Adam Gagnon/CFL.ca
TORONTO – James Franklin threw for 277 yards and ran for two touchdowns as the Toronto Argonauts snapped a seven-game losing streak in a 26-22 win over the Alouettes on Saturday. In the process of ending their two-month skid, the Argos prolonged the Als slump to five games on a back-and-forth afternoon where the winning touchdown came in the final minute.
In a battle of 3-9 teams that will not participate in this fall’s post-season, the Argos proved to have that extra ounce of mettle to rally them to a much-needed victory.
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Toronto took early advantage of their chance to face the Als defence, which has allowed a league-worst 31.6 points per game this season. The Argos’ first offensive drive featured an electrifying 69-yard connection between Franklin and Armanti Edwards over the middle of the field. After a pass interference penalty brought the Argos right to the goal line, Franklin sidestepped into the end zone for an early 7-0 lead.
But Manziel stepped up on the following drive, hacking away at the Argos’ defence with precision passing and a 22-yard scramble to set up a 24-yard field goal for Boris Bede to cut into Toronto’s lead. The Als couldn’t get any closer on the scoreboard in the first quarter, but as time ran out, William Stanback burst free for a 72-yard run that set up a 37-yard field goal from Bede early in the second quarter to cut Toronto’s lead to 7-6.
The Argos countered with a 45-yard drive capped off with a 37-yard field goal of their own by kicker Drew Brown to give the home side a four-point lead. Despite another formidable drive by Montreal to battle back, the Argos came up with a big second-down sack on Manziel, then got some luck when Bede sent a field goal attempt wide left to keep Toronto in front 10-7.
Following an Argos punt, Stefan Logan managed a 30-yard punt return to set up Montreal, but once again the Als were kept out of the end zone, this time by a Marcus Roberson Jr. interception as time waned down on the half. But Montreal’s defence forced a quick two-and-out and Manziel finally broke through with five straight completions to feed Eugene Lewis an 11-yard touchdown pass with seven seconds left to give the visitors a 14-10 lead at halftime.
The Argos put together a long, productive drive to start off the second half, as Franklin took the offence from their own 28 yard line to the Als’ four, but Toronto had to settle for a short field goal which trimmed Montreal’s lead to 14-13. The Argos defence forced a quick punt, but the Als one-upped the Argos’ defence by forcing a first-down pick-six by Tevaughn Campbell to give Montreal a 21-13 lead.
The Argos answered back with three points on the next drive, then Brown eventually converted a fourth straight field goal r to cut Montreal’s lead to 21-19 with under seven minutes remaining in the game. To help the Argos’ rally, Bede missed his second field goal of the afternoon to give Toronto a fighting chance shortly after the three-minute warning.
Running their two-minute drill, the Argos kept fans on their toes with an entertaining final stand. Branden Burks busted through the Als’ line for a crucial 12-yard gain on a third down, and Edwards caught a trio of passes to advance the Argos’ drive. Some help from an Als’ pass interference penalty in the end zone placed the Argos on the one-yard line inside the final minute. Franklin made sure he finished the job with a go-ahead one-yard sneak into the end zone that tied Doug Flutie in all-time CFL rushing touchdowns by a quarterback.
The two sides showed they will have plenty to play for in the rematch next Sunday in Montreal.
