The Toronto Argonauts completed a dramatic fourth quarter comeback to beat the Ottawa REDBLACKS 42-41 on Thursday evening at BMO Field. The Argonauts scored 25 fourth quarter points to hand the REDBLACKS a shocking defeat in a game in which the teams combined for 860 yards of offence.
Trevor Harris passed for 381 yards and two touchdowns on the night. Diontae Spencer and Brad Sinopoli had the touchdown receptions, while Dominique Davis scored on a quarterback sneak.
The Ottawa defence conceded over 30 points for the first time all season and couldn’t stop the Argonauts in the final minute. A.C. Leonard lead the way with seven tackles and a sack, while Rico Murray had an interception.
The REDBLACKS got off to a great start as Harris connected with Spencer for a big gain. Two plays later, Harris found with Brad Sinopoli in the end zone for his third receiving touchdown of the season. Brendan Gillanders would punch in the two-point convert to give Ottawa an early 8-0 advantage.
Toronto got on the board after a long punt return by Martese Jackson gave the Argos the ball deep in Ottawa’s red zone. Backup quarterback James Franklin found the end zone on a sneak to cut the REDBLACKS lead to one.
Harris and the offence looked to respond and did so early in the second quarter. A pass interference call in the end zone gave Ottawa the ball on the goal line, and Dominique Davis dove into a mass of humanity to get his team six more points. The two-point convert failed, but Ottawa held a 14-7 advantage.
Ottawa’s kickoff and punt return coverage has underrated all season, but the return team got their due in the second quarter. Jackson fumbled in his own end zone after a Ritchie Leone punt and Anthony Cioffi jumped on the loose ball for the score. Lewis Ward added the extra point to make it a two-possession game.
The REDBLACKS forced another turnover in the dying moments of the first half. James Wilder Jr. had the ball knocked loose by Avery Williams and Jonathan Rose recovered it. On the very next play, Harris and Spencer teamed up for a 34-yard catch-and-run to make the score 28-7 at the end of the of the first 30 minutes.
S.J. Green caught a McLeod Bethel-Thompson pass in the end zone for the first points of the second half. The REDBLACKS countered by driving deep into Argos territory, before settling for a chip-shot field goal by Ward to make the score 31-14.
After a stalled Toronto drive, Diontae Spencer re-introduced himself to the BMO Field crowd. Spencer took a punt back 87 yards for his second career punt return touchdown.
Despite a 38-14 lead late in the third quarter, the game was far from over. Toronto scored back-to-back touchdowns with Franklin sneaking in, and Bethel-Thompson and Green combining again very early in the fourth quarter. The teams would then trade field goals, before Wilder Jr. caught a pass and rumbled across the goal line. In the blink of an eye, the score was 41-36 and Ottawa was clinging to one-possession lead with three minutes to go.
The REDBLACKS last two victories came down to the final minute, but they couldn’t stop the Argos offence on Thursday. Bethel-Thompson hooked up with Armanti Edwards in the end zone with one second left on the clock to give his team a dramatic victory.
Ottawa (4-3) will look to bounce back next week when they welcome Johnny Manziel and the Montreal Alouettes to TD Place Stadium on Saturday, August 11. The Argonauts (2-5), have a bye next week and will take on the B.C. Lions on Saturday, August 18.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
“We had opportunities to win this game and we didn’t get it done. They made the plays at the end to win it and we didn’t. It looked like we were dragging a little bit and we can’t do that. We have to make sure we rally, and we just didn’t get it done tonight.” – HC Rick Campbell
“It’s a punch in the gut – not fun. We put ourselves in second-and-long quite a bit tonight and that makes it difficult. Overall as a team we have to finish the game. I thought we stayed aggressive offensively. We have to make sure we make plays to finish the game offensively, defensively and special teams-wise.” – QB Trevor Harris
GAME NOTES
Lewis Ward converted both of his field goals, bringing his consecutive field goal streak to 19… With his third receiving touchdown of the season in the first quarter, Brad Sinopoli is on pace to break his career-high of four touchdown receptions in a season… Spencer’s punt return touchdown was the REDBLACKS first return touchdown of the season.
SCORING SUMMARY
First Quarter
OTT – TD Harris to Sinopoli (Gillanders 2-pt. conv.) – 12:41
TOR – TD Franklin (Medeiros conv.) – 3:25
Second Quarter
OTT – TD Davis – 14:13
OTT – TD Cioffi (Ward conv.) – 7:12
OTT – TD Harris to Spencer (Ward conv.) – 0:47
Third Quarter
TOR – TD Bethel-Thompson to Green (Medeiros conv.) – 11:51
OTT – FG Ward – 6:22
OTT – Punt ret. TD Spencer (Ward conv.) – 4:57
TOR – TD Franklin – 2:21
Fourth Quarter
TOR – TD Bethel-Thompson to Green – 14:11
OTT – FG Ward – 11:05
TOR – FG Medeiros – 6:23
TOR – TD Bethel-Thompson to Wilder Jr. (Medeiros conv.) – 3:26
TOR – TD Bethel-Thompson to Edwards – 0:09
Attendance: 11,857
