Argonauts.ca staff
TORONTO – The Argonauts will look to ride the momentum of a three-game winning streak this week when they travel to Edmonton to take on the Eskimos.
Toronto struggled early against the REDBLACKS in week nine action before settling in during the second quarter, carrying a 17-10 lead into halftime – their first halftime lead of 2015. The Argos then coughed up a lead in the third quarter before finishing strong with a big fourth quarter to seal the victory.
The comeback has worked in Toronto’s favour thus far, though some would suggest it’s not a sustainable pattern for a team looking to make the postseason. But head coach Scott Milanovich isn’t sweating his team’s penchant for the last-minute win, instead focusing on the positive growth he’s seen from what is the youngest team in the CFL.
“I’d love to win by 50, but the name of the game is to win,” said Milanovich. “Our guys are learning lessons along the way and I think we’re getting better. The fact that people (are concerned with) by how much we win games by now, that shows how far we’ve come from when most people thought we’d be 2-6 right now instead of 6-2.”
But the team knows that points could be at a premium against aa Eskimos defence which has allowed the second-fewest points against through nine weeks of the CFL season. The Eskimos defence has also allowed the fewest touchdowns through the air this season, while Argos QB Trevor Harris currently leads the CFL with 19 passing touchdowns, 14 of which have been to the Argonauts ‘Big Three’ in Tori Gurley, Vidal Hazelton and Kevin Elliott.
“It’s going to be one of those games where we have to go in and execute and see how we match up against a great defence,” said Harris. “We’re excited about the challenge and the test that Chris Jones and the Eskimos defence brings.”
Despite the Eskimos’ stellar numbers on defence, they’re coming off a blowout loss to the Tiger-Cats which saw them concede 49 points – nearly half the number of points they’d conceded through the first eight weeks of the season.
This marks the second consecutive week that Toronto will face an opponent after a lopsided loss – the REDBLACKS fell 48-3 to the Stampeders in week eight – and Milanovich made clear last week his distaste for facing an opponent in these circumstances.
“I hate playing a team coming off a tough loss,” he said. “I’d rather play a team coming off a win, when they’re feeling good about themselves.”
When the two teams last faced off in week one in Fort McMurray, the Argos got the better of the Eskimos, defeating them 26-11 in their home state. But that fact will have no bearing on this week’s matchup, says RB Brandon Whitaker, who tallied 159 yards and a score in the win.
“That was in the past, it was the first week of the season,” said Whitaker. “We’ve gotten better and they’ve gotten better so we’re looking to build more on the negatives that we saw in that game to improve.”
The matchup with the Eskimos will also see DL Cleyon Laing return to his home city, which as he says, is always a tremendous feeling for an athlete who’s moved away.
“It’s always a pleasure to play at home, in my home city and in front of family and friends,” said Laing. “It’s something I’m really looking forward to.”
The Argos and Eskimos kick off Friday Night Football at 9 p.m. Eastern, 7 p.m. Mountain Time on TSN and ESPN3.