Noel Prefontaine’s 18-yard field goal on the final play of the game spoiled the visiting Calgary Stampeders’ second-half rally and gave the Toronto Argonauts a 31-29 victory Friday night at Rogers Centre.
Calgary had scored 20 consecutive points to turn a 19-point halftime deficit into a slim lead. The loss drops the Stamps to 8-7 while the Argos improve to 4-11.
Drew Tate, relieving starting quarterback Henry Burris, engineered the second-half comeback try for Calgary and he finished the evening with 19 completions on 28 passes for 263 yards and two scores.
On the first possession of the second half, the Stamps drove 76 yards on six plays, a march capped by Tate’s 11-yard pass to Nik Lewis.
A Rene Paredes field goal from 40 yards out made the score 28-19 after three quarters.
The Stamps further narrowed the gap in the fourth period when Tate connected with Johnny Forzani for a 22-yard scoring strike and then took the lead on Paredes’ 24-yard three-pointer.
However, a couple of penalties on Toronto’s final drive negated Argos turnovers and allowed the home side to pull out the win.
“It took away our chance of winning,” said Stampeders head coach and general manager John Hufnagel. “It’s third down, we stop them and there’s flag on the field (that allows Toronto’s drive to continue). We intercept the ball and there’s a flag on the field.
“We have three games left and then the playoffs. We’ll see what type of team we are. Now we’ll get ready to play Saskatchewan (next Friday).”
In building a 28-9 halftime lead, the Argonauts scored more points than they had in any of their seven previous games.
Calgary turnovers played an instrumental part in the scenario as a first-quarter fumble gave Toronto a short field and set up a 13-yard touchdown run by Cory Boyd.
In the second quarter, Byron Parker picked off a Henry Burris and ran it back 32 yards for a touchdown.
Toronto also picked up a couple of offensive majors as backup quarterback B.J. Hall scored on a two-yard run to cap a 12-play, 82-yard drive. In the final seconds of the opening half, Steven Jyles hit Brandon Rideau for a 16-yard touchdown pass.
Calgary’s first-half offence consisted of Paredes field goals of 13, 29 and 28 yards.
The Stamps will return to action next Friday when they play host to the Saskatchewan Roughriders in a 7:30 p.m. start at McMahon Stadium.
INDIVIDUAL STATS
PASSING
Cgy: Tate 19-28-263-2-0, Burris 6-11-65-0-2; Tor: Jyles 11-21-118-1-4
RUSHING
Cgy: Cornish 12-128, Tate 8-45, Coker 2-28, Taylor 1-8, Burris 1-2; Tor: Boyd 18-148-1, Jyles 6-47, Kackert 3-35, Hall 3-6-1
RECEIVING
Cgy: Forzani 3-76-1, Talley 3-71, Lewis 6-64-1, Cornish 2-31, Arthur 3-29, Coker 4-24, Bryant 2-23, Taylor 2-10; Tor: Owens 3-43, Boyd 3-27, Watt 2-17, Rideau 1-16-1, Bradwell 1-9, Johnson 1-6
NOTABLES
Cgy: McCoy 5 TKL 1 STT 2 SK, Tisdale 3 TKL 2 INT 1 KD, Fraser 4 TKL 1 STT 1 INT, Morley 4 TKL 1 KD, Ramond 2 TKL 1 INT, Paredes 5-5 FG 2-2 XP 17 PTS; Tor: Smalls 7 TKL, Huntley 6 TKL 2 SK, Parker 5 TKL 1 INT 1 TD, Shell 3 TKL 1 STT 1 INT 1 KD
More coverage
>> Locker-Room Blog by Drew Tate
>> Video: Highlights
>> Audio: John Hufnagel reaction
>> Photo gallery
>> Updated standings
>> Updated stats