TORONTO (CP) — Buck Pierce threw two touchdown passes as the B.C. Lions held off a determined Toronto Argonauts squad 24-20 at Rogers Centre on Friday night.
Pierce broke a 17-17 tie with a 10-yard TD strike to Stefan Logan at 10:52 of the third to temporarily quiet the Rogers Centre gathering of 28,273. But Pierce was replaced by Jarious Jackson late in the quarter with an apparent ankle injury, finishing 15-of-22 passing for 169 yards.
Logan finished the game with 145 yards rushing.
Toronto seemed poised to tie it early in the fourth, but B.C.’s Barron Miles intercepted Kerry Joseph in the end zone, halting an impressive 83-yard, five-play march. The Argos drove to the Lions’ 30-yard line but had to settle for a field goal at 11:26 to pull to within 24-20.
A 55-yard Keith Stokes punt return put Toronto at the B.C. 40-yard line with 2:14 remaining. But Tyler Scott dropped a Kerry Joseph pass, then Lions linebacker Otis Floyd sacked Joseph to take the Argos out of field goal range.
Toronto got the ball one last time at its 49-yard line with 17 seconds remaining. But the comeback ended with B.C.’s Korey Banks’ interception on the game’s final play.
B.C. (9-5) earned its fifth straight win to cement a playoff berth for itself and Calgary. Defensive end Cameron Wake also recorded his CFL-high 19th sack.
The Lions improved to 7-0 against Toronto, their last regular-season loss to the Argos coming Oct. 11, 2004.
Toronto (4-10) dropped its fifth straight loss to remain two points behind second-place Winnipeg (5-8) in the East Division standings. The Bombers take on the Edmonton Eskimos on Saturday.
But after being outscored by a whopping 162-48 margin in the first four losses, Toronto played B.C. very tough defensively while tailback Jamal Robertson, replacing the injury Dominique Dorsey, ran for 139 yards and two TDs on 10 carries to become the first Argos running back to run for more than 100 yards in a game this season. He also had two catches for 42 yards.
Toronto’s Mike Vanderjagt had two converts and two field goals.
O’Neill Wilson, Charles Roberts and Logan had B.C.’s touchdowns. Paul McCallum added the converts and a field goal.
B.C. led 17-14 at halftime but Robertson was the story of the opening half.
The five-foot-10, 218-pound Robertson had touchdown runs of 75 and 48 yards in the second quarter to keep Toronto in the game.
Roberts’ two-yard TD run at 5:41 of the second gave B.C. a 17-7 lead.
Notes: Argos defensive lineman Adriano Belli did a nice job singing the national anthem before the game. Belli’s fund, The Big Kiss, raises money and awareness in support of Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto. Belli appeared on Canadian Idol earlier this year. . . . Defensive linemen Walter Stith and Jeremy Gibbs and linebackers Lorne Plante and Terna Nande were B.C.’s healthy scratches. Safety Chris Hardy, receiver Obed Cetoute, defensive back Ken Healy and defensive lineman Ron Flemons didn’t suit up for Toronto.