ARGONAUTS.CA STAFF
TORONTO – The Toronto Argonauts made a quick return to the Rogers Center in week 8, hosting the BC Lions days after defeating Winnipeg 38-21 at home on Tuesday.
Receiver Jason Barnes returned to the Argos lineup after missing the previous three games with a knee injury. Barnes’ return to the receiving core couldn’t have come sooner, as Maurice Mann was recently placed on the 6-game injured list, joining the likes of Chad Owens, Andre Durie and John Chiles.
BC entered their Week 8 matchup on fire, having won four of their past five games. Quarterback Kevin Glenn was named Offensive Player of the Week for Week 7, throwing over 400 yards and scoring two touchdowns against Hamilton.
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Both teams debuted their new CFL Signature Look uniforms, highlighted by the Argos sporting white helmets and the Lions in all black attire.
The teams traded short drives early on until Lions running back Tim Brown returned Swayze Waters’ punt for 70 yards to bring BC to Toronto’s 8 yard line. Stefan Logan then ran it in for the score. Paul McCallum made the convert to put the Lions up 7-0 at 8:09 in the first quarter.
BC continued to carry the momentum early, sacking Ricky Ray during Toronto’s following drive to cause another three-and-out. The Lions cashed in a McCallum field goal minutes later to put BC up 10-0 with 4:10 left in the quarter.
Former Argonaut K/P Noel Prefontaine was honored at the start of the second quarter, as he signed a one-day contract with the Argos to retire with the team. He retires after 16 CFL seasons and two Grey Cups with the Argonauts.
The Argos got on the board in their first possession in the second quarter, capping off a 37-yard drive with a 32-yard Swayze Waters field goal. 10-3 Lions.
LB Shane Horton led Toronto on their ensuing defensive stance, tackling Logan at the line and knocking down Glenn’s pass in back-to-back plays, forcing a Lions three-and-out. The offense responded with a 7-play, 41-yard drive resulting in a second Waters field goal. 10-6 Lions with 7:36 left in the second quarter.
Logan was BC’s best weapon in the first half as they continued to run the ball early. After a 31-yard Logan rush to bring the Lions to the Argo 21, McCallum kicked a 29-yarder to push BC’s lead to 13-6.
The kicking battle raged on as Waters followed the Lions score with his third field goal, a 47-yarder at the buzzer to end the half and cut the Lions lead down to 13-9.
Neither quarterback was able to get into their usual rhythm early, with Ray completing 11 of 21 passes and Glenn going 7 for 13. The teams’ net yard totals were separated by only 6 yards at halftime.
Neither club was able to develop much on offense for most of the third quarter, trading short drives consisting mostly of Logan carrying the ball for BC and Ray throwing short screen passes to Mike Bradwell and Curtis Steele.
Waters continued his strong game with a 71-yard single at 11:18 into the third, cutting the Lions lead to three. 13-10 BC.
The Lions’ front-six were putting a lot of pressure on Ray in the third, although Ray was often able to get the pass off with multiple BC defenders bringing him down. The Argos ended the third with the ball, on the verge of taking the lead.
An Argo receiver finally found his way into the endzone 16 seconds into the fourth quarter, as Ricky Ray connected with Terrell Sinkfield from 18-yards out. Waters capped off the 67-yard drive with the convert to put Toronto up 17-13. The marker was Sinkfield’s first CFL touchdown.
Much like Tuesday’s game against Winnipeg, Toronto’s biggest downfall was on special teams where BC had a number of long returns on punts and kickoffs. Already totaling 145 return yards going into halftime, Brown added to that number in a big way with a 70-yard punt return to bring the Lions into Toronto’s red zone. McCallum finished it off with a field goal to regain the lead. 19-17 Lions at 9:30 in the fourth.
The Boatmen could not answer back on their next posession and were forced to punt leading to a drive from the Lions.
Stepping up in the pocket, Glenn found WR Emmanuel Arceneaux for a short reception over the middle which he then took 53-yards for the touchdown giving the Lions the 26-17 lead.
The Lions then got the dagger on the next posession for the Argos as Ray was picked off by DB Ronnie Yell who returned the INT for a touchdown, sealing the fate of the Argos and dropping the club to 3-5 on the season, still good for tops in the East Division.