Lirim Hajrullahu’s field goal earns Argos home win in Chad Kelly’s ’24 debut

In a night filled with missed opportunities, it was fitting that a wayward field goal attempt ultimately secured Chad Kelly’s season debut with a victory.

Lirim Hajrullahu’s single on the final play of the game gave Toronto a dramatic 20-19 win over the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Thursday night. After making his first four field goals, Hajrullahu missed a 40-yard attempt, but the ensuing single point gave the Argos (6-4) their fifth home win in six games.

“First game back, I had a lot of nervousness, but we came out on top,” Kelly said. “A win is a win, and that single point is huge against coach Mace, who knows all of us—what we’re good at and what we’re bad at.”

Corey Mace, in his first season as Saskatchewan’s head coach, previously served as Toronto’s defensive coordinator (2022-23).

Kelly, 30, saw his first action since being reinstated by the CFL on Sunday, with conditions. The league had suspended him on May 7 for Toronto’s two exhibition games and the first nine regular-season contests for violating its gender-based violence policy. This followed an independent investigation into a lawsuit filed by a former Argos strength-and-conditioning coach against Kelly for sexual harassment and the team for wrongful dismissal. The lawsuit was settled through mediation in June.

A season-high crowd of 19,327 at BMO Field, boosted by the Canadian National Exhibition, greeted Kelly with a warm ovation when he was introduced. Kelly, the CFL’s top player last season, was playing his first game since Toronto’s 38-17 East Division final loss to Montreal last November. He showed signs of rust, completing 24-of-39 passes for 322 yards with an interception. The Argos turned the ball over on downs three times at Saskatchewan’s goal line during the game.

Late in the game, Saskatchewan took possession at its eight-yard line, but after a sack and an incompletion, they punted from their one-yard line with 26 seconds left. Janarion Grant’s 12-yard return put Toronto at the Riders’ 37 with 16 seconds remaining.

“I thought Chad was seeing the field and doing what he needed to do,” said Toronto head coach Ryan Dinwiddie. “But we had too many mistakes to expect a great performance. Offensively, we need to improve next week. We’re heading to Hamilton, and we need to find a way to win the game more cleanly.”

Toronto missed another opportunity on a flea flicker from Saskatchewan’s 23-yard line in the third quarter. Makai Polk had to slow down for Kelly’s fluttering pass, allowing Riders defenders to knock it down, leading to Hajrullahu’s 30-yard field goal to start the fourth quarter, bringing the Argos within 16-13.

Following Grant’s 48-yard punt return and a Riders facemask penalty, Toronto drove to the Saskatchewan one-yard line. However, after Kelly was stopped short on consecutive runs, the Argos turned the ball over on downs for the third time when Ka’Deem Carey was held out of the end zone.

Hajrullahu tied the game at 16-16 with a 25-yard field goal at 9:54. Brett Lauther responded with a 36-yard kick to put Saskatchewan up 19-16 at 12:55 before Hajrullahu tied it again at 19-19 with a 50-yard field goal at 13:58.

Saskatchewan (5-5-1) suffered its second consecutive loss, extending its winless streak to five games (0-4-1). Starting quarterback Trevor Harris completed 18-of-29 passes for 190 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions.

“It’s tough,” Mace said. “We keep finding new ways to lose, and it’s crushing for the guys. We need to become a team that finishes these types of games. We’ve been in enough of them now to understand how to do that.”

KeeSean Johnson scored Saskatchewan’s touchdown, while Lauther added the convert and four field goals.

Cameron Dukes scored Toronto’s touchdown, and Hajrullahu contributed the convert, four field goals, and the game-winning single.

Lauther’s 40-yard field goal at 7:32 of the third quarter gave Saskatchewan a 16-10 lead. Toronto drove to the Riders’ two-yard line, but after Deonta McMahon was stopped for no gain on second down, Kelly’s incompletion on third down resulted in a turnover on downs.

Hajrullahu’s 36-yard field goal at 14:33 of the second quarter cut Saskatchewan’s halftime lead to 13-10. This capped a wild finish to the quarter, as Saskatchewan linebacker C.J. Reavis stopped Dukes on third down, giving the Riders possession at their one-yard line with 50 seconds remaining. However, Benjie Franklin intercepted Harris, setting Toronto up at the Saskatchewan 24 with 44 seconds left.

Kelly appeared to connect with Damonte Coxie on a 29-yard touchdown pass, but the command center overturned the call, ruling it an incompletion. Toronto unsuccessfully challenged the decision, citing pass interference, and had to settle for a field goal.

Dinwiddie expressed frustration afterward, saying, “I don’t know why we have a command center. What is it doing? It’s slowing down games. I’m not trying to get fined, so I’ll just leave it at that.”

Dukes scored Toronto’s first touchdown with a one-yard run at 8:58, set up by DaShaun Amos’ 25-yard interception return. Lauther had earlier extended Saskatchewan’s lead to 13-0 with his second 43-yard field goal at 6:12.

Harris capped a 69-yard, seven-play drive with a 13-yard touchdown pass to Johnson at 13:04 of the first quarter, putting Saskatchewan ahead 10-0. Lauther had opened the scoring with a 43-yard field goal at 7:48.