Kevin Sousa/CFL.ca
TORONTO — The Chad Kelly era has officially began in Toronto.
The new starter for the Argonauts has kicked off his stint as the leader of the boatmen with the right foot by scoring three touchdowns in a 32-14 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Sunday.
BMO Field cheered on its new signal-caller as he completed 14-of-23 passes for 213 yards and a trio of rushing majors. His performance came on the same night as the Argos unveiled their 18th championship banner and gifted the first 10,000 fans to enter the stadium a replica of their Grey Cup ring.
It has been a long awaited moment for the 29-year-old quarterback.
“I’ve been waiting my whole life for this,” Kelly told TSN’s Matt Scianitti after the game.
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Kelly took over the starting position for the boatmen after 2022-starter McLeod Bethel-Thompson departed to the USFL in the off-season, but was a pivotal part of the championship run by entering the game against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers late and leading a game-winning drive.
Toronto’s new starting pivot knows that to be a consistent quarterback you always have to look for ways to get better.
“There’s a lot more we got to improve on,” said Kelly. “Second half was up and down, subpar at best.”
The Argonauts provided its quarterback with a bevvy of talent on both sides of the ball to make his transition into a leadership role easier, a fact that is not lost on Kelly.
“The whole line did a fantastic job. We got some great push, defence came out, amazing job by the wide receivers.”
Kelly suited up as a starter for the Argos in Week 21 of last season as Double Blue rested most of its starters for the playoffs.
Now that his first win as the uncontested starter for the Argos is checked off, it’s all about focusing on growing as a team as Kelly and the Argos chase the 19th title in franchise history.
“The process will play for you,” said the signal-caller. “We just got to look at some things, see what we can get better at, which we will. It’s going to take some time, though, but I love the way the guys fought.
“It was a team effort today.”
The Argonauts now travel to Edmonton next week to take on the Elks at Commonwealth Stadium on Sunday.
