Takeaways: 3 keys to Argos win in Regina

The Toronto Argonauts took home their first win of the 2016 season on Thursday night in Saskatchewan, jumping out to a 14-0 lead and never looking back in a 30-17 win in Week Two.

The team rattled off 21 first-half points on two Ricky Ray touchdown passes and a fumble return by Matt Black to take a 21-10 lead into the break. They’d close the game out on the strength of kicker Lirim Hajrullahu’s leg and a stout defensive effort, allowing just seven points in the second half as Hajrullahu put through three field goals.

Final Farewell to Mosaic

With a win in their final regular season game at Mosaic Stadium, the Double Blue improve their all-time record at the historic venue to 20-24-1. Head Coach Scott Milanovich improves his road coaching record against the Riders to 4-1-0 and his record against Saskatchewan Head Coach Chris Jones to 3-2-0.

Improved play from Argos defence

The Argos defence made two impact plays in the first half of the game, forcing a turnover on downs on one Riders third down attempt before forcing a fumble and returning the loose ball for a touchdown on Saskatchewan’s next attempt to extend a drive on third down.

The defensive unit forced a total of three turnovers on Thursday night, closing off the Riders final offensive drive with a forced fumble with 1:18 remaining. The Argos forced seven two-and-outs on the night and allowed just 13 points on four red zone trips for the Riders offence. The Riders could not find their way inside the Argos 20-yard line in the fourth quarter, held without a single red zone trip in the final frame.

Milestones for Ray

Ricky Ray opened Thursday’s game 4-for-4 for 102 yards and two touchdowns. His two first-quarter scores tied and then surpassed Tracy Ham (284) to move the Argos pivot into sixth place on the CFL’s all-time touchdown passes list. In his 15th career victory against the Roughriders, Ray moved one touchdown short of Doug Flutie for third on the Argonauts all-time list, while his 186 passing yards moved him within 76 yards of 53,000 for his career and 331 shy of Danny McManus for fourth in league history.

Ray’s 18-yard quarterback scramble in the second quarter was tied for the longest of his Argos career. The rush was his longest rush since July 19, 2013 against Winnipeg. His career-long rush came in an Edmonton Eskimos uniform when he ran for 45 yards on October 16, 2010 against the BC Lions.

Notables

• Vidal Hazelton’s first-quarter touchdown gave him three TD receptions in two games to start the season. After scoring two touchdowns in Week One against Hamilton, Hazelton scored 6:22 into the game on Thursday night, marking the third time in his career he’s caught touchdown passes in back-to-back games. The last time he scored in back-to-back games was in Week 8 (08/23/15 vs. OTT) and Week 9 (08/28/15 at EDM) during the 2015 season.

• On the Argonauts first offensive play of the night, Ricky Ray found Andre Durie for a five-yard touchdown. The score was the veteran slotback’s first touchdown since August 23, 2014, against the Calgary Stampeders and the 15th receiving touchdown of his career.

• Ricky Foley recorded career sack number 57 during the first quarter of Thursday night’s game. The sack on Durant was Foley’s ninth career sack against the Riders and his third since being traded to the Argonauts by Saskatchewan ahead of the 2015 season.

• Matt Black scooped up a Riders fumble on a third-and-one attempt from their own 27-yard line and proceeded to beat everyone to the end zone for his second career defensive touchdown. The score was the Toronto native’s first touchdown since he scored on a pick-six in Week 19 of 2013 against the Montreal Alouettes.

• In his CFL debut, Argos 2016 CFL Draft pick Curtis Newton made one special teams tackle. Kyler Elsworth, who was added to the team’s practice roster this week before being activated for the Week Two game, made two special teams tackles in his Argonauts debut. The Goodrich, Michigan native recorded 50 total tackles for the Alouettes in 2015.

• Defensive back Aaron Berry made his first career CFL start on Thursday night, while defensive lineman Ken Bishop made his regular season CFL debut. Berry, who nearly intercepted a Darian Durant pass early in the game, recorded three tackles and two pass knockdowns in his first start; Bishop recorded a single tackle in his debut.

• Argonauts kicker Lirim Hajrullahu connected on field goal attempts from 28, 32, and 50 yards on Thursday night, improving to 5-for-5 through his first two games in Double Blue. The third-year CFL veteran has connected on kicks of 50+ yards in both of his games with the Boatmen since signing as a free agent this off-season.

• Larry Taylor made his presence felt in his second game with the Argonauts. The shifty veteran returned eight punts for 132 yards on the night, setting up the first score of the game with a 57-yard return four plays into the game. Taylor’s 132 yards were the most punt return yards for an Argo since Week 14 of last sesaon, when Chad Owens recorded 135 returns yards against the Ottawa Redblacks. His 57-yard return was also the Argos longest punt return since Owens recorded an 87-yard return in that same Week 14 matchup with Ottawa.

Quotables: 

Argos Head Coach Scott Milanovich, on Thursday night’s win:

“I think everybody chipped in. I told them it was far from perfect, but we improved from Week One and it’s never easy to beat a Chris Jones-coached team.”

Milanovich, on the defensive improvements from Week One:

“I think they’re getting more comfortable. We’re starting to come up and hit some people, starting to get our hands on more balls. I know that we’re going to watch the film and Rich is going to say we’ve got a long ways to go, but you could feel the improvements that were being made and we made some plays on balls, kept everything in front of us.”

Milanovich, on getting that first win of the season:

“You don’t want to go very long before you get that first one, because just like winning is a habit, losing can become a habit too. The longer it takes you, the harder it is to get one. I can’t explain the feeling when you lose a football game, for a week or longer sometimes, it tears apart the locker room, everybody in it is sick. It’s good to get that off our chest as a new team with a lot of new players and coaches. We’ll build on it and go try to win a tough game in BC.”

Milanovich, on Ricky Ray’s game:

“I thought he was sharp; he obviously started really fast. He didn’t miss many guys, there was one checkdown I thought he threw low on second-and-three in the fourth quarter. I thought he managed the game really well. We were running the ball a little bit more because they were dropping so many guys, and it’s hard to get into a rhythm sometimes when you’re trying to run it more. When things weren’t there, like in the fourth quarter when we tried to take a couple shots and end the game, he threw it away. He played smart football and let our defence finish the game for us.”

Argos defensive end Ricky Foley, on taking a win in Saskatchewan:

“It was a great team win. Those are the ones that always feel the best, when each of the three phases contributes.”

Foley, on the defence holding the Riders to just three field goal attempts in the second half:

“The way we’re built, we don’t think teams can sustain long drives against us and get seven. We’ll give up a field goal here or there, but the way we’re built, the game is supposed to go exactly the way it did tonight.”

Argos receiver Vidal Hazelton, on his first quarter touchdown reception:

“It played out the same way we dialed it up in practice. I got up on the corner, Ricky gave a good pump fake and got the corner to jump, and he put it up there and I just made the play. It’s a commendment to the coaches for dialing up that play, it worked exactly the way they said it would.”

Argos quarterback Ricky Ray, on passing Tracy Ham in all-time touchdown passes:

“There’s been some greats in this league. Obviously, I’ve gotten to play against a fair amount of them, but Tracy Ham is a guy that I didn’t get to play against but someone that you know about when you play in this league. Any time you pass somebody, whether it’s him or somebody else, it’s a great feeling.”