ARGONAUTS.CA STAFF
TORONTO—The Argos Special Teams unit sent a message to Larry Taylor on the very first play of the game: there will be no repeat performance.
Four players converged on Taylor on the opening kick-off and made sure Taylor knew they were there.
The Argos first play on offence resulted in a 50-yard pass and run from Ricky Ray to Chad Owens which eventually resulted in a FG by Swayze Waters. 3-0 Argos.
On the following kick-off, it was the same story. The swarming Argos special teams unit engulfed Larry Taylor, forcing him to fumble. The Stamps would recover, but clearly this unit was in the head of the leagues leading returner.
Jeff Johnson caught a screen pass in the final minute of the first quarter and rumbled 52 yards, putting the Argos back into the scoring zone. The offence would not be able to take advantage in the form of a touchdown, but Swayze Waters put three on the board from 27 yards to double the double blue lead after one quarter to 6-0.
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Around the 11-minute mark of the second quarter, the Stampeders trotted into the red zone after a big gain by Nik Lewis, but were unable to get into the end zone as well. Both defences’ were showing their strength in the red zone early on.
Rene Parades put the Stamps on the board from 18 yards out and it was 6-3 Argos.
The Argos would march down the field on the following possession on an 11-play drive, but the offence’s red zone issues would again rear it’s ugly head as Swayze Waters was forced to come in for an 11 yard field goal. 9-3 Argos with four minutes to go in the half.
The big plays continued to haunt the Argos defence, this time with Glenn finding Johnny Forzani for a 50 yard gain into the boatmen’s red zone.
But, once again, the Argos stout red zone defence would stop an opponent from putting seven points on the board, and the field goal fest continued on with Parades hitting from 14 yards out.
A defensive battle saw the Argos lead the Stamps 9-6 at halftime.
Early in the third quarter, back-to-back first downs by the boatmen, both by Chad Kackert, drove the Argos offence to the midfield mark, where another drive would stall.
Swayze Waters hit a booming field goal from 48 yards out to give the Argos a 12-6 lead
The Argos defence forced the Stamps into their fifth punt of the evening, and the boatmen began another drive downfield eating up a bunch of clock.
On the final play of the third quarter, Ray found Andre Durie on a beautiful touch pass across the middle of the field for his first major of the season. It was also the Argos first touchdown in just over two hours of football.
19-6 boatmen heading into the fourth quarter
Chad Kackert started the Argos fourth quarter on offence with separate 22 and 14 yard runs to bring the boatmen to the Stamps 40 yard line, but a fumble by Chad Owens gave the ball back to Calgary.
The Stampeders would go two and out and give the ball right back.
Jordan Younger sealed an extremely impressive showing by his defensive unit by intercepting an errant Kevin Glenn pass with just under four minutes left. It was “JY’s” team leading third pick of the season.
Fittingly, Chad Kackert was given the reigns to the offence in the final two minutes of play, and he gave his kicker the opportunity to make it a perfect handful of field goals on the night.
Waters did not disappoint, nailing a 38-yarder for his fifth of the evening, and giving his team a 22-6 lead.
The Stamps would march down the field and score a meaningless touchdown with 15 seconds remaining to make the scoreline look more respectable. Kevin Glenn found Chris Bauman, who stretched out to break the plane of the end-zone. The Stamps would then convert a two-point conversion to shrink the deficit to eight points.
Andre Durie recovered the following on-side kick, and the offence wrapped up the game with a knee.
The Argos earn their fifth consecutive victory against the Stampeders, and come back home with a share of first place on the Eastern Division. 22-14 final.
BY THE NUMBERS:
QB Ricky Ray went 21/33 for 316 yards and 1 TD
SB/KR Chad Owens once again lead the team in receiving with 3 receptions for 87 yards.
RB Chad Kackert had 94 yards rushing on 14 attempts, and added 5 receptions for 41 yards for a total of 135 yards on the night.
The Argos Defence allowed only 335 yards of total offence to the Stampeders.
Argos LB Marcus Ball lead the team with 8 Defensive Tackles and 1 Sack.
K/P Swayze Waters went 5 for 5 on Field Goals, with a long of 48.