Close But No Cigar -A Double Blue Game Story

Toronto – The stands slowly begin to fill up as the fans get ready for the night with snacks and drinks. The chatter in the stadium gets louder and louder as the crowd sets the atmosphere for an exciting game, and we weren’t let down.

It all began with the opening kick off. The Argos had possession of the ball and didn’t waste any time as Devon Wylie returned the ball to the 37-yard line. The fans barely had enough time to celebrate the great start before returning quarterback, Ricky Ray, found Kevin Elliot in the end-zone for a 21-yard pass on the opening drive for the first touchdown of the game. Hajrullahu brings the score to 7-0 for double-blue with a  32 yard convert.

Rod Black said it best “Ricky Ray is back” as Ray finds @CatchinMyDreams for the early touchdown. #CFLGameDay pic.twitter.com/okV5aewywD

— CFL on TSN (@CFLonTSN) August 31, 2016

The BC Lions put up a good fight as the game progressed. In the last play of the first quarter, Johnathon Jennings of the Lions goes deep for a touchdown but AJ Jefferson saves it with his third interception of the season. BC bounces back moments later with a touchdown to set the score to a close 7-6, after missing the two-point conversion. The score is tied after BC punts a 70-yard single. The Argos were determined to take the lead as Hajrullahu makes his first field goal attempt from 44-yards away, making the score 10-7 in the final moments of the second quarter.  The excitement in the stadium was evident as the Argos held the lead at half-time.

.@Lirim_70 fights off the wind to give the @TorontoArgos the lead just before halftime. #CFLGameDay pic.twitter.com/D07heaPnI0

— CFL on TSN (@CFLonTSN) September 1, 2016

Shortly into the third quarter, BC makes a come back to tie it up with a 47-yard field goal. The competition was set on wrapping up the third quarter in the lead as BC’s Leone made a 22-yard field goal, putting the Argonauts behind at 13-10.

In the early moments of the final quarter, Hajrullahu put up 3 points from 20-yards out to tie it up at 13-13. This was only the beginning of a close fourth quarter.
Both teams put up a good defence for a nail-biting fourth quarter but as the clock ran out, BC finished the game with a kick from 30-yards out causing the Argos to lose 16-13.

Although disappointed by the final score, fans continued to cheer for the Argos as the stadium cleared. We may not have won but the fans are still clearly proud of the Argo’s hard work in this game, it will take a lot more than that to break the double-blue.

Written by Reagan Bradnam (@ReaganHoggard)