TORONTO — The Eastern Semi-Final matchup in November 2 will be played at BMO Field.
The Toronto Argonauts secured a home playoff game by beating the Ottawa REDBLACKS 38-31 on Saturday in front of its home crowd.
Toronto dominated on both sides of the ball, controlling time-of-possession throughout most of the game before allowing Ottawa to make it interesting late in the fourth quarter.
Quarterback Chad Kelly completed 21 of 26 passes for 331 yards and three touchdowns, adding another 25 yards and a major on the ground. Makai Polk led all receivers with three catches for 104 yards and a touchdown, while Dejon Brissett caught five passes for 67 yards and two majors.
Running back Ka’Deem Carey scored on the ground and defensive back Tarvarus McFadden added an interception in the fourth quarter.
REDBLACKS’ pivot Dru Brown threw four touchdown passes (Bralon Addison twice, Nick Mardner, Justin Hardy) but was unable to prevent the loss.
Ottawa made a late push, scoring a pair of touchdowns and recovering two onside kicks, but there was not enough time to complete a comeback.
Argos and REDBLACKS face off again in November 2 for the Eastern Semi-Final in Toronto.
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Kicker Lewis Ward missed a field goal in the first drive for the REDBLACKS and Janarion Grant took it back to avoid the single.
Kelly connected deep with Polk to immediately flip field position for the Argos. The pivot then launched another one deep down the left sideline to Damonte Coxie to set up first and goal for the Boatmen. From there, Kelly tried rushing twice into the end zone without success, putting Toronto in a third-and-goal situation. Carey then finished the job with a rugged run through the middle for the score.
The home team forced a quick punt and the offence went back to work. Kelly completed a long pass to David Ungerer III all the way to Ottawa’s 36-yard line to kickstart another scoring drive. A couple of runs by Carey and Kelly inched the Argos closer to the ultimate goal before running back Deonta McMahon broke an 11-yard run to make it first-and-goal from the one-yard line. This time it was Kelly closing it out with a quarterback sneak that pushed the lead to 14-0 with 24 seconds left in the first quarter.
Toronto’s dominance continued when linebacker Wynton McManis recovered a fumble by Brown in the final play of the quarter, giving the visitors great field position to extend their lead. Kelly immediately saw a streaking Brissett in the right corner of the end zone and connected to add seven more for the Double Blue.
Another quick punt by the home team gave the Argonauts a chance to add to their lead. Kelly gained a couple of first downs with his arm and feet before completing another deep pass to Polk that went 47 yards all the way to the end zone. The touchdown extended Toronto’s lead to 28-0 with 9:51 to go in the first half.
The Argos gained 15 first downs to only one for the REDBLACKS over the team’s first four drives.
Ottawa was able to orchestrate its first scoring drive late in the first half when Brown went deep for Marco Dubois to put the REDBLACKS in business with a 27-yard gain. The pivot then completed a pass to receiver Dominique Rhymes for a first down before finding Addison in the end zone for his team’s first major of the game. A blocked extra point kept the game 28-6 with under three minutes left in the first half.
Toronto added a field goal in their first drive of the second half to push the lead to 31-6.
Kelly and the offence mounted yet another scoring possession late in the third quarter. The pivot connected on several short passes to move the sticks before finding Brissett one-on-one underneath for a 10-yard touchdown that completed a 13-play, 82-yard drive.
Addison scored his second touchdown of the game early in the fourth quarter after catching a short pass from Brown and breaking a couple tackles for a 32-yard major.
A fumble by Grant on the ensuing kickoff return put Ottawa in position to add more points to the board, but Toronto’s defence turned it right back over with an acrobatic interception by McFadden.
Mardner caught a short touchdown pass from Brown to make it 38-20 with under three minutes left after a failed two-point conversion. The REDBLACKS recovered the onside kick and were able to add another touchdown, this time a bullet from Brown to Hardy over the middle to make it 38-28 with the two-point conversion by Addison.
Ottawa recovered another onside kick and Ward made it a one-score game with a 38-yard field goal. Toronto recovered the following onside kick attempt, but the visitors were able to force a quick punt. Brown and the offence took the field with 30 seconds left and the ball at their own 12-yard line, but a sack by Derek Parish put an end to the game.
Ottawa now returns home to host the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Friday, October 25, same day Toronto will be in Edmonton to face the Elks in the final week of the regular season.