Ticats, Argos finish tied in Halifax
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Toronto Argonauts gave Halifax football fans a taste of live CFL action Saturday. Judging by their response, Haligonians are hungry for more.
An enthusiastic crowd of more than 11,000 watched the Tiger-Cats and Argonauts play to a 16-16 deadlock in a pre-season contest that came down to the final play.
Ticats kicker Jamie Boreham booted a 15-yard field goal with two seconds remaining in the fourth quarter to tie the game.
The play capped a second-half comeback for Hamilton, as the Tiger-Cats tallied all 16 of their points over the last two quarters.
Several fans in attendance at Huskies Stadium booed when the referee announced the game would end in a tie since there is no overtime in CFL exhibition play.
"Everything went according to plan as far as showcasing this game, the enthusiasm is there," said Argos defensive back Adrion Smith, who was named player of the game for hauling in two interceptions.
Toronto built a 13-0 advantage at the half by taking advantage of a number of Hamilton turnovers.
Argos kicker Noel Prefontaine booted a 16-yard field goal with one minute and 30 seconds remaining in the first quarter to give Toronto the first lead of the game.
Toronto's defence scored the first touchdown of the night on the next series when defensive back Jordan Younger picked off Hamilton quarterback Danny McManus â one of three McManus interceptions â and ran back 41 yards for a touchdown in the closing minute of the quarter.
The Ticats struck back in the second half. Fullback Julian Radlein rumbled in for a one-yard major in the final minute of the third quarter to pull Hamilton to within seven points after a failed convert.
Hamilton third-string quarterback Ben Sankey later connected with running back Craig Yeast in the fourth on a 51-yard touchdown pass to put Hamilton in position to tie the game in the closing seconds.
The game, dubbed "Touchdown Atlantic," was part of the CFL testing the waters for possible expansion into the Maritimes.
When the Halifax event was announced last November, CFL commissioner Tom Wright said the game would help the league determine whether there's enough fan interest to warrant the league expanding into the region.
Wright is currently looking at the feasibility of adding a 10th CFL franchise by 2008, mentioning Quebec City or Halifax as possible candidates, but only if a 25,000-seat stadium was in place and the league was convinced the new franchise would work.
The Argos will meet the Ticats in Hamilton next Friday in the final exhibition game of the season. The regular season kicks off June 22 when the Ticats travel to Montreal to take on the Alouettes.
with files from Canadian Press