Chad Kelly leads Toronto to 37-22 Labour Day win over Ticats to claim season series

Chad Kelly threw three touchdown passes to lead the Toronto Argonauts to a 37-22 Labour Day victory over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Monday afternoon.

Toronto (6-6) claimed its fourth win in its last five Labour Day visits to Hamilton Stadium. More importantly, the Argos clinched the season series 2-1 and moved four points ahead of Hamilton (4-9) in the battle for second in the East Division.

Lirim Hajrullahu’s nine-yard field goal at 7:31 of the fourth boosted Toronto’s advantage to 30-14. Harrison Frost found Kurleigh Gittens Jr. on a six-yard TD pass, then Ante Litre on the two-point convert at 12:46 to pull Hamilton to within 30-22.

But Kelly cemented the win with a 21-yard TD pass to David Ungerer III at 13:17 to make it 36-22. Kelly was 23-of-35 passing for 319 yards with an interception.

Hamilton still leads the overall series 37-17-1 but faces a near-impossible task to reach the playoffs. The Ticats have five regular-season games _ one less than Toronto _ to move past the Argos into second.

That’s the only surefire way to secure a post-season berth in the East. Montreal (CFL-best 10-2 record) is running away with first in the division and there’s the real threat of the West Division’s fourth-place finisher crossing over for the playoffs.

But Hamilton lost more than a third straight game. Starter Tre Ford (upper-body injury) was ruled out to open the third quarter and replaced by Frost. He completed 16-of-28 passes for 214 yards with two TDs and an interception before a sun-drenched Hamilton Stadium sellout gathering of 25,274.

Jake Herslow, Damonte Coxie and Isaiah Smith had Toronto’s other touchdowns. Hajrullahu kicked three field goals and four converts.

Gittens Jr., with two, and Ford scored Hamilton’s touchdowns. Marc Liegghio added the converts.

Frost hit Gittens on a 23-yard TD pass at 12:28 of the third to pull Hamilton to within 27-14.

Smith’s two-yard run at 4:40 put Toronto ahead 27-7. It was set up by DaShaun Amos’s interception of Frost and a 55-yard return to Hamilton’s two-yard line.

Frost marched Hamilton 70 yards to Toronto’s five-yard line before defender Benjie Franklin forced, then recovered Kenny Lawler’s fumble at the Argos’ seven-yard line.

Kelly staked Toronto to a 20-7 halftime lead with a 29-yard TD pass to Coxie at 14:45 of the second quarter. It capped an 11-play, 105-yard drive that saw Kelly complete six-of-eight passes for 108 yards.

Ford completed four-of-nine passes for 75 yards as Hamilton’s offence managed 103 net yards and just four first downs.

Kelly’s 13-yard strike to Herslow at 10:56 of the second gave Toronto a 13-7 lead.

Ford put Hamilton ahead 7-6 on a 23-yard TD run at 5:06. The three-play, 72-yard march was set up by Jamal Peters’ interception, Kelly’s CFL-high 18th.

But Ford appeared to be hurt on the play. He went under the medical tent on Hamilton’s sideline after scoring but returned to the bench shortly afterwards and led the offence out on its next possession.

Hajrullahu hit from 40 yards out at 13:34 of the first to put Toronto up 6-0. He opened the scoring with a 52-yard boot at 6:50 that followed a stunning no-yards penalty against Hamilton’s Tyler Ternowski.

The Canadian receiver was flagged for trying to tip a bouncing ball back toward the field at the goal-line on a punt. The 15-yard penalty was assessed from the 40-yard line, where the ball would’ve originally been placed.