The Toronto Argonauts weathered three first-quarter giveaways and five total turnovers to earn a 33-30 victory over the Calgary Stampeders on Thursday night at BMO Field, opening their home schedule with a win.
It wasn’t the most precise performance from Argos quarterback Chad Kelly, but he did not back down after four interceptions, finishing with 349 yards and a touchdown on 30-for-43 passing to help Toronto improve to 4-4.
Damonte Coxie was Kelly’s favourite target, hauling in eight of his 15 looks for a season-high 161 yards. Sam Hicks rushed for 54 yards on five carries, and scored once on the ground and once through the air.
It was a turnover-filled start at BMO Field, with Hicks coughing up the ball on the Argos’ opening play before Kelly’s first pass of the game was intercepted on the next possession. Calgary capitalized on the first mistake, as Damon Webb‘s 46-yard return set up a Quincy Vaughn dive from the one to open the scoring.
Kelly quickly put the interception behind him, leading a 94-yard response drive with completions of 36, 18 and 20 yards before flipping it to Hicks on a reverse for the touchdown that tied the game at 7-7.
Calgary’s defence bounced back after Toronto’s equalizer, as Anthony Johnson Jr. picked off an errant pass from Kelly to make it three first-quarter turnovers for Toronto. The Argos defence responded on the next possession, with Tarvarus McFadden leaping in the end zone to end Adams Jr.’s streak of 299 consecutive pass attempts without an interception.
The Argos kicked off the second quarter with a drive into scoring range, but Brady Lidster missed his 46-yard field-goal attempt. Special teams provided the spark later in the frame, with Janarion Grant taking Mark Vassett’s punt off the bounce, to the outside and all the way to the end zone to put Toronto ahead.
The Stamps moved back in front late in the half after Adams Jr. connected with Clark Barnes for 37 yards up the sideline before scrambling to finish off a seven-play, 70-yard drive. But Toronto had the last strike before the break, with Lidster drilling a 52-yarder as time expired to send the Argos into the locker room with a 19-17 lead.
Out of the break, the turnover bug struck Toronto again, as Adrian Greene jumped Kelly’s quick-out pass and returned it 67 yards untouched for a touchdown. On the Argos’ next possession, Ben Labrosse hauled in his second interception of the game after Kelly forced a throw into tight coverage in the end zone.
Despite the five takeaways, the Stamps struggled to pull away. The Argos entered the final frame down four with possession, and after a long gain on a pass interference penalty drawn by Tyler Kahmann, Lidster made it a one-point game with a 19-yard field goal.
Calgary added a field goal of its own after Benjie Franklin couldn’t come away with an interception, but Toronto responded after pinning Adams Jr. and company deep. A sack and punt later, Hicks needed just one play to scurry 40 yards for the go-ahead score. Tyreik McAllister’s ensuing return set up another Calgary field goal, tying the game at 30-30 past the three-minute warning.
Toronto went two-and-out, giving the Stamps a chance to take the lead, but Bubba Bolden stuffed Dedrick Mills on a third-down run up the middle to give the Argos the ball at midfield. Kelly then aired it out, connecting with Coxie for a 31-yard gain down the sideline to set up Lidster, who calmly knocked through an 11-yard field goal for the win.
Adams Jr. threw his second interception on a Hail Mary on the final play, finishing with 159 passing yards and no touchdown passes. Mills rushed for 79 yards on 14 carries in the loss.
RELATED
» Depth Charts: CGY | TOR
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» Game Notes: Calgary at Toronto
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SCORING PLAYS
- Quincy Vaughn one-yard touchdown run (11:24, Q1) | CGY 7 TOR 0
- Chad Kelly five-yard touchdown pass to Sam Hicks (5:49, Q1) | TOR 7 CGY 7
- Janarion Grant 64-yard punt return touchdown (10:22, Q2) | TOR 13 CGY 7
- Jude McAtamney 27-yard field goal (5:30, Q2) | TOR 13 CGY 10
- Brady Lidster 33-yard field goal (2:20, Q2) | TOR 16 CGY 10
- Vernon Adams Jr. six-yard touchdown run (0:37, Q2) | CGY 17 TOR 16
- Brady Lidster 52-yard field goal (0:00, Q2) | TOR 19 CGY 17
- James Burnip 51-yard punt single (12:20, Q3) | TOR 20 CGY 17
- Adrian Greene 67-yard interception return touchdown (5:18, Q3) | CGY 24 TOR 20
- Brady Lidster 19-yard field goal (13:18, Q4) | CGY 24 TOR 23
- Jude McAtamney 32-yard field goal (10:14, Q4) | CGY 27 TOR 23
- Sam Hicks 40-yard touchdown run (5:02, Q4) | TOR 30 CGY 27
- Jude McAtamney 46-yard field goal (2:55, Q4) | CGY 30 TOR 30
- Brady Lidster 11-yard field goal (0:11, Q4) | TOR 33 CGY 30
NEXT UP
The Calgary Stampeders will open Week 11 at home when they host the BC Lions on Thursday, August 13. The Stamps will have a chance to secure the season series after taking a 41-33 win in their first meeting in Week 4. Calgary will close out the season against BC in Week 20.
The Toronto Argonauts head west in Week 11 to take on the Edmonton Elks on Saturday, August 15. It will be the first of two meetings between the teams, with the season series wrapping up in Week 16 in Toronto. The teams split their two matchups in 2025, with the Argos taking the most recent meeting 31-30.