HAMILTON, Ont. — No official practice, no problem for Tre Ford.
The Niagara Falls, Ont., native threw for 218 yards and a touchdown and ran for a game-high 109 yards as the Hamilton Tiger-Cats nipped the Toronto Argonauts 24-23 on Saturday night.
It was Ford's first start for the Tiger-Cats and followed a week where poor air quality relegated them to mostly indoor walk-through practices.
"When you have a week like this when you don't get a lot of practise, having legs definitely helps," said Ford. "It's tough to get to those third and fourth reads when you don't practise.
"Those are the kind of things you want to practise and be able to see through against a defence … It was obviously nice to go out there and get the win, but I definitely want practice next week."
Ford finished 21-of-27 passing and his athleticism helped Hamilton (3-3) convert 15-of-23 second-down chances. The Ticats earned their first win in three games but more importantly their first since starter Bo Levi Mitchell (ankle) was hurt in a 14-13 home loss to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on July 5.
Hamilton won despite finishing with a makeshift offensive line as tackles Trevor Reid and Quinton Barrow were hurt. That forced guards Brandon Revenberg and Nate Dumoulin-Duguay to kick outside, centre Liam Dobson and tight end Max Mang to go to guard and backup centre Kris Kolankowski to replace Dobson.
Still, Hamilton needed a little divine intervention for the win. Veteran Toronto kicker Lirim Hajrullahu missed a 31-yard field goal on the game's final play after the Argos (2-4) drove 58 yards on seven plays.
"It's not a fair game," said Hamilton head coach Scott Milanovich. "But every now and then you get what you deserve and I felt like that's what happened tonight at the end."
Hajrullahu also missed a convert that allowed Hamilton to cling to its 24-23 advantage. And last week, he missed a 40-yard field goal attempt that was returned 129 yards for the touchdown in a 30-21 road loss to Winnipeg.
But that certainly didn't take away from Ford's strong performance as he anchored Hamilton's 157-yard rushing attack.
"There's a couple of throws (Ford) is going to want to have back, but I thought, all in all, the young man played amazingly well," Milanovich said. "He gave us a shot in the arm.
"He made some really good throws, obviously made some good runs. It's pretty big, we needed that, we needed to kind of get a little belief back and I thought we did that."
Hamilton looked poised to go ahead 27-23 but kicker Marc Liegghio missed from 49 yards out. Nick Arbuckle's one-yard TD run at 7:25 of the fourth pulled Toronto to within 24-23, capping a 10-play, 97-yard march that included unnecessary roughness and pass interference calls against Hamilton.
Chad Kelly's five-yard TD strike to David Ungerer III 46 seconds into the fourth cut Hamilton's lead to 24-17. Kelly completed 25-of-35 passes for 322 yards with a touchdown and interception, while Tyler Kahmann registered six catches for a game-high 104 yards.
"It's always tough losing a game but it never comes down to one play, it never does," said Toronto head coach Mike Miller. "The reality is it's a team game.
"You feel for (Hajrullahu), he's a great teammate and a guy who's invested in our program. I know it's very disappointing and hurts deep but unfortunately that's part of the game, too."
The game began on time despite both teams being sent to their dressing rooms during warm-ups due to poor air quality caused by wildfires in northwestern Ontario. Under the CFL's air-quality policy, if the Air Quality Health Index reaches eight or higher as per metrics provided by Environment Canada, teams will be sent off the field.
Both teams returned to the field at around 7:05 p.m. ET, and kickoff commenced on schedule. High air-quality readings in southern Ontario also forced Toronto indoors for its practices last week in Guelph, Ont.
Kenny Lawler, Ante Litre and Jake Dolegala had Hamilton's touchdowns. Liegghio booted the converts and a field goal.
Arbuckle had two TDs for Toronto. Hajrullahu added two converts and a field goal.
Liegghio connected from 11 yards out at 13:33 of the third to give Hamilton a 24-10 lead. Hajrullahu's 12-yard boot pulled Toronto to within 21-10 at 8:50 following Dymere Miller's 71-yard kickoff return.
Dolegala staked Hamilton to a 21-7 lead with a one-yard scoring run at 6:11. It was set up by Jamal Peters' interception and return to the Toronto 31-yard line.
Litre's one-yard TD run at 14:41 of the second gave Hamilton a 14-7 halftime lead. Ford keyed the 14-play, 100-yard march by completing six-of-seven passes for 42 yards and rushing three times for 21 yards.
Ford's 25-yard TD strike to Lawler at 10:12 of the first made it 7-7, ending an impressive eight-play, 70-yard drive on Hamilton's first possession. Arbuckle's one-yard touchdown run at 5:39 capped Toronto's opening 10-play, 64-yard march that was aided by a Ticats roughing-the-passer penalty on a second-down sack.
UP NEXT
Argonauts: Visit the B.C. Lions on Saturday, July 25.
Tiger-Cats: Visit the Montreal Alouettes on Sunday, July 26.
