VANCOUVER — Nick Arbuckle’s first Grey Cup start was a victorious one.
Arbuckle threw two touchdown passes to lead the Toronto Argonauts to a 41-24 victory over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and win MVP honours on Sunday. Arbuckle got the start after incumbent Chad Kelly suffered a leg injury in last weekend’s East Division final.
Toronto captured its 19th Grey Cup, the most in CFL history. The Argos have won in their last eight appearances dating back to 1991 and improved to 8-0 all-time against Winnipeg in the big game.
Winnipeg was appearing in its fifth straight Grey Cup but suffered its third consecutive loss.
Toronto registered three interceptions in the fourth quarter, returning them a combined 164 yards — a Grey Cup record — and a touchdown, outscoring Winnipeg 24-11 in the frame. The Argos also tied the game record with four interceptions.
Lirim Hajrullahu’s 14-yard field goal at 9:49 of the fourth put Toronto ahead 27-16. It followed DaShaun Amos’s 45-yard interception return and misconduct penalty to Bomber Deatrick Nichols that put the Argos at the Winnipeg eight-yard line.
Arbuckle found Dejon Brissett on a 17-yard TD at 7:29 to give Toronto a 24-16 advantage. Brissett was named the game’s top Canadian.
Robert Priester clinched the win for the Argos with a 61-yard pick-six that put the Argos ahead 34-16 with 3:12 to play.
Ka’Deem Carey scored on a four-yard run at 12:46 that followed Wynton McManis’s 58-yard interception return.
Arbuckle finished 26-of-37 passing for 252 yards and two TDs.
Winnipeg starter Zach Collaros, the only CFL player to make five straight Grey Cup starts, was 15-of-30 passing for 202 yards and four interceptions. Brady Oliveira, the league’s outstanding player and top Canadian this year, ran for 84 yards and a TD, scoring on a one-yard run before adding the two-point convert with less than a minute to play.
Prince Harry made a surprising pre-game appearance and received a nice reception from the raucous B.C. Place Stadium gathering of 52,349. The Duke of Sussex is promoting the Invictus Games — which were founded in 2014 — that will be held in Vancouver and Whistler, B.C., from Feb. 8-16.
It was a wild finish to the third and a start to the fourth. Winnipeg’s Michael Ayers blocked John Haggerty’s punt late in the third but the Bombers were flagged for loose ball interference, giving Toronto the ball at its 23-yard line.
However, Willie Jefferson intercepted Arbuckle early in the fourth, returning to the Toronto 30-yard line. Yet the Bombers could only muster Sergio Castillo’s 23-yard field goal at 2:26 to pull to within 17-16.
Kevin Mital scored Toronto’s other touchdown. Hajrullahu booted four field goals and four converts while Haggerty added a single.
Terry Wilson scored Winnipeg’s touchdown. Castillo kicked the convert and three field goals.
Following the Jonas Brothers’ halftime performance, Haggerty’s 70-yard punt went for a single at 2:40 of the third to make it 10-10. Arbuckle put the Argos ahead 17-10 at 8:47 with a 17-yard TD pass to Mital, which was set up by Jack Cassar’s recovery of Willie Whitehead’s fumble on a punt return at the Winnipeg 17.
It came a play after Jefferson forced Arbuckle to fumble during a sack but Toronto centre Peter Nicastro recovered.
Castillo’s 40-yard field goal at 12:46 pulled Winnipeg to within 17-13. It was set up by Terrell Bonds’ interception.
Two Hajrullahu field goals late in the second quarter cut Winnipeg’s halftime lead to 10-9. Hajrullahu connected from 45 yards out at 14:46 following Benjie Franklin’s interception.
Toronto settled for Hajrullahu’s 35-yard field goal at 12:50. The Argos were second-and-eight from the Winnipeg 13-yard line but an offside penalty and Jefferson sack forced Hajrullahu onto the field.
Arbuckle opened the game completing his first eight passes but for just 44 yards. He finished the half 15-of-18 passing for 146 yards and did a solid job of distributing the ball, finding eight Argos receivers.
Collaros started slowly but completed six-of-12 passes for 114 yards with the pick. Only three Bombers had catches, with Ontaria Wilson leading the way with four receptions for 85 yards.
Castillo’s 20-yard field goal at 8:48 stretched Winnipeg’s lead to 10-3.
Wilson’s three-yard run at 14:42 of the first put Winnipeg ahead 7-3 with Collaros’s 49-yard completion to Wilson being the drive’s biggest play. Hajrullahu opened the scoring with a 13-yard field goal at 7:02 to cap Toronto’s first possession.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published No. 17, 2024.
Dan Ralph, The Canadian Press