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Argos hold off Roughriders

Aug 19, 2011 - 3:47 AM Toronto, ON (Sports Network) - Cory Boyd rushed for 45 yards and scored two touchdowns, and Cleo Lemon threw for 169 yards on 20-of-28 passing as the Toronto Argonauts survived a furious fourth quarter rally from the Saskatchewan Roughriders and held on for a 24-18 victory at Rogers Centre.

Trailing 21-1 after three quarters, the Roughriders rallied for 17 points in and the game came down to the final seconds, but Darian Durant's pass for Chris Getzlaf in the back of the end zone was knocked down by Evan McCollough.

"They were playing a lot of zone tonight and it made it tough for us to complete a big play," Lemon said. "We had confidence in our defense that they would get the job done."

That preserved the win for Toronto (2-6), which toppled Saskatchewan at home for the first time since 2005. The Argonauts also snapped a six-game skid.

Andre Durie led Toronto's receiving corp with seven catches for 54 yards.

Durant threw for 384 yards on 31-for-44 passing with two touchdowns. Getzlaf caught four passes for 123 yards and a touchdown, but it wasn't enough as the Roughriders (1-7) dropped their fourth straight game.

On the first play of the final quarter, kicker Chris Milo got the ball rolling for Saskatchewan as he connected on a 38-yard field goal attempt, after missing his first two tries, making it a 21-4 contest.

Saskatchewan finally put the ball in the end zone later in the quarter courtesy of a 70-yard pass from Durant to Getzlaf to make it a 24-11 game, the Roughriders scored again on a 21-yard touchdown pass to James Robinson to make it a six-point margin.

"I told them in the dressing room that if we play the way we did in the fourth, we'll be fine," Roughriders head coach Greg Marshall said. "It wasn't because of a lack of effort that we lost."

Earlier in the game, after scoring a single early in the first quarter, the Argos punched the ball into the end zone following a 19-yard pass interference penalty to make it an 8-0 game. Boyd scored from a yard out.

In the second quarter, Toronto moved down the field, using excellent balance of run and pass plays to make its way down to the Roughrider 20 yard line, where Noel Prefontaine knocked one through the uprights to give the Argos an 11-0 advantage.

With time running down in the opening half, Prefontaine knocked a 47-yard field goal attempt.

Looking to change the momentum in the second half, the Roughriders came out and put together a nice drive, getting down into the Argonaut red zone despite a holding penalty that negated 37 yard pass. Following a short pass to Efrem Hill, the Roughriders were left with a first down at the Toronto 18 yard line. The Roughriders went backwards the next two plays and were left with 3rd-and-12 from the Toronto 20 and a perfect opportunity to get on the board but Milo sliced his field-goal attempt to the right.

Toronto poured it on later in the quarter as Boyd slipped into the end zone from the Saskatchewan one following a facemask penalty to give Toronto a 21-1 lead.

Game Notes

The Roughriders received a scare when Durant was leveled after being chased from the pocket on a play in the third quarter, he appeared to have the wind knocked out of him but stayed in the game...This is Toronto's first home win since it topped the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 17-13 on September 19, 2010...The Argonauts are 2-1 against West Division teams this season.