Argonauts.ca staff
TORONTO – The Toronto Argonauts travelled to Montreal on Thursday to close out the Pre-season against the Alouettes, looking for their first win of 2015. The game served as the final audition for Argos hopefuls to prove they belong on the roster after final cuts are made on Saturday.
The Argonauts kicked off to start the matchup and gave the Alouettes prime field position to start their first possession after a great return from RB Stefan Logan. Als QB Jonathan Crompton made Toronto pay immediately, manufacturing a six-play, 47-yard drive finished by a one-yard touchdown run by WR Johnathan Bryant on third-and-one.
Argos’ QB Trevor Harris took possession for the first time on the next drive, and relied heavily on rookie RB Henry Josey, who earned the start with RB Curtis Steele sidelined. Josey gained 29 yards on five touches before K/P Swayze Waters booted home a 42-yard field goal to put the Argos on the board.
Montreal’s next possession saw a couple of big plays from the Argos’ defence, starting with a big hit from LB Brandon Isaac on Als’ WR James Rodgers. On the very next play, an attempt by Crompton to go deep resulted in an acrobatic interception by Argos’ DB A.J. Jefferson, which he returned 19 yards. Jefferson has had arguably the strongest camp of any Toronto rookie, and seems to be a lock for a roster spot and potentially a starting role this season.
The Argonauts’ defensive clinic would continue a few drives later in the second quarter, as an overthrow by Crompton was picked off by DB Akwasi Owusu-Ansah and taken 40 yards to the house for the touchdown and Toronto’s first lead of the night.
A shanked punt from Alouettes K/P Boris Bede offered the Argonauts fantastic field position, though Harris and the Argos’ offence were forced to settle for another field goal from Waters. A QB change from Montreal saw Dan LeFevour enter the game, but unfortunately for the Alouettes, he fared no better than his predecessor. LeFevour’s first pass attempt glanced off the hands of WR Sam Giguere and into the arms of Argos DB Branden Smith, who found the end zone again for Toronto’s second pick-six of the half.
An unsung hero of the first half for Toronto was K/P Swayze Waters, who was a perfect 2/2 on field goal attempts and averaged over 47 yards per punt, pinning the Alouettes’ offence deep and giving them a long field to overcome. Halftime arrived with the Argonauts on top by a score of 22 – 7 thanks to a stingy effort by the defence.
The second half saw the Argos make a switch at QB, relieving Trevor Harris after a solid 10/12, 98-yard performance. QB Mitchell Gale wasted no time making his impact on the game, taking advantage of a couple of Alouettes penalties before finding WR Diontae Spencer for Toronto’s first offensive touchdown of the night. Gale followed up his touchdown pass with a successful two-point conversion, hitting RB Lyle McCombs in the flats to open up a 23-point Argos lead.
On the next series the Argos’ D struck again, as sophomore DL Cleyon Laing forced an Alouettes fumble which was recovered by fellow DL Dontay Moch. Toronto failed to capitalize on the ensuing drive, however, as WR Natey Adjei fumbled a backwards pass from Gale. The Alouettes finished the following drive in the opening moments of the fourth quarter with a 31-yard field goal from Bede to bring them within 20.
The fourth quarter saw another QB change for Toronto as CFL veteran Adrian McPherson entered the game against his former team. With just three days of practice under his belt, McPherson’s rust showed early, throwing an interception on his second drive under centre. He would get into a groove on the next drive, however, finding WRs Kenny Shaw and Natey Adjei for two consecutive first downs, though the drive would stall after an incompletion on third down.
The fourth was also an opportunity for the Alouettes to test out some of their rookie arms, as Canadian QB Brandon Bridge and former Marshall pivot Rakeem Cato took their turns under centre. Neither was able to get into a groove, completing just two passes between them in the final frame.
With the turf and the players alike throroughly soaked from the pounding rain, the game ended with a run of two-and-outs, and the Argonauts secured their first victory of 2015 by a score of 30 – 10. With the final ‘tryout’ now out of the way, tough decisions loom for Argos’ coaches, as the roster must be trimmed down to 46 players by 10 p.m. on Saturday. Days later, the Argos will travel to Fort McMurray, Alberta, to open the 2015 regular season against the Edmonton Eskimos on June 27th.