Judy Garland famously said in her role as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz that theres no place like home. The Toronto Argonauts would likely take issue with that sentiment. On Friday night, the Argos lost a close one to the Calgary Stampeders at the Rogers Centre by a final score of 23-20. The loss extended the Argos franchise record home losing streak to ten consecutive games, while dropping their overall record on the CFL season to 2-6. Calgary evened their record at 4-4 with the victory.
Henry Burris was happy with the victory despite the Argos recent struggles on their own field. Heading into the game, Calgary had lost 8 of 10 at Toronto :
“Rogers Centre has never been a fun place for us to play. We’ve had some tough games here against some hard-hitting Argos teams. This team has been through a lot and with the belief we have in one another, we were able to fight back and respond when it really counted.”
Toronto could have tied the game as time ran out with a long field goal, but Argos coach Bart Andrus kept the offense on the field for a last ditch effort to score a touchdown rather than go for the tie.
Andrus is already hearing some criticism of this decision, and he addressed it after the game:
“I’ll take the heat on the call to not kick the field goal. The distance bothered me. That was my worry. The 57-yarder against Winnipeg came with the roof open. I just wasn’t comfortable with it.”
Medlock all but second guessed his coach as he expressed his wish for a shot at the game tying field goal:
“I definitely thought I could’ve made it but never got the chance. Maybe I should’ve run on to the field. I hit the crossbar in practice from 60 yards out.”
After the contest, Stamps coach/GM John Hufnagel indicated his pleasure with his teams effort:
“If it was going to be a close game I wanted our defence on the field at the end to protect the lead and that’s what happened. I think it’s really a big step for this football team. I’m very pleased with the defence, I’m very pleased with the offence in the second half when they had to answer points . . . we got the momentum back each and every time.”
Next up for the Stampeders is a home and home series with their provincial rivals, the Edmonton Eskimos. Toronto and Hamilton will also play a pair of games against each other, with the first game of the set at Hamilton and the rematch back at the Rogers Centre in Toronto.
Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and respected authority on football betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.