The Toronto Argonauts look to continue their dominance of their provincial rival on Saturday afternoon when they host the Ottawa Redblacks.
The Argonauts (2-6) recorded a 29-16 victory over the Redblacks (2-6) on June 29 to improve to 19-6 in the teams’ meetings since Ottawa entered the league in 2014.
Nick Arbuckle threw for 269 yards with one score in that contest and entered this week ranked second in the CFL in passing yards (2,334) and tied for second in touchdown passes (13).
The reigning Grey Cup MVP threw for 327 yards and two touchdowns in a 40-31 loss to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers last weekend.
Both scoring strikes went to Damonte Coxie, who set career highs in catches (nine) and receiving yards (187). Coxie leads the league in receiving yards (774) for the season.
Unfortunately for the Argonauts, they allowed rookie Trey Vaval to score on a 93-yard kickoff return and a 97-yard punt return.
“It was huge,” Toronto head coach Ryan Dinwiddie said. “We gifted them three touchdowns, two on special teams and then the fumble (return TD).
“We’re not playing good enough football to overcome some of that stuff. But we had a chance, just didn’t make enough plays. Our special teams units, we’ve got to find a way to get better. A lot of missed tackles out there.”
While the Argos fell short last week, the Redblacks returned from a bye and snapped a four-game losing streak with a 31-11 victory over the Calgary Stampeders on July 31.
Dru Brown passed for 225 yards, highlighted by a pair of scoring strikes to Justin Hardy in the second quarter. The two-TD performance was the first in Hardy’s CFL career.
Crum threw for a touchdown and rushed for another in the earlier meeting against the Argonauts.
“We talk about stacking things and stacking wins,” Redblacks head coach Bob Dyce said, per the Ottawa Citizen. “The only thing we’re focused on now is stacking for (this Saturday). But definite positive things happened out there.”
–Field Level Media