With six seconds remaining in the first half and his team at Toronto's three-yard line, Hamilton head coach June Jones had a decision to make. Jones' Ticats could settle for a field goal and enter halftime with a two-point lead or deliver a blow to the Argonauts with a touchdown.
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Jones chose the latter and Hamilton converted on the play. Hamilton held a seven-point lead as a result. The Argos, while faced with a deficit for 14:30 in the fourth quarter, didn't allow Jones to deter them from a comeback. Not even quarterback Ricky Ray's interception with two minutes remaining kept Toronto from defeating the Ticats, 43-35, in overtime on Saturday night.
After Toronto received possession with a minute left in the game and down by eight points, Ray and wide receiver DeVier Posey went to work. The duo connected twice in Toronto's final drive in regulation including a touchdown to cut into the deficit. Toronto's James Wilder Jr. tied the game after a successful two-point conversion.
DeVier Posey (@DPo8) lays out and makes the clutch catch! @TorontoArgos convert the 2-pt, and we are tied up late! #CFLGameDay pic.twitter.com/4BvXfkXg9e
— CFL on TSN (@CFLonTSN) October 1, 2017
In overtime, the Ray and Posey connection was back at work. Posey reeled in his second touchdown of the game to complete Toronto's comeback. Posey surpassed 100 yards receiving for the first time since June 23.
Hamilton's C.J. Gable rushed for a career-high 143 yards and added two touchdowns, and wide reciever Jalen Saunders caught five passes for 121 yards. While the Ticats offense thrived on Saturday night, Ricky Ray and the Argos needed to find a groove against the Ticats' defence as well. The Ticats pressured Ray throughout and essentially made Wilder a non-factor for the majority of the game. Wilder had been at the forefront of the Argos' offence for the past two weeks and when he is limited, it showed the need for the Argos' to be more efficient in the passing game.
Hamilton forced a turnover when Toronto seemed to be gaining momentum. First, when Toronto was driving down the field after Hamilton took an early 7-0 lead, Ray was blindsided and fumbled the Argo's possession away. The second instance came on what was almost Toronto's final possession where Ray threw his seventh interception of the season to allow the Ticats to drain the clock.
Weapon on Special Teams
Toronto's Martese Jackson continues to show why he's one of the most dangerous returners in the CFL.
Following a drive that went nowhere, Hamilton made a mistake. They punted it to Jackson who peeled off for a 92-yard run to tie the game at seven.
Martese Jackson responds with a huge play of his own! A 92-yard punt return to be exact, his third PR touchdown of the season.#CFLGameDay #Argos pic.twitter.com/E3mJNVEq9l
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) September 30, 2017
Jackson has three punt return touchdowns this season and is tied with Calgary's Roy Finch for the league lead.
Fantuz Returns
Ticats' wide receiver Andy Fantuz made his season debut against the Argos. Fantuz suffered a torn ACL last season which forced the 33-year-old to miss the final game of the 2016 season and the majority of Hamilton's 2017 schedule.
Before the game, Fantuz shared his excitement to get back on the field in his video blog.
1st game back! Let's go #TiCats, eat 'em raw! https://t.co/FSo2lDrGZ7 #HamiltonProud
— Andy Fantuz (@andyfantuz) September 30, 2017
Fantuz' first catch went for 10 yards. He finished the game with three catches for 43 yards.