Argos punch playoff ticket with win over Elks
Jon Blacker/CFL.ca
TORONTO — The Toronto Argonauts punched their ticket to the playoffs with a 24-19 win over the Edmonton Elks on Saturday afternoon at BMO Field, leaning on a big passing day from Chad Kelly and timely turnovers to secure a postseason berth.
Kelly completed 19 of 31 passes for 373 yards and two touchdowns, while Dymere Miller caught three passes for 90 yards and a score, and Kevin Mital added 78 yards and a touchdown on four receptions. Ralph Holley found the end zone on a fumble recovery as Toronto improved to 8-6 and kept its perfect home record intact at 4-0.
The Elks opened with a field goal drive, but the Argos wasted no time responding. Kelly hit Tyler Kahmann on a 56-yard seam with his first attempt before finding Mital in the back of the end zone one snap later. The Argos pivot connected with David Ungerer III for a 48-yard gain later in the first, setting up a field goal from Lirim Hajrullahu as Toronto jumped ahead 10-3.
Kelly kept attacking deep in the second quarter, connecting with Mital for a 51-yard gain, but Kordell Jackson swung the momentum to Edmonton's side with an end-zone interception. Fueled by a 19-yard burst from Justin Rankin, the Elks turned the turnover into six on Cody Fajardo’s goal-line push.
The interception didn’t deter the Argos’ passing attack. After a post-play scuffle with Mital led to Chelen Garnes’ ejection, Kelly scrambled backwards to evade pressure, juked two defenders and climbed back to the line of scrimmage to fire a dime to Miller in the corner of the end zone. Miller’s first career reception gave the Argos a 17-10 lead and pushed Kelly’s first-half passing total to 289 yards.
Vincent Blanchard bookended the break with a pair of field goals, the latter set up by a 39-yard punt return from recently activated practice-squad receiver Montrell Washington and a gutsy third-down catch by Austin Mack.
The Argos immediately turned back to the deep ball, with Kelly connecting with Miller for a 57-yard gain into the red zone. But on a back-shoulder try to Damonte Coxie, J.J. Ross came away with a one-handed interception, once again blanking a promising Toronto march.
The turnover battle swung three plays later when David Beard’s snap sailed over Fajardo’s head. Holley scooped up the loose ball and rumbled 55 yards to the house to make it 24-16. On Edmonton’s next possession, the Argos’ defence struck again as Benjie Franklin secured the game's third end-zone interception of the afternoon.
Down by eight to start the final frame, Rankin led the charge as the Elks pieced together a pair of field-goal drives, but Blanchard missed from 42 yards out on the second attempt, marking his first miss since Week 10. In the final stages, the Argos defence came up clutch as Adarius Pickett and Bubba Bolden broke through for Toronto’s first two sacks of the game before Tarvarus McFadden picked off Fajardo in the end zone to seal it.
In his 100th career start, Fajardo finished with 360 passing yards on 31-of-42 passing. Mack hit the century mark for the fourth time this season, and Rankin took 21 carries for 89 yards as the Elks fell to 10-4.
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SCORING PLAYS
Vincent Blanchard 33-yard field goal (11:44, Q1) | EDM 3 TOR 0
Chad Kelly 14-yard touchdown pass to Kevin Mital (10:48, Q1) | TOR 7 EDM 3
Lirim Hajrullahu 20-yard field goal (3:03, Q1) | TOR 10 EDM 3
Cody Fajardo one-yard touchdown run (5:05, Q2) | EDM 10 TOR 10
Chad Kelly 19-yard touchdown pass to Dymere Miller (2:27, Q2) | TOR 17 EDM 10
Vincent Blanchard 18-yard field goal (0:03, Q2) | TOR 17 EDM 13
Vincent Blanchard 16-yard field goal (10:41, Q3) | TOR 17 EDM 16
Ralph Holley 55-yard fumble return touchdown (6:49, Q3) | TOR 24 EDM 16
Vincent Blanchard 19-yard field goal (11:40, Q4) | TOR 24 EDM 19
NEXT UP
The Edmonton Elks kick off a home-and-home with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in Week 17, hosting the first leg on Saturday, September 26. It will be the first meeting between the teams this season, after Hamilton swept the season series a year ago. Edmonton will look to reverse that trend at Commonwealth Stadium, where it has gone 1-7 against the Ticats over the last decade.
The Toronto Argonauts wrap up their season series with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in Week 17, visiting Princess Auto Stadium on Friday, September 25. Toronto will look to even the series after dropping the first meeting 30-21 in Week 6.