THE CANADIAN PRESS
TORONTO — DeAndra Cobb’s six-yard TD run with under four minutes remaining rallied the Hamilton Tiger-Cats to a stunning 16-12 win over the Toronto Argonauts on Friday night.
Cobb’s run at 11:15 of the fourth before a season-high Rogers Centre gathering of 24,493 came four plays after Will Heyward recovered Ryan Christian’s fumbled kickoff return at the Toronto 22-yard line.
But it was quarterback Kevin Glenn’s 21-yard run on second and 15 that was the key play of the drive.
To add insult to injury, Toronto’s Lin-J Shell was ejected following the convert for unsportsmanlike conduct.
The Argos drove to the Hamilton 47 on its final possession before turning the ball over on downs with 54 seconds remaining. The Ticats had to punt, and Chad Owens made it interesting with a thrilling return before being upended by kicker Sandro DeAngelis on the game’s final play.
Toronto (5-3) fell to second in the East Division with a lacklustre performance following last week’s stellar victory over Montreal. Hamilton had its trouble against the Argos’ defence, but the home team couldn’t put the Ticats away and let them hang around long enough to find a way to earn the improbable win.
The Argos opened the game with a bang but had nothing to show for it.
After Hamilton stalled on its opening possession, Chad Owens returned a punt 78 yards for the touchdown, only to have it come back due to a holding penalty. Then on Toronto’s first play from scrimmage, Andre Durie had a 61-yard run called back because of another holding penalty.
The two penalties cost Toronto 139 total yards and a TD.
Hamilton (4-4) stole the win after playing three uninspired quarters offensively. But that will only serve to add intrigue when the two teams meet again Labour Day at Ivor Wynne Stadium.
Toronto did use trickery to surge ahead 12-3 in the third. Shaw’s 12-yard field goal at 3:19 was set up by a 37-yard completion from Chad Owens to Christian off a double reverse that put the Argos at the Hamilton eight-yard line.
Hamilton and Toronto met a night after the Buffalo Bills beat the Indianapolis Colts 34-21 in an NFL exhibition game at Rogers Centre. More than 39,000 spectators took in the contest, which began with the typical sizzle and glitz of the NFL with loud music and lavish fireworks and seemingly endless replays of the Bills fight song.
The fans, many of whom wore the colours of their favourite NFL teams, were boisterous and supportive for much of the first half when both teams played their starters.
But once the stars like Colts quarterback Peyton Manning and Bills tailback C.J. Spiller left the contest, so too did much of the atmosphere and buzz. In pre-season, the top priority is evaluation and not necessarily earning the victory.
But with the CFL contest being in the regular season between heated rivals, the crowd was more vocal and into it for much longer than the previous night. And although smaller than the NFL gathering, this crowd was much louder and more into the play, reacting to each heavy hit, big run or catch and defensive stop.
There were also chants of “Bruuuccce,” every time Ticats receiver Arland Bruce, a former Argo, touched the ball. And when an interview with Toronto special-teams coach Mike O’Shea, a former Ticat, aired on the Jumbotron, it was met with the usual chorus of boos from Hamilton supporters.
Grant Shaw had three field goals and a single for Toronto. The other points came on a safety.
DeAngelis booted three field goals and a convert for Hamilton.
Toronto led 9-3 at halftime, a score that flattered Hamilton as the Argos shot themselves in the foot early with the two big penalties.
But from that point on, the game settled into a defensive battle with the kickers taking centre stage. Toronto should’ve had an 11-point half-time advantage but Shaw had to settle for a single after missing a 29-yard boot at 13:58 of the second.
NOTES — Not since 2004 have the Argos won five of their first seven regular-season games . . . Bruce spent five seasons with Toronto, helping the Argos win the ’04 Grey Cup, before being dealt to Hamilton last summer . . . . Hamilton’s coaching staff features three former Argos coaches in Steve Buratto, Dave Easley and Brad Miller.