TORONTO – Ricky Ray and Cody Fajardo combined for four touchdown passes as the Toronto Argonauts notched their first win at BMO Field, beating the Montreal Alouettes 30-17 on Monday night.
Kenny Shaw and Devon Wylie both recorded their first career touchdowns as Ray threw for 235 yards and three majors before leaving the game with a leg injury in the fourth quarter.
Montreal started the game with a hot start but the Argos battled back after the first quarter.
A fantastic return from Stefan Logan brought the Als into Argos territory on their opening drive but that’s as far as he could take them. After failing to get a first down, Boris Bede booted a field goal attempt wide right but still added a point to give Montreal the early 1-0 lead.
Looking to get some points on the board, a nine-yard scramble by Ray brought a fresh set of downs. On the next play, Brandon Whitaker fumbled the football at midfield and it was recovered by Kyries Hebert, giving the Als another shot on offence. Kevin Glenn found Duron Carter for a 45-yard gain, where back-to-back rushes by Brandon Rutley found paydirt and added to Montreal’s lead, now 8-0.
The Boatmen opted for short-yardage plays, chipping their way downfield behind Whitaker and the arm of Ray. Cody Fajardo punched through for a first down to keep the drive alive but the chains did not move any further. Lirim Hajrullahu missed a field goal as the Argos remained shut out off the scoreboard.
Toronto started its next drive at midfield after pinning the Als deep in their own zone as the clock switched over to the second quarter. Continuing what worked before, Ray called for short plays to move closer to the end zone before unleashing a 17-yard touchdown pass to Shaw.
Another strong kick return by Logan put Montreal at midfield. It was enough to get the Als into field goal range but Bede missed another attempt, adding another point to the lead but giving the Argos the ball back.
The Argos took advantage of the field position, boosted by a 15-yard Whitaker rush. On second and goal, Fajardo came back under centre, finding Anthony Coombs in the front corner of the end zone to give the Argos a 14-9 lead, their first of the game.
With the first half winding down, Ray found a leaping Shaw to move the Argos into the red zone. An illegal contact penalty against the Als erased an end zone interception, giving Toronto another chance to score. Wylie hauled in a 5-yard touchdown grab as Toronto entered the locker room with a 21-9 halftime lead.
Montreal struck quickly in the second half as Glenn found Carter downfield for a 61-yard touchdown to chip into the deficit, 21-16. They kept the pressure on their division rival, recovering a Coombs fumble and putting the offence back on the field in instant scoring position. Glenn looked endzone after a 17-yard Nik Lewis gain but TJ Heath intercepted him and returned the ball to midfield. Hajrullahu added a single after a missed field goal to put the Argos up 22-16.
On the opening play of the fourth quarter, Ray dropped in a pass to Phil Bates, who found the end zone for another Argos touchdown and gave Toronto a two-possession lead once again. Shaw hauled in the two-point conversion as the Argos led 30-16.
Looking to rally and starting at midfield, the Als didn’t get very far before turning the ball over. Carter lost a fumble that was recovered by Ricky Foley as Toronto looked to pad its lead. Vaughn Martin collided with Ray’s knee after a pass attempt, forcing the pivot out of the game and was replaced by Logan Kilgore. As the drive continued, Kilgore was intercepted by defensive end Aaron Lavarias.
On the next Als drive, Glenn hurt his leg and left the game, walking off on his own power. He was briefly replaced by Rakeem Cato before returning. Looking for his first field goal after a pair of misses, Bede went wide again but still scored a single point as Montreal trailed 30-17. Brandon Bridge was stuffed at the goal line on their final possession as the Als were shut out from any more points.
There were a pair of CFL milestones that occurred during the contest. Lewis recorded his 900th career reception and Ray passed Damon Allen on the Shaw score for second on the Argos all-time touchdown passing list with 78.
Next week, the Als host the Saskatchewan Roughriders while the Argos hit the road to take on the rival Ottawa REDBLACKS.