The Toronto Argonauts have clinched first place in the East Division after a 24-23 win over the Montreal Alouettes on Saturday. A major reason for the Argonauts success was the play of wide receiver Kurleigh Gittens Jr. of Ottawa, Ontario.
Gittens Jr., who was born in Guyana, but moved to Canada’s capital city at the age of seven, had seven catches for 117 yards and one touchdown on Saturday. The major score came 30 seconds into the second half, as Gittens Jr. scored on a 39-yard touchdown pass from Mcleod Bethel-Thompson, which put the Argonauts up 13-3 at the time.
On the season, Gittens Jr. now has 81 catches for 1101 yards and five touchdowns. He is sixth in the Canadian Football League in receiving yards. Gittens Jr. is only behind Dalton Schoen of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (1357 yards), Dominique Rhymes of the British Columbia Lions (1346 yards), Eugene Lewis of the Montreal Alouettes (1303 yards), Tim White of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (1266 yards), and Jaelon Acklin of the Ottawa Redblacks (1169 yards). With the win, the Alouettes can no longer catch the Argonauts for first place in the CFL East.
There was one other Canadian who scored a touchdown for a winning team this past weekend. Calgary Stampeders wide receiver Richie Sindani of Regina, Saskatchewan had a 14-yard touchdown catch from Jake Maier with eight minutes and 40 seconds left in the game in a 32-21 Stampeders win over the Saskatchewan Roughriders. At the time, the touchdown put the Stampeders up 31-14. Sindani now has 26 catches for 255 yards. With the Saskatchewan loss, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats clinched a playoff spot.
