ARGOS GAME REPORT: Argos’ late push falls short in loss to Stamps

CFL — By jeremy on August 31, 2009 at 1:28 pm

Jermaine Copeland's late TD sealed Toronto's fate

TORONTO – The way things have gone for the Argos this season, you had to figure a late fourth quarter lead wasn’t safe Friday. Henry Burris connected with Jeremaine Copeland for an eight-yard touchdown with 46 seconds remaining, giving Calgary a 23-20 win and handing the Argos a club-record 10th straight loss at home.

Toronto grabbed a 20-16 lead when Cody Pickett found P.K. Sam in the corner of the end zone with 4:22 to play and even forced a turnover on Calgary’s ensuing possession, but a two-and-out of their own gave Burris a chance to lead the Stampeders downfield. The Argos’ final push ended when head coach Bart Andrus opted for a hail mary on the game’s final play as opposed to a Justin Medlock 57-yard field goal attempt.

“The distance bothered me,” Andrus said afterward of the decision to keep Medlock on the sidelines. “I watched him kick in pre-game and wasn’t sure if 57 was in his range. I just wasn’t comfortable with it.”

Medlock’s only miss of the season was an identical 57-yarder late against Winnipeg on August 1 in a game Toronto lost 13-12. That kick had the distance but hit the left upright, and all 20 of his other attempts in 2009 have been successful. After the game, Medlock said he was prepared to kick and insisted the deep attempt would’ve been in his range.

“I was ready and waiting to kick,” Medlock said. “I thought it was in my range. I wanted a chance, but it didn’t happen.”

The Argos got another solid performance from Cody Pickett, who completed 32-of-45 attempts for 311 yards in his second start, though most of his throws were toward the sidelines as opposed to downfield. He found Sam, who was making his season debut, twice for touchdowns.

“It’s good for me to get my feet wet,” Sam said of his performance. “But we came up short.

“I told the guys I’d rather win and not have a catch. I haven’t won a game as an Argo. All the stats are fine, but as a team it doesn’t get you anywhere.”

Sam played six games in 2008 with Toronto and rejoined the team after being released by the Buffalo Bills early this month. His 75 receiving yards Friday were second on the team to Jamal Robertson, who had 91 on 11 receptions.

Similar to their loss to B.C. two weeks ago, the Argos’ defense was dominant in the first half, holding Burris to just 75 passing yards in a 3-3 tie. The second half was a different story, though — Burris threw for 185 yards and two touchdowns and running back Jeffrey Reynolds shredded Toronto’s front line, finishing with 114 yards, 63 of which came after halftime. Burris rushed for 32 yards of his own and was able to get out of the pocket and do damage outside the hash marks.

“We wanted Burris to beat us with his arm,” Argos linebacker Zeke Moreno said after the game. “When he’s a double threat, that’s when he makes big plays. We wanted to contain him and make him a drop-back passer, and we did a good job of that in the first half and kind of got away from that in the second half.”

Moreno had a key interception early in the third quarter — one of three Calgary turnovers — but it wasn’t enough in the end. The loss was Toronto’s fourth straight overall and dropped their record to 2-6 — worst in the CFL.

“We’re making strides,” Pickett said afterward, “but we just need to find a way to get wins. We’re all competitors and hate losing, but we need to try and find the positives and go forward next week and get a win.”