GoElks.com
EDMONTON — The Toronto Argonauts earned a hard fought 28-23 win over the Edmonton Elks on Saturday, as a 16-point fourth quarter helped lift them to victory.
Argonauts running back A.J. Ouellette delivered the win for his team on a 25-yard touchdown run with 30-seconds remaining in the game. The Toronto back carried the ball nine times for 91 yards as he helped the Boatmen earn their first win in Edmonton since 2013.
Equally as impressive in the team’s win was Toronto kicker Boris Bede, who finished the game as the leading scorer for the Argonauts’ offence. Bede was perfect on the evening as he converted all five of his field goal attempts, three of which he connected on from at least 40-yards away.
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When asked about his game-winning touchdown run, Ouellette told TSN post-game that he wasn’t thinking about the end zone. He was simply focused on protecting the ball and helping to set up a game-winning field goal.
“It was second-and-eight, or something like that, so two hands on the ball to set up Bede for a game-winning field goal,” said Ouellette. “It just parted like the Red Sea, and great block by Phil, our left tackle and Markeith came in and washed out two of their guys. I just had to keep two hands on the ball all the way to the end zone.”
After struggling to create momentum for much of the first half, the Toronto offence exploded in the game’s second half, earning 137 net yards of offence in the third quarter alone.
When asked about the shift in momentum late in the game, Ouellette described that it was just a matter of getting back to the team’s fundamentals and simplifying the game.
“We just went back to our old ways of playing football,” said Ouellette. “We tried to come out with a different style from what we saw on film, we thought it may help. They came out in a four-two basically, so we just went back to our old ways.”
The Toronto running back admitted that there was a sense of belief amongst the team prior to the game that they were going to be able to out-physical the Elks. Ouellette also felt that having to claw their way back into the game and earn a come-from-behind win showed the resiliency of the team and what they are capable of entering the final stretch of the season.
“I think this game was huge for us,” said Ouellette. “Coming in we thought we were going to be able to physically dominate. That’s a great football team. I mean, it’s professional football, you have to go out and give your A game. For us to battle all the way to the end and come away with a win, it shows what this team is capable of.”
Approaching Week 20, the Argos will travel to Percival Molson Stadium for a crucial East Division battle with the Montreal Alouettes on Saturday.
