Hamilton 24, Toronto 22
When: 6:30 PM ET, Monday, September 4, 2017
Where: Tim Hortons Field, Hamilton, Ontario
Attendance:
23926
By Gracenote
Tiger Cats 24, Argonauts 22: Jeremiah Masoli threw for 219 yards and a touchdown as host Hamilton topped Toronto in the Labour Day Classic to earn its first win of the season.
Masoli went 19-of-33 through the air in his first start of 2017 and C.J. Gable rushed for the go-ahead touchdown as the Tiger-Cats (1-8) handed June Jones a victory in his CFL coaching debut. Brandon Banks hauled in six passes for 98 yards and a touchdown while Felix Faubert-Lussier added a special teams score for Hamilton, which notched its first win since last October.
Ricky Ray completed 34-of-47 passes for 325 yards and two touchdowns for the Argonauts (4-7), who have dropped five of their last six games. DeVier Posey caught two touchdown passes for Toronto, which missed a chance to send the game to overtime when Lirim Hajrullahu's 37-yard attempt sailed wide right with 45 seconds remaining.
Hajrullahu connected on a pair of field goals from 35 and 13 yards to give Toronto a 6-0 lead with 8:59 left in the second quarter before the game was delayed for two hours due to severe lightning in the area. Sergio Castillo set a career high with a 57-yard field goal with 2:34 left in the first half to pull the Tiger-Cats within 7-3 at intermission.
Hamilton scored two touchdowns in 33 seconds as Banks hauled in a 64-yard pass and Faubert-Lussier returned a fumble 14 yards on the ensuing kickoff to vault the Tiger-Cats in front 17-7 before Ray fired a 10-yard scoring strike to Posey to trim the deficit to three. Posey caught a 16-yard touchdown pass as Toronto reclaimed a 21-17 lead early in the fourth quarter before Gable rushed for a 1-yard TD to put the Tiger-Cats back on top 24-21 with 2:30 remaining and the home crowd could only breathe a sigh of relief when Hajrullahu's kick went wide.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Toronto DE Shawn Lemon, who is tied for second place in the CFL with six sacks, suffered a right shoulder injury in the third quarter and did not return. … Hamilton RB Mercer Timmis suffered a serious ankle injury in the fourth quarter. … The Tiger-Cats have won four straight Labour Day Classics. … Toronto WR S.J. Green hauled in nine passes for 103 yards to surpass 1,000 yards in a season for the fifth time.
Top Game Performances
Rushing
Toronto |
|
Hamilton |
Brandon Whitaker |
Player |
C.J. Gable
|
7 |
Attempts |
6 |
27 |
Yards |
43 |
3.9 |
Avg Yards |
7.2 |
0 |
Touchdowns |
1 |
9 |
Long |
15 |
Receiving
Toronto |
|
Hamilton |
S.J. Green
| Player |
Brandon Banks
|
9 |
Receptions |
6 |
103 |
Yards |
98 |
11.4 |
Avg Yards |
16.3 |
0 |
Touchdowns |
1 |
17 |
Long |
64 |
Team Stats Summary
|
Yards |
Scoring |
Defense |
Team |
Tot |
Rus |
Pas |
TD |
FG |
INT |
Sck |
FF |
Toronto
|
394 |
69 |
325 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
1.0 |
0 |
Hamilton
|
276 |
57 |
219 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
1.0 |
1 |
Upcoming Games
-
Hamilton will play their next game on the road against Ottawa. The Tiger-Cats have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .125 after a loss.
-
Toronto will play their next game at home against Edmonton. The Argonauts have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .500 after a loss.