THE CANADIAN PRESS
With files from argonauts.ca
TORONTO – The Argos accumulated 177 yards and two touchdowns on the ground as they defeated Hamilton 31-12 in pre-season action at Rogers Centre.
RB Chad Kackert scored from one yard out in the second quarter to give the Argos a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. He added some insurance with a 15-yard TD run late in the fourth quarter.
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Wide receiver Jerome Hewitt and running back Dwayne Wright had the other Toronto touchdowns. Wide receiver Matt Carter scored Hamilton’s lone TD on an eight-yard catch midway through the fourth quarter.
Toronto quarterback Cleo Lemon turned in a solid effort over nearly one half of action, completing 11-of-15 passes for 130 yards. Several top players were rested in the pre-season opener for both teams.
“Either one of them can be the leader of this boat,” said veteran receiver Jeremaine Copeland. “I think it’s going to be a hard decision on the coaches.”
It didn’t take long for the first appearance of rust. Hamilton’s Chris Williams dropped the opening kickoff before gathering the ball and scampering just five yards.
Hamilton quarterback Quinton Porter got the start and looked sharp early on. He opened with a crisp 14-yard pass to Matt Carter and guided the Ticats on an 11-play drive that stalled shortly after entering Toronto territory.
Hamilton kicker Justin Medlock opened the scoring with a 42-yard field goal at 4:41.
Toronto slotback Jeremaine Copeland caught a 25-yard pass midway through the first but the Argos couldn’t build on it. Lemon closed out the opening quarter with a 21-yard run.
At 1:03 of the second quarter, Lemon faked a handoff to Wright and then found him with a short dump pass. Wright took advantage of some excellent blocking to run 26 yards for the first touchdown of the game.
On Toronto’s next drive, running back Andre Durie broke free for a 47-yard run to get the Argos deep into Hamilton territory. The 10-play, 97-yard drive was capped by a one-yard TD run from Kackert at 10:08.
Toronto kick returner Curtis Walls almost padded the lead a few minutes later on a 105-yard kick return. His effort was called back due to a holding penalty.
Former Queen’s University quarterback Danny Brannagan entered the game late in the second quarter. Toronto led 14-3 at the half.
Toronto pivot Dalton Bell entered the game at the start of the third quarter and promptly completed a couple of nice passes to wide receiver Spencer Watt. Bell later misfired on a couple of end-zone attempts and the Argos settled for a 22-yard field goal from Grant Shaw at 4:07.
Ticats running back Glenn Milner created a highlight-reel moment when he leapfrogged Matt Black when the Argos defensive back attempted a tackle. The rush led to a 36-yard field goal from Eric Wilbur at 4:26 to cut the Toronto lead to 11 points.
Hamilton quarterback Jason Boltus was steady after taking over from Porter. His top drive was a 14-play, 102-yard effort that was capped by an eight-yard TD strike to Carter at 7:16 of the fourth quarter.
Bell answered on Toronto’s next possession. He found James Robinson with a 45-yard catch to get into the red zone and followed with a 16-yard TD pass to Hewitt at 8:54.
In a distinct change from last season’s run-happy squad, the Argonauts regularly aired the ball out with mixed results. The Ticats tried to keep things simple with short passing plays the norm.
Bell was 9-of-15 for 200 yards while Boltus completed 27-of-35 passes for 285 yards and had one interception.