Johnny Sears Jr. (0) of the Toronto Argonauts during the game against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats at BMO Field in Toronto, On., Sunday, June 25, 2017. (Photo: Johany Jutras)
After a dominant showing in Week One, the Argos will look to continue the momentum established on both sides of the ball when they take the field Friday night. Marc Trestman tallied his 60th career win in the contest – his first in Double Blue – improving his winning percentage as a CFL head coach to .659 in 91 regular season games.
The BC Lions (0-1), coming off of a tight Week One loss to the Edmonton Eskimos, will look to spoil the party and bounce back to .500 on Friday night. After coming from behind to tie up the contest, the Leos allowed a last-second field goal to fall to 0-1. On Friday night, BC will take the field under the leadership of the CFL’s all-time winningest coach, Wally Buono (266-146-3).
Historically, Trestman and Buono’s teams have squared off eight times in regular season action (2008-11) and emerged with identical 4-4 records.
2014-2016 Season Series – zero home wins: There is likely no more unusual CFL matchup over the last three years than the Argos and Lions. NO home team has won a game in this head-to-head series across 2014 to 2016 and all three series have been split in this way over the last three years. The last team to win at home came in a July 20, 2013, Toronto home victory. The last four meetings have all been decided in the final 3:00 of the game.
RICKY MADE IT RAY-N
Argonauts quarterback Ricky Ray put his efficiency on display in the Argos season opener vs. the Ticats on Sunday. For the second time in his career and as an Argo, the 15-year veteran posted over 500 yards passing, setting a new career-high of 506 yards to go along with one touchdown on 32-of-41 passing attempts. Ray, who became the fourth quarterback to enter the 55,000-yard club on Sunday, connected with eight different targets, three of whom went for over 100 yards on the day.
Passing by range data showed that on throws of 16+ yards or greater downfield Ray went 9-of-12 for 328 yards and a TD.
His 506 yards was the 3rd-highest total by an Argo QB ever (Tobin Rote had 524 on Aug 19/60, Ronnie Knox 522 on Oct 25/58). – It was only the 34th time in CFL history that a QB threw for 500+ yards in a game and second for Ray.
On Friday night, the sixth-year Argo will be looking to add another milestone to his name as he needs just three touchdowns to enter the 300 career TD club, a feat only accomplished by three other quarterbacks.
Here is a full list of milestones Ray is chasing in 2017:
- Needs one (1) more 300-yard passing game to reach 80 in his career. Only two other players in CFL history have more.
- Needs 144 pass completions to pass Henry Burris (4,649) and move into third on the CFL’s all-time list.
THE DREADED D
The Argonauts defence held their ground on Sunday vs. Hamilton to defend home turf at BMO Field. The Boatmen allowed just 221 net yards and held Hamilton to only 16 rushing yards (2.3 YPC) on the day. Toronto, who registered five sacks and nine QB pressures, did not give up a single defensive touchdown on Sunday.
Heading into Friday night’s tilt with the BC Lions, Toronto currently ranks first in a number of defensive categories, including points allowed (15), offensive points allowed (9), net offence (221), rushing yards allowed (16), opponent passing efficiency (72.8), average pass allowed (6.2), turnovers forced (2), 2nd down conversion (23.8) and red zone percentage (0).
The Double Blue will be tasked with stopping a dynamic offence that posted a CFL-high of 130 rushing yards in Week 1.
SJ DOES IT AGAIN
11-year CFL veteran SJ Green returned to action last week vs. Hamilton after suffering a significant knee injury in 2016. In his Argos debut, Green hauled in seven passes for 124 yards while making a number of spectacular catches, many of which extended drives for the Double Blue. His 124 yards marked the 18th time in his career that he has eclipsed the 100-yard mark. Of those 18 games, he has managed to record seven 100-yard receiving games vs. the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Here is a breakdown of his top games:
| DATE | REC | YDS | AVG | TDS |
| July 10, 2015 | 6 | 180 | 30 | 0 |
| August 23, 2012 | 10 | 168 | 16.8 | 1 |
| July 29, 2011 | 8 | 150 | 18.75 | 1 |
| November 13, 2011 | 8 | 142 | 17.75 | 1 |
| November 23, 2014 | 6 | 126 | 21 | 3 |
| June 25, 2017 | 7 | 124 | 17.7 | 0 |
| November 8, 2014 | 3 | 103 | 34.3 | 0 |
| TOTAL | 48 | 993 | 20.7 | 6 |
THREE x 100
The Argonauts receiving corps started off hot in Week 1. Argos WRs DeVier (7-147-1), SJ Green (6-126), and Jeff Fuller (3-104) comprised a total of 377 of Ricky Ray’s 506 passing yards in the team’s opener. The Argos feat marked the first time since June 27, 1997, that the club had three 100-yard receivers in a single game. The last Argos do so were Michael Clemons (137), Paul Masotti (106) and Derrell Mitchell (103) in a game that saw Doug Flutie throw for 438 yards and four touchdowns in what was also the Argos first game of the season.
Additionally, Sunday afternoon’s performance marked the second time in his career that Ray has contributed to three receivers eclipsing the 100-yard mark in single game. The Argos 3×100 marked the first time since 2013, the seventh time in the last 13 seasons and 17th in the last 23 years that an offence has produced such numbers.
Here is a breakdown of list of the last seven performances of this nature:
June 25, 2017: Toronto vs Hamilton (Ray QB, Posey, Green & Fuller)
September 7, 2013: Hamilton vs BC (Burris QB, Gable, Ellingson & Fantuz)
August 27, 2011: Calgary vs Montreal (Burris QB, Frozani, Rambo & Lewis)
October 4, 2008: Montreal at Hamilton (Calvillo QB, Richardson, Bratton & Cahoon)
September 21, 2008: Montreal vs Edmonton (Calvillo QB, Richardson, Watkins & Cahoon)
September 23, 2007: Winnipeg at Toronto (Glenn QB, Edwards, Armstrong & Franklin)
June 30, 2005: Edmonton at Winnipeg (Ray QB, Hervey, Tucker & Mitchell)
QUICK HITS
- Canadian defensive tackle Cleyon Laing was a force in his return to the Argonauts last week. The Edmonton, Alberta, native posted three tackles, a tackle for a loss, two sacks and two quarterback pressures, a forced fumble and fumble recovery vs. Hamilton last week.
- Newcomer Armanti Edwards, who was quietly overshadowed by the performances of his teammates, was sure-handed target for QB Ricky Ray last Sunday. The first-year Argonaut and second-year CFLer hauled in all six passes he was targeted on for a total of 78 yards.
- Argos DE Victor Butler had a knack for getting after the quarterback in his debut last week vs. Hamilton. The Oregon State product notched two sacks, three quarterback pressures and a forced fumble on Sunday.
- Argos LB Marcus Ball led the Argos defence with seven tackles (6DT, 1 ST), and a quarterback pressure in his return to the CFL last week while LB Bear Woods posted three tackles in his Argos debut.
- Argos DB Johnny Sears took full charge in the secondary last week. The eight-year veteran notched five tackles and a quarterback sack in his first meeting with his former team.
- 2017 CFL Draft pick Robert Woodson got his first official taste of CFL action last Sunday in relief of injured Josh Mitchell. The Calgary product post four defensive tackles in CFL debut.
- K/P Lirim Hajrullahu hit 5-of-8 field goals attempts last week, including his 100th career field goal on a 12-yard attempt to give the Argos their first points of the game. Hajrullahu’s five field goal game marks the second-time he has done it as an Argonaut with the last taking place on July 31, 2016 at Ottawa.