Toronto Argonauts vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats Running Diary

The final game of the week in the CFL is the Ontario rivalry, Toronto vs. Hamilton. Can the Tiger-Cats get their first win of the year? Or will new Argonaut quarterback Ricky Ray lead his team to victory? Running backs Chevon Walker (Hamilton) and Cory Boyd (Toronto) will play key roles in this game. Without further ado, my second running game diary of the day!

1^st quarter

14:59 – Returner for the Ti-Cats runs out of bounds quickly.

14:39 – Chevon Walker with a short run out of a clear run formation.

14:00 – Andy Fantuz can’t make the catch, good defense by the Argos.

13:49 – Chad Owens can’t get much on the return, he’ll need to do better than that during this game.

13:24 – Ricky Ray finds Andre Durie in the flat, who manages to break a tackle and gain 13 yards.

13:03 – Short pass to Jason Barnes.

12:29 – Big stop for the Hamilton defense, led by Jamal Johnson, who prevents Cory Boyd from gaining any yards.

12:01 – Two-and-out for both teams on their first offensive drives.

11:42 – Pitch to Chevon Walker, who gains 5 yards before getting hammered by the Argos.

11:01 – 22 yard catch over the middle by Andy Fantuz, well-thrown by Burris.

10:23 – Burris shrugs off the pressure, but can’t complete the pass. Hamilton wants pass interference.

10:01 – Burris looks for Giguere over the middle, but is unable to complete the pass.

9:35 – 6 yard loss on that play, Jermaine McElveen had that read.

8:19 – Burris takes a big hit as he throws, resulting in an incomplete pass.

7:56 – Another incomplete pass from Burris, looking for Dave Stala.

7:46 – Wow, big hit on Owens. Not worth the 15 yard penalty, however.

I’m not sure if both defenses have been very good so far, or if both offenses have been struggling.

7:22 – Nice play by Andre Durie, but Chad Owens was offside.

7:01 – Swing pass to Andre Durie gains 6 yards. I like what the Argos are doing here, working the short routes like that.

6:44 – Hamilton defensive back Jeff Tisdale can’t make the interception, and Toronto will punt it away.

6:20 – Solid return, and there’s a flag on the play.

5:59 – Nice 8 yard run by Chevon Walker. The TiCats should capitalize on this good field position.

5:21 – Walker bounces it outside and gains a first down.

4:48 – A rocket from Burris to Chris Williams, touchdown Hamilton. Good read on the Argos’ coverage, Burris knew where to get the ball to Williams.

4:00 – Handoff to Boyd as the Argos fake a reverse, only a 3 yard gain.

3:21 – Ricky Ray scrambles and throws to Jason Barnes, who can’t hang on. McElveen continues to put pressure on the Argos.

2:38 – What happened there? Walker has nowhere to run as the Argos burst through the line of scrimmage.

1:56 – Burris finds Walker on the screen, who manages to break some tackles before being brought down. Hamilton needs to give Walker more protection.

1:34 – Owens fumbles the ball, Hamilton recovers! Toronto is quick to challenge the call. I can hear “Call Me Maybe” being played in the background. For shame, Hamilton. You’re better than that.

1:34 – That will be a major momentum swing. Hamilton gets great field position and the chance to go up by 14.

1:19 – Walker just short of the first down, seems to be getting better blocking on that play.

0:46 – Burris finds Samuel Giguere for a 13 yard gain.

0:08 – Touchdown Hamilton! Burris finds Andy Fantuz, who gets his first touchdown as a Tiger-Cat. That must be debilitating for the Argos.

0:00 – The Argos have negative rushing yards after 1 quarter. They’ll look to establish the running game during this game.

2^nd quarter

14:30 – Ricky Ray finds Cory Boyd in the flat, who gains about 2 yards on the play.

13:40 – Ray finds Durie over the middle, but he’s short of the first down. The Argos need to be a little more aggressive on offense.

13:02 – 87 yard return for Chris Williams, but there’s a flag on the play.

13:02 – Touchdown Hamilton! This game is quickly spiraling out of control for the Argos.

12:23 – Quick 9 yard run by Cory Boyd. If the Argos can keep him involved in the game, they can make a comeback.

10:59 – Ricky Ray’s pass is too short for Jeff Johnson. I expected him to make that throw.

10:41 – Andre Durie makes another good catch, gaining 15 yards and a first down. He seems to be the most reliable receiver for the Argos.

9:33 – Big pass to Dontrell Inman! Toronto is gaining confidence.

9:21 – Pass interference on Hamilton, big mistake on their part. 1^st and goal for the Argos.

9:05 – Ray looks deep in the end zone for Jason Barnes, but the pass is too far.

8:44 – Big hit on Ray, looks like the Argos will have to kick a field goal.

8:33 – Hamilton leads 21-3. Toronto is finally on the board.

7:17 – Burris runs, but short of the first down. Hamilton will have to punt this time.

7:16 – What’s the over/under on how many times the announcers mention Josh Bartell’s Aussie Rules football experience?

6:37 – Toronto’s left guard is injured; looks like it might have been his arm or leg.

6:19 – Ricky Ray gets sacked. The left tackle just got embarrassed by Boudreaux.

5:28 – Chevon Walker is chased out of bounds, leads to 2^nd and 12.

5:05 – Burris throws it away, but there’s pass interference on the play.

4:51 – Andy Fantuz drops a beautiful pass from Henry Burris, which would likely have resulted in a touchdown.

4:39 – Hamilton gets a point on that punt after a good roll.

4:16 – Nice play by Chad Owens, who gains 14 yards on the catch.

3:43 – Ray finds Durie for a 7 yard catch.

3:20 – Cory Boyd makes a nice cutback and breaks a tackle to get to the TiCats’ 36 yard line.

2:37 – Ricky Ray throws it a bit too far for Chad Owens, and the Argos will have to settle for a field goal try again.

2:27 – Samuel Giguere almost makes a great diving catch.

2:23- Burris throws to Chris Williams in the flat, but it’s incomplete. This should be a good chance for the Argos to score again.

2:12 – Owens keeps running and gets to midfield.

2:08 – Ricky Ray bounces another pass. Very uncharacteristic of him.

2:03 – That’s the easiest pass interference call these refs will ever make.

1:55 – Ricky Ray finds Spencer Watt, who gains 15 yards and a first down.

1:49 – Huge hit on Ray as he fires across the middle for Jason Barnes, who can’t hang on.

1:42 – Ray finds Spencer Watt wide open for a first down.

1:20 – Chad Owens dives for a pass in the end zone, but it’s incomplete. However, there’s another pass interference call on the TiCats. Argos get the ball at the 1 yard line.

1:15 – Cory Boyd runs hard, but can’t get in the end zone.

1:05 – Touchdown Toronto! Jarious Jackson scores on the QB draw.

0:53 – Bakari Grant fumbles, giving the Argos very good field position. The TiCats are showing a real lack of concentration.

0:48 – Short pass to Dontrelle Inman.

0:25 – Ricky Ray feels pressure and starts running, managing to gain 3 yards.

0:00 – What a return! Chris Williams takes advantage of lazy tackling from the Argos and good blocking to return the missed field goal 110 yards for a touchdown. That was a very bizarre change of momentum.

3^rd quarter

11:05 – Did the Argos squander another good chance to get a touchdown?

10:43 – Burris calls an audible, TiCats look off-balance.

9:52 – Fake handoff allows Burris to roll right and find Andy Fantuz for a big gain.

8:52 – Hamilton’s drive gets stalled at the 44 yard line.

8:25 – Big run for Cory Boyd, gain of 16. That’s what they need him to do going forward.

7:47 – Ricky Ray throws off his back foot, finding Chad Owens for a 9 yard gain. Well executed play action fake.

7:05 – Cory Boyd finds space and gets the first down.

6:25 – Nice cutback by Boyd, who is bumped out near the TiCat 30.

6:03 – The reliable Andre Durie makes another catch, this time for 9 yards.

5:43 – The short yardage team comes in, and Jarious Jackson is able to get the first down.

4:44 – Short pass to Boyd on 2^nd down, short of the first.

3:19 – Fantuz can’t hang on to another pass, and the Argos will get the ball back.

2:37 – Great diving catch by Jason Barnes, but Hamilton is going to challenge that call.

2:22 – The call gets reversed, and the Argos will need a quick stop on defense.

0:58 – Huge return by Chad Owens, showing off his great speed.

0:00 – Cory Boyd showing a lot of power, dragging the pile inside the 5 yard line and putting the Argos in great position to score.

4^th quarter

14:05 – Touchdown Argonauts! Cory Boyd with another powerful run, and Toronto is right back in the game.

12:04 – The Argos threaten again as Cory Boyd picks up a first down.

11:30 – Ricky Ray underthrows Andre Durie in the end zone.

11:09 – Ray seems very streaky today.

10:02 – No one open downfield, so Burris takes off and gains 23 yards on a run.

9:06 – Burris with a solid 14 yard run for the first down. The Argos need to contain him.

8:05 – Play action allows Samuel Giguere to get open for a 12 yard catch.

6:59 – Burris fires to Bakari Grant for a touchdown. Great play by Grant to hold on to the ball.

6:16 – Ray finds Chad Owens down the sideline for a nice 17 yard gain. The Argos are really starting to feel the pressure of the clock.

5:18 – Deep ball to Chad Owens is deflected by Matt Bucknor, forcing the Argos to punt.

4:55 – Bad field position for the TiCats.

4:30 – Very good execution on the play action, Burris finds an open Chevon Walker in the flat for a 22 yard gain.

4:10 – Walker stopped just short of the first down.

2:52 – Gutsy call by Hamilton, but Burris manages to pick up the first down.

2:30 – Walker makes a good cutback before getting hit hard.

2:05 – The Argos get the stop despite Walker’s great efforts to break free of tackles.

1:51 – Ricky Ray throws an interception! A very uncharacteristic game from the great Ricky Ray.

Despite a great effort from Cory Boyd, who had 19 carries for 168 yards, the Argonauts lost to their provincial rivals. Henry Burris had a mere 44% completion percentage, but the TiCats managed to be more effective in the red zone. I will give the Argos credit; they did well for a team that was down 21-0 in the 2^nd quarter.