THE CANADIAN PRESS
TORONTO — Jeff Johnson’s one-yard TD run with less than two minutes remaining rallied the Toronto Argonauts to an exciting 27-24 win over the Calgary Stampeders on Wednesday night.
Argos RB Cory Boyd had his second consecutive 100-yard game. In his home debut, Boyd carried the ball 20 times for 140 yards.
Johnson’s run put Toronto ahead 25-24 at 13:02 of the fourth before Cleo Lemon hit Chad Owens for the two-point convert and the three-point lead.
Calgary took over at its 31-yard line with 1:47 remaining and Toronto’s Evan McCollough’s appeared to clinch the win with his second interception of the game with 1:11 left. But after a review the pass was deemed incomplete, giving the Stampeders new life at their own 48-yard line. The visitors couldn’t do anything with the second chance and turned the ball over on downs.
Stampeders quarterback Henry Burris threw three TD strikes but was also intercepted four times in the game for the first time since 2000.
Burris staked Calgary to a 24-13 lead with two third-quarter TDs. He hit Romby Bryant on an 18-yard pass at 6:30 before finding Deon Murphy behind the secondary on a 10-yard toss at 10:26.
The pass to Bryant was set up by Calgary’s defence stopping Lemon on a third-and-one gamble at the home team’s 51-yard line, to the dismay of a Rogers Centre gathering of 20,242.
Both teams were playing on a short week. Toronto was coming off a 36-34 road win in Winnipeg on Friday night while Calgary defeated Hamilton 23-22 at Ivor Wynne Stadium on Saturday.
Calgary (2-1) remains tied for first in the West Division standings with idle Saskatchewan (2-0).
Toronto (2-1) moved atop the East Division standings with its second straight win.
Grant Shaw kicked four field goals and a single for Toronto. The other points came on three safeties, one short of the CFL record.
Nik Lewis scored Calgary’s other touchdown. Rob Maver added a field goal and three converts.
Shaw’s 40-yard field goal at 13:18 of the second quarter staked Toronto to a 13-10 half-time lead and came after Lewis scored the opening half’s only TD on a 39-yard pass from Burris at 11:50.
But the first half was one of missed opportunities for both teams.
Toronto drove to the Calgary one-yard line on its opening offensive series, a drive set up by Kevin Eiben’s 14-yard interception return. But the Stampeders put up a stellar defensive stand to force the turnover on downs.
Then it was the Argos’ turn, their defence standing tall and forcing a Maver 21-yard field goal after Calgary tackled punter Jamie Boreham and took over at Toronto’s 14-yard line.
In the second, the Argos drove 88 yards on seven plays to the Calgary five-yard line before again settling for three points on Shaw’s 12-yard field goal at 8:11 to go ahead 10-3.
After struggling early, the Stampeders’ offence came to life in the second and were mounting a solid drive before McCollough’s interception with 36 seconds remaining eliminated the threat.
NOTES — Toronto Blue Jays Jesse Litsch, Casey Janssen and Ricky Romero took in the game . . . This marks just the third time ever that Toronto has opened its home schedule against Calgary. The Stampeders came into this contest with a 1-0-1 record . . . The last time Calgary started a regular season with two straight wins was 2000 . . . Linebacker Leon Joe, tackle Joe Eppele and receivers Chad Lucas and Spencer Watt were Toronto’s scratches. Offensive lineman Godfrey Ellis, receivers Landan Talley and Johnny Forzani as well as defensive lineman DeVone Claybrooks didn’t dress for Calgary.