Final
Boyd's last-minute touchdown leads Argonauts over Eskimos 29-28
Aug 8, 2010 - 5:31 AM EDMONTON (CP) - Cory Boyd scored three touchdowns, including one in the final minute, as the Toronto Argonauts bounced back from a tough loss last week to beat the Edmonton Eskimos 29-28 on Friday.Trailing 28-22 late in the game, the Argos engineered a 14-play, 94-yard drive that was kept alive by a dramatic catch by Jeremaine Copeland after the ball bounced off the fingers of a pair of Edmonton defenders. After two pass interference calls against the Eskimos, Boyd punched the ball in from the one with just 22.8 seconds left. The extra point gave the Argonauts a one-point victory.
With the win, Toronto improved to 4-2 and remained two points back of first-place Montreal in the East Division.
The Eskimos' troubled start to the season continued as they fell to a disappointing 1-5, worst in the CFL.
Toronto showed some creativity on its opening drive with a flea-flicker play as quarterback Chris Lemon hit Brandon Rideau for a 36-yard gain to the Edmonton 33 but the Argos settled for a 35-yard Grant Shaw field goal.
On their next possession, the Argos took the ball 109 yards, capped by a 43-yard touchdown run by Boyd, who made the Eskimos defence look non-existent as Toronto took a 10-0 lead.
The Argos then added a single on a missed field goal for an 11-point lead after the opening quarter. The Argos had 181 first-quarter yards to Edmonton's 56.
Edmonton finally got on the board early in the second quarter on a 48-yard field goal by Noel Prefontaine.
The teams exchanged singles from missed field goals before the Argos padded their lead with less than two minutes left on a 14-yard TD pass to Boyd, his second of the game.
Edmonton got into scoring range in the final minute after a successful punt fake but were only able to get a field goal out of it to trail 19-7 at the half.
The Eskimos got their first touchdown of the night on their first possession in the third as Arkee Whitlock took it in from the one yard out shortly after a critical 24-yard Fred Stamps reception on a pass from Ricky Ray.
Edmonton kept coming and put together a big-play drive to take its first lead 10 minutes into the third as Jason Barnes made a 45-yard circus catch in the end zone. He beat out Lin-J Shell and Evan McCollough on a jump ball and ended up catching the ball with his knees to put Edmonton ahead 21-19.
The Eskimos caught a big break early in the fourth as Jason Goss picked off Lemon and took the ball back 49 yards to the Argos' 18. Jared Zabransky came in as quarterback and ran a bootleg into the end zone to give Edmonton a nine-point lead.
Toronto responded with a field goal to close the score to 28-22, setting up the last-minute dramatics.
The Argonauts return home to face Montreal on Aug. 14 while the Eskimos travel to Calgary on Aug. 15.
NOTES: Boyd, who was celebrating his birthday on Friday, came into the game as the league's leading rusher, averaging 6.5 yards per carry but was held to just nine carries for 53 yards in last week's 41-10 loss to Montreal. ... Eskimos receiver Fred Stamps hit the 3,000 career yards mark in the game, but then left it in the third quarter with what appeared to be a shoulder injury. ... It was Edmonton's first game since sacking general manager Danny Maciocia. ... Of the quarterbacks who have started every game thus far, Argo rookies QB Cleo Lemon came into the game as the only one with a completion percentage below .600, standing at 57.6 per cent and three TD passes. ... The Eskimos honoured former defensive back Ron Estay on Friday, putting his name on the Wall of Honour at Commonwealth Stadium. Estay won five Grey Cups during his tenure with the Esks between 1973 and 1982. The induction was part of a 1970s retro theme to the game that included both teams wearing the classic jerseys.
- CFL
FINAL 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
TORONTO 11 8 0 10 29
EDMONTON 0 7 14 7 28 FINAL
SCORING SUMMARY
1ST QUARTER: TOR - FG, GRANT SHAW 35 YD, 1:30. TORONTO 3-0
TOR - TD, CORY BOYD 43 YD RUN (GRANT SHAW KICK),
8:52. TORONTO 10-0
TOR - SINGLE, GRANT SHAW 45 YD OFF A MISSED
FIELD GOAL, 13:55. TORONTO 11-0
2N
Aug 7 12:55 AM - CFL
TD TOR
CORY BOYD 1 YD RUN
(GRANT SHAW KICK)
TORONTO 29
EDMONTON 28 0:22 LEFT, 4TH QTR
Argonauts 29, Elks 28 4th - 0:22Aug 7 12:50 AM - CFL
FG TOR
GRANT SHAW 45 YD
TORONTO 22
EDMONTON 28 7:05 LEFT, 4TH QTR
Argonauts 22, Elks 28 4th - 7:05Aug 7 12:30 AM - CFL
TD EDM
JARED ZABRANSKY 18 YD RUN
(NOEL PREFONTAINE KICK)
TORONTO 19
EDMONTON 28 11:14 LEFT, 4TH QTR
Argonauts 19, Elks 28 4th - 11:14Aug 7 12:25 AM - CFL
END, 3RD QTR 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
TORONTO 11 8 0 19
EDMONTON 0 7 14 21 END, 3RD QTR
SCORING SUMMARY
1ST QUARTER: TOR - FG, GRANT SHAW 35 YD, 1:30. TORONTO 3-0
TOR - TD, CORY BOYD 43 YD RUN (GRANT SHAW KICK),
8:52. TORONTO 10-0
TOR - SINGLE, GRANT SHAW 45 YD OFF A MISSED
FIELD GOAL, 13:55. TORONTO
Aug 7 12:15 AM - CFL
TD EDM
JASON BARNES 45 YD PASS FROM RICKY RAY
(NOEL PREFONTAINE KICK)
TORONTO 19
EDMONTON 21 5:12 LEFT, 3RD QTR
Argonauts 19, Elks 21 3rd - 5:12Aug 7 12:05 AM - CFL
TD EDM
ARKEE WHITLOCK 1 YD RUN
(NOEL PREFONTAINE KICK)
TORONTO 19
EDMONTON 14 8:22 LEFT, 3RD QTR
Argonauts 19, Elks 14 3rd - 8:22Aug 6 11:55 PM - CFL
HALFTIME 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
TORONTO 11 8 19
EDMONTON 0 7 7 HALFTIME
SCORING SUMMARY
1ST QUARTER: TOR - FG, GRANT SHAW 35 YD, 1:30. TORONTO 3-0
TOR - TD, CORY BOYD 43 YD RUN (GRANT SHAW KICK),
8:52. TORONTO 10-0
TOR - SINGLE, GRANT SHAW 45 YD OFF A MISSED
FIELD GOAL, 13:55. TORONTO 11-0
Aug 6 11:40 PM - CFL
FG EDM
NOEL PREFONTAINE 28 YD
TORONTO 19
EDMONTON 7 0:01 LEFT, 2ND QTR
Argonauts 19, Elks 7 2nd - 0:01Aug 6 11:25 PM - CFL
TD TOR
CORY BOYD 14 YD PASS FROM CLEO LEMON
(GRANT SHAW KICK)
TORONTO 19
EDMONTON 4 1:47 LEFT, 2ND QTR
Argonauts 19, Elks 4 2nd - 1:47Aug 6 11:15 PM - CFL
SINGLE EDM
NOEL PREFONTAINE 50 YD OFF A MISSED FIELD GOAL
TORONTO 12
EDMONTON 4 5:42 LEFT, 2ND QTR
Argonauts 12, Elks 4 2nd - 5:42Aug 6 11:05 PM - CFL
SINGLE TOR
GRANT SHAW 40 YD OFF A MISSED FIELD GOAL
TORONTO 12
EDMONTON 3 9:52 LEFT, 2ND QTR
Argonauts 12, Elks 3 2nd - 9:52Aug 6 11:00 PM - CFL
FG EDM
NOEL PREFONTAINE 48 YD
TORONTO 11
EDMONTON 3 12:29 LEFT, 2ND QTR
Argonauts 11, Elks 3 2nd - 12:29Aug 6 10:50 PM - CFL
END, 1ST QTR 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
TORONTO 11 11
EDMONTON 0 0 END, 1ST QTR
SCORING SUMMARY
1ST QUARTER: TOR - FG, GRANT SHAW 35 YD, 1:30. TORONTO 3-0
TOR - TD, CORY BOYD 43 YD RUN (GRANT SHAW KICK),
8:52. TORONTO 10-0
TOR - SINGLE, GRANT SHAW 45 YD OFF A MISSED
FIELD GOAL, 13:55. TORONTO
Aug 6 10:45 PM - CFL
SINGLE TOR
GRANT SHAW 45 YD OFF A MISSED FIELD GOAL
TORONTO 11
EDMONTON 0 1:05 LEFT, 1ST QTR
Argonauts 11, Elks 0 1st - 1:05Aug 6 10:45 PM - CFL
TD TOR
CORY BOYD 43 YD RUN
(GRANT SHAW KICK)
TORONTO 10
EDMONTON 0 5:47 LEFT, 1ST QTR
Argonauts 10, Elks 0 1st - 5:47Aug 6 10:30 PM - CFL
FG TOR
GRANT SHAW 35 YD
TORONTO 3
EDMONTON 0 13:18 LEFT, 1ST QTR
Argonauts 3, Elks 0 1st - 13:18Aug 6 10:15 PM
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