The Canadian Press
TORONTO — With their game against the Calgary Stampeders looking out of hand in the third quarter, Toronto Argonauts coach Corey Chamblin pulled the trigger on a quarterback change.
“Right before the half, you know, you just thought maybe it’s a little bit of rust or something like that coming off the bye, maybe, you know, you probably could have made a little bit earlier,” Chamblin said of the swap. “But I didn’t have that decision that was a short leash or anything like that. Just after a while, I thought he was asleep.”
Out was starter McLeod Bethel-Thompson and in was James Franklin. It was a reversal of roles for the two pivots on Friday night. Franklin opened the season as the starter but was placed on the injured list following the Argos’ second game of the campaign. From then on, it was then Bethel-Thompson’s show. He took full advantage of the opportunity. Heading into the game against the Stamps, he sat second in the league in passing yards and had thrown for 300-plus yards in seven of his 11 games in 2019.
However, it was a different story against Calgary. They got to the Toronto signal-caller five times and held him to just 86 yards on 12 of 19 passing while picking him off once as well.
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It was a frustrating first half for the double blue, as they couldn’t get much going offensively. They had just three points off a Tyler Crapigna field goal in the second quarter. That lone score came off a sequence that left the home faithful at BMO Field restless with the teams heading into the locker rooms.
Following an interception by Kennan Gilchrist that set the Argos up deep in Calgary territory, a sack forced the Toronto offence back to the 20. Bethel-Thompson got the Argos right back into striking distance, hitting James Wilder Jr. in the flat. He’d turn upfield and get down to the 2-yard line — hurdling Stamps defensive back Tre Roberson in the process. The Argos had the chance to go for it on third down and swing the momentum before the half. Instead, they opted to take the points and kick a rare 9-yard field goal.
Bethel-Thompson was given the chance to bounce back to start the second half, but following a two-and-out on the Argos’ opening drive of the third quarter, Chamblin made the choice to give Franklin a look.
Franklin said that he was introduced to the CFL by coming into games as a backup when he was behind Mike Reilly in Edmonton. He added that he felt comfortable when his number was called. As for expectations going forward, Franklin is keeping it simple.
“I had a lot of expectations this year and none of them have come true so I’m going to stop expecting things and just go with what I get,” he said.
Franklin asserted himself in the passing game, finishing the contest by completing 75 percent of his tosses for 147 yards and a touchdown. One of his first throws of the game was a 45-yard connection with Armanti Edwards over the middle. His lone touchdown throw of the game came in the closing minutes when he caught Derel Walker in stride for a 35-yard major.
Unfortunately for both Franklin and the Argos, despite getting as close as a single score at the end of the game, they dropped their 10th contest of 2019. They’ll have a chance to bounce back when they welcome the Saskatchewan Roughriders to BMO on Sept 28. For now, they’ll have to stew over another missed opportunity to gain traction in the East Division standings.
“We’re definitely disappointed but not discouraged,” Chamblin said. “Tomorrow, we’ll make corrections on positive and negative things. So there’s also some things to build off of what we are in terms of the season. So the biggest thing is just having disappointment.
“That’s where we are right now is we got to continue to roll guys up until the end and make the plays that we need to make once time to make. That’s our job and we’ll get there.”
