ARGONAUTS.CA STAFF
TORONTO–The objective was simple for the Double Blue in Saskatchewan; a win, and you’re in.
However, that is easier said than done when you’re a visitor at a raucous Mosaic Stadium in below freezing temperatures.
After yet another deferred kick-off from the Boatmen, a quick two and out for the Riders got the Argos the ball at around the midfield mark.
Three consecutive first downs through the air brought the Argos into the Riders red-zone, where Ray hooked up with Maurice Mann in the corner of the end zone for his first touchdown in Double Blue.
7-0 Argos on their first offensive drive of the game.
On the Riders next possession, the defence would make their mark. Brandon Isaac (8 tackles in the half) came off the edge and chased Durant 15 yards behind the line of scrimmage for his third sack of the season, giving the offence great field position once again.
The ensuing Argos drive would be short lived, as the usual sure-handed Jeff Johnson had one tip off his fingertips into the hands of linebacker Joe Lobendahn, giving the Riders back the ball.
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The Boatmen’s defence would force the Riders offence into their third consecutive “two-and-out”, and the Argos would get the ball back almost as quickly as they gave it up on their own 48-yard line.
Ray would continue to share the ball, hitting Spencer Watt, Maurice Mann, and Chad Owens for first downs before Chad Kackert earned one of his own. The impressive drive would be sealed by Andre Durie’s third TD of the season after Ray read the Riders run defence perfectly and found the York product in the flat.
The dream start continued; 14-0 Argos.
Sandro DeAngelis would get the Riders on the board on a 37-yard field goal at the beginning of the second quarter making it 14-3 boatmen.
Another stalled drive by the Argos would give the Riders back the ball and Cory Sheets would seal the drive with a 24-yard touchdown run. Sheets was pushed for the final few yards by a few of his offensive lineman.
14-10 Argos midway through the second quarter.
The tale of two quarters would continue with three more points put on the board by DeAngelis, this time from 27-yards out, shaving the boatmen’s lead to only one.
Ricky Ray and the offence would get the ball back near the midway point of the second quarter on their own 35-yard line and march all the way down into the red-zone with the wind in their face. The drive would be sealed by Ray finding Durie for the second time in the half, restoring the lead back to eight points to 21-13.
The Riders would get the ball back and march into Argos territory with a hurry-up drive, and it would result in yet another field goal from DeAngelis, this time from 36 out.
The Argos would head into half time with a five point lead, 21-16.
Following the applause of every girl in Canada after Justin Bieber was announced as the headline performer for the 100th Grey Cup halftime show, the Riders got the ball to begin the second half.
Tristan Jackson returned the kick-off right into the Argos red zone, but the Riders were unable to put any points on the board as DeAngelis missed a 17-yard field goal.
The Argos would get the ball back and Ricky Ray would continue his ridiculous day with his fourth touchdown pass of the day, this time to the ‘flyin hawaiian’ Chad Owens from 60 yards away.
The Boatmen’s big early lead was restored once again, now at 28-17.
Following the Owens touchdown, the third quarter was relatively quiet with both teams swapping scoreless drives until around the one minute mark when DeAngelis gained retribution for his earlier miss and hit from 22 yards to shave the Argos lead to 8.
The Argos issues with tackling arose yet again early in the fourth quarter, as Kory Sheets caught a pass in the backfield and took it 42 yards downfield into the Argos red-zone. On the very next play, Durant would find Dressler in the endzone to bring the lead to within two. The two point convert attempt was unsuccessful.
With 5:09 left in the fourth, DeAngelis attempted a 44-yard field goal to no avail. Chad Owens brought the ball out of the endzone to avoid the single point, and the Boatmen’s offence got the ball back with a chance to eat up some clock with a slim lead.
The Argos would march the ball out of their side of the field and put it in the hands of Swayze Waters from 29 yards out. Waters was good, and the Argos would make it a five point lead with 1:25 remaining.
The Riders would take the ball down the field and be forced into a 3rd and 5 situation. Durant would be forced out of the pocket and make a throw on the run, and Evan McCollough would pick it off to seal the game, and a home playoff date for the boatmen.
The 31-26 victory sealed the Argos first home playoff game since the 2007 season.
BY THE NUMBERS:
Ricky Ray finished 24 of 30 with 305 yards and 4 TDs.
Maurice Mann had 7 catches for 101 yards and 1 TD.
Andre Duire had 6 receptions for 40 yards and 2 TDs.
Chad Owens had 5 receptions for 104 yards and 1 TD. He also added 18 punt return yards and 56 yards on kicks for 178 combine yards.
Brandon Issac lead the defence with 8 tackles, 2 sacks and 1 forced fumble.