Patrick Doyle/CFL.ca
TORONTO — Logan Kilgore and the Argos just did what they needed to.
That’s exactly the kind of game it was on Sunday night when the Boatmen held on for a 23-20 over the Ottawa REDBLACKS in the nation’s capital.
Kilgore won his first career professional start at age 26 while the Argos, 3-0 on the road this season, now enter their Week 7 bye leading the league in wins.
“The thing I just told them is I’m proud of the fact that we seem to be improving each week, and we’ve done that with 11 guys on the six-game – I think we had one starting receiver [on Sunday],” said Argos head coach Scott Milanovich.
“That’s what you have to do in this league; guys are going to get hurt, it happens to everybody and you have to have enough depth to where you’re able to continue to go out there and find ways to win.”
Ricky Ray, Tori Gurley and Kevin Elliott are some of the names you’d expect to be carrying the Argos this season, but in Week 6 it was a totally different cast. Devon Wylie and Kenny Shaw were go-to receivers, while rookie 23-year-old centre Sean McEwen was the one snapping the ball to the first-time starting QB in Kilgore.
In the end it was the leg of Lirim Hajrullahu and his five field goals, including the game-winner from 53 yards out in the final two minutes, that kicked the Argos to victory – along with an opportunistic defence that surrendered just 20 points and forced three REDBLACKS interceptions.
Kilgore, meanwhile, looking to follow in the footsteps of successful young Argos pivots ahead of him in Trevor Harris and Zach Collaros, never once looked out of place.
“Honestly I thought he played a hell of a game,” Milanovich said afterwards. “We were starting slow offensively, most of which wasn’t necessarily his fault and he just kept plugging; he got better as the game went on.”
Kilgore completed 25 of 42 passing attempts for 322 yards and a touchdown with two interceptions – the first time an Argo quarterback has gone over 300 passing yards this season – in a productive day for the Argo offence.
Shaw hauled in six catches for 107 yards and a touchdown while Wylie caught five for 52 while helping set up the eventual game-winning kick.
“You’ve got to consider everything that happened,” said Kilgore. “We’ve got our starting centre at home so we’ve got a rookie starting centre. We’ve got numerous receivers, even during the game, out. There are a lot of guys that had to step up.
“The quarterback position is going to get a lot of attention but if you look team-wide there are a lot of guys that had to step up and I’m just proud that we were able to do that.”
“Honestly I thought he played a hell of a game . . . he just kept plugging; he got better as the game went on.”
Scott Milanovich
The Argos’ 23-20 win over Ottawa was a total team effort, from Kilgore to the special teams (The Canadian Press)
In the end, Kilgore’s poise and commanding presence in an Argo offence that came into the weekend ranked last in the league was a very positive sign for Milanovich’s club.
Milanovich and General Manager Jim Barker have been subject to some criticism after Harris was allowed to walk and join the REDBLACKS the off-season after leading the CFL in touchdown passes. As Ray showed some rust out of the gate and Harris led the league’s top offence in Ottawa early on, some of the whispers turned to shouts.
Yet while Harris and Collaros are two home-grown quarterback prospects that the Argos have watched flourish with division rivals, Kilgore has the upside to be just as good if not better – the operative word being upside.
Kilgore has a lot more to prove, but with Ray out four to six weeks, he’ll no doubt get his opportunity.
So far, so good.
“I was impressed with his poise and his ability to move the pocket and make some plays,” Milanovich said of Kilgore. “It’s a good team we played and he found a way to help us get it in there.
“On the road against the team that was in the Grey Cup last year; Hall of Fame quarterback; good defence,” he added. “Yeah, he did a nice job.”
– With files from Argonauts.ca
