The Alouettes allowed the Argonauts to control the line of scrimmage and kicker on Saturday night in a 37-31 setback in their first defeat in eight road games this season.
On the ground the Toronto team rushed the ball 30 times for 234 yards and 2 touchdowns. The two running backs, Ka’Deem Carey and Deonta McMahon, got into the end zone.
What most probably gave Cary a slim victory over Notre Dame College was when Lirim Hajrullahu broke a team record for eight field goals. He didn’t miss a single one.
Nevertheless the Alouettes were declared Eastern Division champions after the Ottawa Redblacks were defeated 29-16 by the Saskatchewan Roughiders.
Quarterback Cody Fajardo had an honest night, and he threw for 225 yards on 20 of 29 passing, with two TDs and one pick.
Chad Kelly passed the ball for 19 of 30 yards totaling 287 yards and one interception.
This win puts the Argos only one point behind the Red & Blacks for second in the East but a clear four points ahead of the Hamilton Tiger Cats who sit in fourth place.
Overtime so, we saw good ground game from the Argonauts. The home team started scoring in the first quarter with a 32 yard field goal by Hajrullahu.
Dionte Ruffin then intercepted his fifth of the year and Fajardo made the Argonauts pay in a hurry.
On the next play the Alouettes pivot connected with Walter Fletcher to score the touchdown play of ten yards.
James Letcher Jr. then scored a 100-yard kick return touchdown to give the Alouettes a 22-19 lead, but the Argonauts tied 22-22 on Hajrullahu’s fifth field goal with three seconds left in the first half.
It was the Alouettes’ best chance for the lead in the game since early into the third quarter when Jose Maltos filed a 45-yard field goal attempt but failed.
The Argonauts then responded with their favourite weapon in this encounter: the ground game. This time McMahon rushed for the six yard touchdown run.
Hajrullahu kicked the Argonauts into the lead in the fourth quarter by scoring his sixth field goal in the game 31-23, but Fajardo never relented.
The Sparrows quarterback hit four straight passes, the final one a 34-yard connection to Reggie White Jr. Dominique Davis delivered the last blow with a quarterback sneak in the end zone.
Fajardo then hit Tyler Snead for a two-point convert to tie things up at 31-31.
There remained only two minutes and two seconds to play and Hajrullahu for the seventh time successfully converted the field goal to pretty much seal the fate of the game.
He was able to tie the record with seven before including an eighth late in the game.
