Week 12 Review
Chad Kelly surprised me with an Argos win, and the Als stopped the Elks streak with a comeback win.
Matchup 1: Saskatchewan Roughriders 19 - 20 Toronto Argonauts
I did not have high expectations for Chad Kelly’s return after the 9 game suspension, but he played very well in this defensive battle. Chad had 322 yardson24/39 passing with an interception. The running game was also slow for the Argos, as the leading rusher, Ka’Deem Carey, had just 35 yards. Cameron Dukes ran for a touchdown for Toronto in his 1-yard affair. Lirim Hajrullahu, the kicker for the Argonauts, went 4/5 on field goals, made the extra point and scored a single on the miss. For Saskatchewan, Trevor Harris had a sloppy game. He had 2 interceptions to just one touchdown and only passed for 190 yards. Frankie Hickson ran for 79 yards with a long of 14 yards. Brett Lauther got back on track in his kicking game, nailing all 5 kicks, 4 field goals, and 1 extra point.
Matchup 2: Hamilton Tiger-Cats 23 - 26 Winnipeg Blue Bombers
This was the most exciting game this week, which is saying a lot since 3 of the 4 games were 1 possession games, and the Elks almost had a game-winning drive as Zach Collaros put together. Winnipeg to the ball at the 38-yard line, down 4 points with 1:48 left in the game. ZachCollaros went deep on the first pass, but it was incomplete to Nic Demski. 2 plays later on 3rd & 3, Ontaria Wilson caught a pass for 16 yards and the first down to the Hamilton 49. After a flag and a few Brady Oliveria runs, Nic Demski had a 9-yard reception to get to the 13-yard line and enter the red zone. Then with 19 seconds left at the 10-yard line on 2nd & 10, Zach Collaros found Kenny Lawler on the left in the end zone for a game-winning touchdown. Collaros had a rough game overall with 177 yards, 1 touchdown, and 3 interceptions. Last year in week 12, Zach Collaros threw 3 interceptions in the Bombers' 47-17 win over the Alouettes. Brady Oliveria was a force with 120 yards on 18 carries. Sergio Castillo was another kicker with 4 field goals made this week going 4/4 and making both extra points.
Bo Levi Mitchell completed just 50% of his passes on Friday night, going 14/28 for 220 yards. He had no touchdowns or interceptions. Greg Bell had 2 rushing touchdowns for the Ticats, also gaining 41 yards. The difference for the Tiger-Cats might have been their kicker. Marc Leigghio went 3/4, and if he had made that field goal, Hamilton would have had a chance to win it in overtime. But instead, Winnipeg scored a game-winning touchdown.
Matchup 3: BC Lions 27 - 34 Ottawa Redblacks
Dru Brown returned from injury and had one of the best games by any player all season. Dru had 390 yards and 3 touchdowns on 28 completed passes and threw one interception. Justin Hardy had 114 receiving yards, and Nick Mardner had 95 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns. Nathan Rourke improved from last week but is making it hard on BC to continue to play him as Vernon Adams nears his return from injury. Rourke had 234 yards and 1 interception. William Stanback had a great game, just one yard short of 100 yards. David Mackie had 2 rushing touchdowns from the 1 each time. Sean Whyte went 4/5, ending his field goal streak, but all of his makes were close, as his longest was 35 yards.
Matchup 4: Edmonton Elks 17 - 21 Montreal Alouettes
The Elks game-winning drive was stopped by the hands of national DB Marc-Antoine Dequoy with no time on the clock to seal the win for the Als. McLeod has improved since he was replaced by Tre, but I have to imagine that when Tre Ford comes back, he will be the starting quarterback. McLeod Bethel-Thompson was 21/33 for 200 yards and 2 touchdowns. Kevin Brown returned and ran for 105 yards, but Javon Leake did not have any rush attempts. Boris Bede went 1/2 and made from 19. That is very easy for a pro kicker, in fact, I made a 20-yard field goal on the last day of school in 7th grade when we got to play on the football field. Cody Fajardo has returned from the IR and is making the Alouettes one of the most dangerous teams in CFL history. He passed 22/34 with 336 yards, 2 touchdowns, but 1 interception. Cole Spieker had both receiving touchdowns and also had 107 receiving yards. Jose Carlos Maltos made all 3 of his field goals, but none were more than 28 yards.
Player Of The Week: Dru Brown
Game Of The Week: Hamilton Tiger-Cats @ Winnipeg Blue Bombers