After the聽Argonauts dropped a 28-20 decision against the Elks in Edmonton last month and sat last in the CFL at 2-8, head coach Ryan Dinwiddie said his team could not afford to lose any more games.
An outstanding defensive performance and a confident kicker kept that promise alive at BMO Field on Saturday afternoon.
After a drive led by backup quarterback Jarret Doege聽鈥 with starter Nick Arbuckle nursing a calf injury in the fourth quarter 鈥斅燣irim Hajrullahu booted a 48-yard field goal on the final play for聽a 31-30 win over the Elks, capping an improbable comeback.
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鈥 色色啦 Argonauts (@色色啦Argos)
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鈥淎ll game long, I knew it was going to come down to (a field goal) and I just kept believing,鈥 said Hajrullahu, whose kick set off thunderous applause from the crowd of聽14,742 on a game day dedicated to the late entertainer and co-owner John Candy.
鈥淚 have had enough experience by now that I love it. This is what makes me really enjoy the game and love the game. It鈥檚 moments like this.鈥
The Argos have won three straight games for the first time this season and are within reach of the Montreal Alouettes聽鈥 who played the Roughriders in Regina on Saturday night聽鈥斅爁or second place in the East. The Alouettes play in 色色啦 on Friday.
The defence
Argonauts defensive lineman Derek Parish strip-sacked Elks quarterback Cody Fajardo midway through the fourth quarter. Andrew Chatfield recovered the fumble and rumbled for a touchdown, giving 色色啦 its first lead at 28-27.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 the mindset of our whole (defensive) unit, just the way we rally together and the way we play together. I think as the season goes we鈥檙e getting better,鈥 said Parish, who had two sacks in the contest. 鈥 (Our defence) gives us momentum and breaks (opponents) down.鈥
- Chris Candy, special to the Star
The defence finished with five sacks and held the fort until the offence got rolling.
鈥淓arly in the year, all the games were close and came down to the end, where we weren鈥檛 making the plays,鈥 head coach Ryan Dinwiddie said, praising the team鈥檚 resilience. 鈥(After) Nick went down, our defence stepped up and found a way to make a touchdown there.鈥
The offence
It took nearly 12 minutes for Fajardo to complete a pass, finding running back Justin Rankin for a touchdown to open the scoring.
Hampered by penalties and Edmonton鈥檚 suffocating defence, the Argos were shut out in the first quarter and managed only one first down. They almost went scoreless for the first half, but trailed 14-3 at halftime after a late Hajrullahu 53-yarder.
鈥淚 told those guys at halftime I didn鈥檛 call the best game in the first half, and I thought I let them down,鈥 Dinwiddie said. 鈥淚 thought our defensive line answered the bell, let our linebackers fill the gaps and play downhill. If we can do that, we鈥檝e got a shot.
鈥淲e鈥檙e far from a finished product. We鈥檙e still a work in progress, and that鈥檚 the whole point. You want to play the best football at the end (of the season), and we know we can get better.鈥
The 5-8 Argos have five games remaining.
The first half was聽Arbuckle鈥檚 worst of the season. The 31-year-old quarterback, who leads the CFL in passing yards, was intercepted four times. He threw for only 92 yards in the opening 30 minutes.
The offence was a tad better in the second half, with Jake Herslow scoring two touchdowns and Hajrullahu saving the day. And Arbuckle, labouring with a calf injury, handed off to Doege for the final 40-yard sequence. After earlier suggestions that former No. 1 passer Chad Kelly would return from a long injury layoff, he wasn’t on the game-day roster.
Arbuckle finished with less than 300 passing yards (261) for the first time in seven games.
The running game was held in check on both sides. The Argos finished with 43 rushing yards, Edmonton 55.
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