Nick Arbuckle passed for 430 yards and three touchdowns and also ran for another, leading the host Toronto Argonauts to a resounding 52-34 win over the B.C. Lions in a high-scoring CFL contest Saturday at BMO Field.
Benjie Franklin had a 'pick six' interception for a touchdown for Toronto (3-8), with Jake Herslow (2) and Kevin Mital adding receiving TDs and Spencer Brown rushing for one major and a two-point conversion. Lirim Hajrullahu booted three field goals and five conversions.
Nathan Rourke passed for 326 yards and two touchdowns for the Lions (5-6). Jevon Cottoy had two receiving touchdowns, with James Butler rushing for 83 yards and two TDs and Sean Whyte kicked two field goals and three converts. Punter Carl Meyer added a single.
The Lions came out strong, leading 14-3 after one quarter on touchdowns from Kattoy (who scored one play after Ayden Eberhardt made a nice catch on a deflected pass) and Butler (a quick burst up the middle).
The Argos bounced back in the second quarter, tying things up at 14-14 midway through the quarter after a Hajrullahu field goal and a QB draw for a touchdown from Arbuckle.
Toronto took their first lead of the game when Franklin picked off a Rourke pass and took it 57 yards for a touchdown, with the Hajrullahu convert making it 21-14 for the Boatmen.
B.C. pulled even again at 21-21, when a long McGee kickoff return gave the Lions excellent field position, leading to Rourke finding Kattoy for a hurdling five-yard touchdown.
Toronto moved back ahead with just 33 seconds left in the half, when Arbuckle found a wide-open Mital for a TD and Hajrullahu's convert made it 28-21 at the break.
In the third quarter, the Lions marched smartly down the field after the opening kickoff, but a dropped pass on second down inside the Toronto five forced them to settle for an 11-yard Whyte field goal, pulling them within 28-24.
Toronto responded with another touchdown drive, highlighted by a 57-yard hookup between Arbuckle and Dejon Brissett. Brown capped the drive with a three-yard TD, with Hajrullahu's conversion giving the Argos a 35-24 lead.
B.C. bounced back with a long drive, with the key play being a 34-yard pass from Rourke to Justin McInnis. Butler scored on a third-down, one-yard leap but a two-point conversion attempt failed, leaving the score at 35-30 Toronto with 2:45 left in the quarter.
With 33 seconds left in the quarter, Arbuckle found Herslow deep down the middle for a 40-yard TD. Hajrullahu added the point after to five the Argos a 12-point margin at 42-30.
Early in the fourth quarter, Rourke's 47-yard scramble keyed another Lions' scoring drive, ending with Whyte's 14-yard field goal pulling B.C. within 42-33.
One play later, however, Toronto torched the B.C. defence again, when Arbuckle found a wide-open Herslow for a 70-yard TD. Hajrullahu added another convert to up the Toronto lead to 49-33.
Meyer's 58-yard single brought B.C. within 49-34 with just over nine minutes to play.
Toronto essentially sealed the win with 4:25 to play when Rourke fumbled after being sacked by Wynton McManis, with Branden Dozier recovering for the Argos. They ran out most of the remaining time with Brown pounding away on the ground for several late first downs and Hajrullahu rounded out the scoring with a 20-yard field goal with seven seconds left.
B.C. visits the Ottawa Redblacks on Friday, Sept. 5 (4:30 p.m.).
NOTES: Entering the game, Toronto had just one win at BMO Field this season; the Lions slipped to 3-3 on the road... Toronto snapped a three-game losing skid... Rourke went over the 3,000-yard passing mark for the season, while Hatcher (who finished with eight catches for 131 yards) exceeded 1,000 receiving yards... Herslow (149) and Brissett (118) both went over the 100-yard mark on the game for Toronto...Micah Awe led the Lions with nine tackles... Toronto controlled the ball for 33:18 and outgained the Lions 543 to 456.
