FORT MCMURRAY, Alta. — The Toronto Argonauts won their home-opener away from home Saturday with a 26-11 victory over the Edmonton Eskimos in Fort McMurray, Alta.
The game billed “Northern Kickoff” was the first regular-season CFL game played at the new SMS Equipment Stadium in the northeastern Alberta city, although the Eskimos had played a pre-season game there earlier this month.
Scheduling issues at Rogers Centre and the Pan American Games in Toronto will keep the Argos on the road for their first five games of the 2015 season.
So the Argonauts were the home team in Fort McMurray despite the game’s proximity to Edmonton 400 kilometres to the southwest.
Argonauts backup quarterback Trevor Harris was stellar in his first start in a season-opener. Toronto’s No. 1 Ricky Ray is on the six-game disabled list rehabilitating from off-season shoulder surgery.
Harris completed 24 of 27 pass attempts for 347 yards and no interceptions. He threw touchdown passes to Brandon Whitaker, Vidal Hazelton and Tori Gurley as well as a two-point convert throw to Chad Owens.
Edmonton starter Mike Reilly was 16-for-28 in passing for 170 yards, with a touchdown throw to Kenny Stafford in the opening quarter. Eskimos kicker Grant Shaw kicked a field goal and a pair of punt singles.
Toronto kicker Swayze Waters left the game with a quadricep injury late in the first half, which pressed receiver David Stala into kick and punt duties.
Harris followed a 42-yard strike to Owens with a 17-yard touchdown throw to Gurley in the first minute of the fourth quarter. The Argos pivot strung together a 53-yard pass to Kevin Elliott and another three-yarder to Hazelton to score midway through the third.
Stala managed a 43-yard punt single, but missed a 23-yard field goal attempt in the fourth quarter. Without Waters, Toronto had little choice but to go for two-point converts in the second half.
Harris was successful in the fourth quarter on a three-yard toss to Owens. The Argos failed on three attempts in the third quarter when Edmonton penalties gave them multiple tries.
Shaw’s 39-yard field goal was the only scoring of the second quarter, although Reilly’s 53-yard touchdown throw to Adarius Bowman in the final minute was called back on a holding penalty.
Harris connected with Whitaker on the sideline for a 57-yard touchdown on the opening quarter’s final play for a 10-7 lead. Toronto picked up Whitaker, a seven-year CFL veteran, when he released by the Montreal Alouettes following training camp.
A punt fumble by Owens gave the Eskimos the ball deep in Toronto territory late in the first quarter. Reilly capitalized on the mistake with a 26-yard touchdown throw to Stafford in the end zone. Shaw missed the new 32-yard convert introduced to the CFL this season.
Waters was wide on a 46-yard field goal attempt in the quarter.
Edmonton back Ryan Hinds prevented an Argos touchdown on the game’s opening drive when he caught up with Whitaker and brought the Argonauts down on a 59-yard rumble.
John Ojo recovered Whitaker’s fumble to get the ball on Edmonton’s doorstep, but the Eskimos conceded a two-point safety when ball carrier Chad Simpson was tackled in the end zone by Toronto’s Euclid Cummings.
The temperature for mid-afternoon kickoff was 31. In a nod to the Argos as the home team, the end zones featured Toronto’s logo and their player introductions were accompanied by fireworks.
SMS Equipment Stadium at Shell Place was christened earlier this month with a pre-season game between the Eskimos and Saskatchewan Roughriders. That game and Saturday’s have been dubbed the most northerly CFL games ever played.
The stadium, which features CFL-sized turf, has 4,354 permanent seats, but was expanded to 15,000 for Saturday’s game.
Attendance was well down from the 11,800 who attended the pre-season as the stands were half full.
Comments