ARGOS DOWN ALOUETTES 26-22
TORONTO – James Franklin’s record-tying one-yard TD run with 56 seconds remaining rallied the Toronto Argonauts to a 26-22 win over the Montreal Alouettes on Saturday.
Franklin scored his 14th TD of the season – tying Doug Flutie’s league record for most rushing touchdowns by a quarterback – to cap a 75-yard, nine-play drive. It was Franklin’s second score of the game and avenged a pick-six he surrendered earlier in the quarter.
Tevaugh Campbell returned Franklin’s interception 37 yards for the touchdown at 9:10 to put Montreal ahead 21-13. Drew Brown field goals of 37 and 38 yards pulled Toronto to within 21-19 with just over six minutes remaining before Boris Bede’s single off a missed 39-yard try made it 22-19 at 12:39.
Franklin was 26-of-37 passing for 277 yards and two interceptions, helping Toronto (4-12) snap an ugly seven-game losing streak. He also prevented Montreal starter Johnny Manziel from securing his first CFL victory.
The former Heisman Trophy winner was 23-of-31 passing for 221 yards with a TD and interception, but dropped to 0-6 as a CFL starter. The Montreal record is 0-10 held by Carroll Williams (1967-68) while the league record is 0-11 held by George Herring (1958-59, B.C.-Sask).
Montreal (3-11) fell to last in the East Division standings. The two teams meet next weekend in La Belle Province with the season series tied 1-1.
Toronto opened the second half with a 78-yard, 14-play drive. But after Franklin missed a wide-open Armanti Edwards in the endzone, the Argos settled for Brown’s 11-yard field goal to pull to within 14-13 at 7:22 of the third.
Brown finished with two converts and four field goals.
Eugene Lewis scored Montreal’s other touchdown. Bede had two field goals, two converts and two singles.
Manziel’s 11-yard TD strike to Lewis with seven seconds left in the second staked Montreal to its 14-10 half-time advantage. Manziel completed all five passes he tried on the six-play, 75-yard scoring drive for 70 yards.
Manziel was 14-of-19 passing for 139 yards with a TD and interception in the first half, one that saw Montreal roll up 292 net offensive yards. Franklin completed 9-of-15 attempts for 136 yards with an interception as the Argos accumulated just 139 yards offensively while holding the ball for just over 11 minutes.
Lewis’s TD came after Bede’s errant boot from 39 yards out went for a single at 11:59, cutting Toronto’s lead to 10-7. Bede and Brown exchanged 37-yard field goals at 1:47 and 5:56, respectively.
Franklin opened the scoring with a one-yard TD run at 4:48 of the first before Bede’s 24-yard field goal at 10:10.
(Canadian Press)
