles early in the game to get on the board first. Ottawa decided to gamble on their second drive of the night, needing only one yard on third down. The risk paid off after the Argonauts were handed an offside penalty and Ottawa was rewarded with a new set of downs.
The Argos ran into penalty trouble yet again on the same Redblacks drive after Rick Campbell successfully challenged pass interference on Toronto in the red zone. Trevor Harris connected with Mossis Madu Jr. on the next play for a six-yard touchdown to open the scoring.
Ottawa was unsuccessful on their first two-point convert attempt, but another offside call against Toronto gave the REDBLACKS another chance. Ottawa made no mistake on their second attempt, giving them an 8-0 lead midway through the first quarter.
The penalty woes continued for Toronto as the quarter carried on. It appeared that the Argos recovered a fumble off of a punt after the REDBLACKS bobbled the return, but an unnecessary roughness call against the Double Blue negated the turnover.
Brett Maher added to the REDBLACKS lead before the end of the quarter, splitting the uprights from 36 yards out to put Ottawa up 11-0 after 15 minutes of play.
RELATED:
» Boxscore: Toronto 26, Ottawa 25
» Images: Toronto at Ottawa

Trevor Harris and the REDBLACKS jumped out to an early 11-0 lead but could not fend off the Argos second half surge. (The Canadian Press)

The Argonauts racked up seven penalties in the first quarter alone.
Defence on both sides shone in the second quarter as both teams were contained to only a single.
Maher’s perfect start to 2017 came to an end after his second field goal attempt of the night sailed wide from 48 yards out. The ball went through the end zone to give Ottawa a single.
The Argos spoiled the REDBLACKS shutout near the end of the quarter after Lirim Hajrullahu uncharacteristically missed a field goal attempt from 35 yards out, forcing the Argos to settle for a single as their first points of the game.
Momentum shifted in Toronto’s direction at the start of the third quarter. Harris was not expecting a snap deep in REDBLACKS territory and the ball went straight through his hands. It bounced into the end zone and was recovered by Rico Murray for the Argos first major of the game. An unsuccessful two-point covert attempt kept the REDBLACKS lead to just five points with under 10 minutes to go in the quarter.
The Argos kept on rolling from there.
Ray threw a long, high ball to S.J. Green, who brought down the catch and then darted past two REDBLACKS defenders and charged into the end zone for a 55-yard touchdown to give the Argos their first lead of the game. A missed two-point covert kept the Argos lead at 13-12.

The Argos added to their lead after Hajrullahu notched a 26-yard field goal at the start of the fourth quarter.
The REDBLACKS regained control after Harris led a steady charge down the field, finding Dionte Spencer for a big 25-yard gain. A pass interference call moved the REDBLACKS up just a yard away from the end zone, and Ryan Lindley made the short plunge in for the major on a quarterback sneak to restore a three point lead.
The Argos defence came up big a few plays later when Jermaine Gabriel intercepted an Ottawa pass and ran it back into the red zone. Ray connected with DeVier Posey on the next play for the veterans’ 300^th career touchdown pass to pull the Argos ahead 23-19.
Hajrullahu’s second field goal of the night extended the lead by three.
But the REDBLACKS did not go down without a fight.
Harris connected with Ellingson despite the receiver being surrounded by Toronto defenders, for a long 29-yard touchdown with just over three minutes to go. The snap was bobbled on the extra point attempt that would have tied the game, keeping the score 26-25 in favour of the Argos. The mistake proved to be a costly one for the REDBLACKS as the clock ran out before they could make up the missed point.
Maher had the game on his foot with zeros on the clock, but his long 59-yard field goal attempt sailed wide right to secure the win for the Argos.
The Boatmen will have little time to rest before their meeting with the Blue Bombers in Winnipeg on Thursday night. The REDBLACKS will look for their first win of the season against the Edmonton Eskimos on Friday night in game two of a CFL double header.