HAMILTON — Dejon Brissett added his own unique twist to the wild, often crazy Labour Day series between the Toronto Argonauts and Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
Brissett's 63-yard catch to Hamilton's four-yard line with one second remaining set up Lirim Hajrullahu's 11-yard field goal that gave Toronto a stunning 35-33 victory Monday afternoon.
Brissett caught Nick Arbuckle's pass at the Ticats' 35-yard line between defenders DaShaun Amos and Stavros Katsantonis and was so intent on scoring that he seemingly stepped out of bounds with no time left.
Upon review, one second was put on the clock, giving Hajrullahu a shot at the game-winning boot.
"I'm thinking touchdown or nothing," Brissett said. "I knew, obviously, the situation and it happened the way it was supposed to.
"When they called the play in the huddle I was excited because I know that ball over the middle is supposed to go to me. I knew there was no way I couldn't come down with that because of the situation we were in. I just made a play on the ball like we do every day in practice, just like we do every day in the off-season working out. It's routine."
But both Arbuckle and Toronto head coach Ryan Dinwiddie were screaming at Brissett to get out of bounds much earlier.
"I was convinced there was zero seconds left," Arbuckle said. "I was furious on the sidelines, I still don't think I've even really smiled since the game was over.
"Brissett made a huge play. I'm upset he didn't step out of bounds but he also caught the ball in double coverage and if he doesn't do that then there's nothing even to (talk about)."
Bo Levi Mitchell's eight-yard touchdown pass to Kenny Lawler at 14:42 put Hamilton ahead 33-32 as the two-point convert was unsuccessful. Jake Herslow's 34-yard kickoff return put Toronto at its 44-yard line with 12 seconds remaining.
"I was screaming 'Get out of bounds,'" Dinwiddie said. "That's a tough situation to teach going into it … it's going to be one of those teaching moments I'll be showing the clip of for years."
Hamilton head coach Scott Milanovich said the Ticats were well aware they still had to close out the contest following Lawler's TD.
"With 18 seconds … we still had to play football," he said. "Everybody is going to focus on that last play (but) offensively we weren't good on second down in the first half.
"(On) special teams we didn't cover kickoffs very well and (defensively) obviously we gave up too many points in the fourth quarter."
Arbuckle finished 33-of-40 passing for 352 yards with three TDs. Herslow had six catches for 67 yards and two touchdowns, the fourth straight game he has scored.
Toronto (4-8) earned its first win in five matchups against Hamilton (6-5) and evened the season series 1-1. The two teams meet again Oct. 4 at BMO Field.
Toronto claimed just its third win in 11 Labour Day clashes at Hamilton Stadium. The Ticats still lead the series 37-16-1.
Hamilton drove to the Toronto 19-yard line but Argos linebacker Wynton McManis batted down Mitchell's third-down pass with 1:28 remaining.
Mitchell finished 27-of-37 passing for 405 yards with three TDs and an interception. He fell to 7-1 all-time on Labour Day but reached 250 career touchdown passes, the 12th CFL player to do so.
Kiondre Smith had seven catches for 171 yards while Lawler recorded nine receptions for 123 yards and two TDs.
Hamilton suffered a third straight loss but remains atop the East Division, two points ahead of idle Montreal (5-6).
Toronto heads into a bye week standing third in the East Division.
Mitchell put the Ticats ahead 27-18 with a 23-yard TD pass to Shemar Bridges just 1:58 into the fourth. That prompted the sun-drenched gathering of 25,619, the largest crowd at Hamilton Stadium outside of a Grey Cup game, to finally begin its "Argos suck," chant.
But Arbuckle's three-yard touchdown pass to Makai Polk at 7:38 pulled Toronto to within 27-25.
Rookie linebacker Devin Veresuk also had a TD for Hamilton. Marc Liegghio kicked two field goals and three converts.
Hajrullahu booted three field goals, four converts and a single while John Haggerty added a single.
Mitchell found Lawler on an 18-yard touchdown pass at 6:37 of the third to give Hamilton a 20-15 lead. Hajrullahu's 43-yard boot at 11:33 cut Toronto's deficit to 20-18.
Veresuk's recovery of a blocked punt in the end zone at 12:25 of the second cut Toronto's halftime lead to 15-13. Receiver Tyler Ternowski came in untouched on Haggerty and got his right arm on the kick.
Hamilton got one final possession when offensive lineman Liam Dobson knocked the ball out of bounds on Tarvarus McFadden's fumble during an interception return. But the Ticats ran out the clock on a rather sloppy opening half that featured three turnovers and the two teams combining to convert just seven-of-19 second-down opportunities.
Arbuckle put Toronto ahead 14-6 at 8:52 with a 27-yard TD strike to Herslow. Hajrullahu added a 100-yard kickoff single.
Liegghio made a 13-yard field goal at 3:46 before Haggerty's 71-yard single at 5:08 put Toronto head 7-6.
Hajrullahu gave Toronto a 6-3 lead with a 24-yard field goal to end the first. It came after Arbuckle's 10-yard TD pass to Brissett was nullified by a holding penalty.
Hajrullahu's 16-yard field goal at 6:05 opened the scoring before Liegghio countered with a 36-yard boot at 8:42.
UP NEXT
Argonauts: Host the Edmonton Elks on Saturday, Sept. 13.
Tiger-Cats: Visit the Montreal Alouettes on Saturday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 1, 2025.
Dan Ralph, The Canadian Press
