Argos hand Lions 1st loss of season with strong defensive performance

The patience of Ricky Ray and the kicking of Lirim Hajrullahu proved to be a winning combination on the road again for the Toronto Argonauts.

Toronto knocked off the previously-unbeaten B.C. Lions 25-14 Thursday for its second road win in a row.

Ray only generated one touchdown drive, but his scoring strike in the fourth quarter to Tori Gurley from 15 yards out provided the Argos what they needed.

Hajrullahu did the rest, connecting on six-of-seven field goals and making the most of a game in which the Argos running game led by tailback Brandon Whitaker came alive. Toronto only had one rushing yard in its season opener and 67 through two games.

"We had to stay patient all night long," said Ray after he went over the 53,000-yard mark in career passing and within 18 yards of Danny McManus in fourth on the all-time list. "Putting together that drive in the fourth was big for us."

It was a game which featured the future Canadian Hall of Fame quarterback against Lions sophomore Jon Jennings and experience showed in the end.

Turnovers made the difference

Jennings was intercepted by Toronto's Keon Raymond in the second half. Raymond has picked off four of the 12 interceptions thrown by the B.C. quarterback in his young career. The throw was the last of the game for Jennings, who was replaced behind centre by Travis Lulay.

B.C. (2-1) committed four turnovers, while the Argos were flawless.

"Two games we've won and two games we've won the turnover battle. That's the difference," Argos coach Scott Milanovich said.

Gurley and Ray capped off the fourth-quarter drive with 9:32 left, which was aided by a roughing the passer penalty call assessed against Lions linebacker Bo Lokombo that angered the announced crowd of 18,921 fans.

"I was surprised from the beginning. It was a bad call," said Lokombo.

The first half was dominated by both defences and the Argos led 9-6 at intermission.

Defensive battle

B.C. was first to establish a ground game. Anthony Allen, making his first B.C. start with regular tailback Jeremiah Johnson out with an ankle injury, had a pair of long runs to set up the only touchdown in the first two quarters.

Jennings converted a seven play, 74-yard drive on a one-yard sneak that was set up two snaps earlier with a 35-yard passing strike to Emmanuel Arceneaux. A two-point convert attempt failed.

However the Lions offence couldn't generate much more offence, leaving it to their defence to hold Ray and the Argos offence. The defensive struggle was a strategy battle between defensive coordinators Rich Stubler of the Argos, who formerly worked on the same staff in B.C., and the Lions' Mark Washington.

"They just started dropping people back," said Jennings when asked why he had trouble moving his team after the opening drive. "We were still trying to shoot the ball downfield and I had to use more checkdowns. We kept shooting ourselves in the foot. We'd get a good run or play and it would get called back for a penalty."

The Lions defence had chances to make the score closer. Ryan Phillips stepped in front of a Ray pass in the first half with the Argos deep in their own end but couldn't secure the ball before running into the end zone. Safety Mike Edem also dropped a Ray pass in the Lions end zone which allowed Toronto to escape with another three pointer.

Allen had his first, 100-yard rushing game in his Lions debut but Jennings and Lulay were unable to convert his field position gains until the final stages, when the Lions tailback caught a 15-yard touchdown pass from Lulay with 5:42 left.

The Lions next play on the road against Saskatchewan July 16. The Argos return home to play host to Ottawa on Wednesday.