By admin 
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Toronto Argonauts were locked in a tight, defensive battle during the 111th Gray Cup game with just over six minutes left in the third quarter.
After narrowly avoiding a turnover of their own, they were more likely to play in the middle Peter Nicastro jumped on a ball fumbled by Toronto’s quarterback Nick Arbucklethe Argos were punting, and it would be the Bombers’ turn to try and secure the big drive that would swing the game’s momentum in their direction.
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Instead, special teamers from Toronto Fraser Sopik And Jac Cassaralong with rookie receiver Kevin Mitalwould be the ones to create a momentum shift that would send the Argos on their way to what would become a 41-24 championship victory.
Here are the three most important elements in these game-changing moments.
SOPIK’S PUNCH-OUT
FUMBLE RECOVERY!
The @TorontoArgos got it deep in Winnipeg territory! #GreyCup on TSN, CTV, RDS and CBSSN
: Streaming on CFL+ pic.twitter.com/0CW3APhgQA— CFL (@CFL) November 18, 2024
Linebacker Fraser Sopik Toronto’s groundbreaking chain of events began when he reached out and slammed his arm into the Winnipeg returner Happy Whiteheadjust inside the Winnipeg 15-yard line.
“I was lucky and got my hands on the ball,” Sopik said as he left the pitch and walked towards the victorious Argos dressing room. “The game moves fast, but I think instincts take over if you prepare hard enough,” he added.
Sopik said he had a clear shot at Whitehead, partly because of the lane assignment he had in kick coverage and partly because of some luck as he approached the Winnipeg speedster.
“They play out (at the line of scrimmage) and try to block you at the point of return,” said Sopik, explaining how he got into Whitehead territory so quickly.
Sometimes when that happens, a would-be tackler has to slam on the brakes to try to navigate the late-formed blocks. “Sometimes you have to cut your feet,” is how Sopik put it.
“But luckily I timed it so I didn’t have to cut off my feet,” he explained.
Sopik had a free, full-speed shot at Whitehead, who made a nice move to try to avoid the hard-charging Argo linebacker. But Sopik, who was decked, was forced to extend his arm as Whitehead accelerated. And he got that arm off his square on a football that Whitehead struggled to maintain control.
The ball came loose and Toronto recovered it.
Mickey Donovan, the Argonauts’ special teams coordinator, left a champagne-soaked, cigar-smoke-laden locker room to talk about his unit’s involvement in those pivotal third-quarter moments.
“Luckily,” he said, referring to the Bombers’ returner, “dropped the ball in his previous game last week.” And you know, we were talking about bringing violence to the ball. And the first guy that comes in, if you can try to knock it out…if there’s enough guys around, just play the ball if we can, and that’s what they did.
“I was ecstatic,” he said.
THE RECOVERY BY CASSAR
Another of Toronto’s Canadian linebackers called a special teams demon Jac Cassarwas the Argo that got on the ball and recovered Sopik’s punch-out on the Winnipeg 17-yard line. “I just ran full speed down the field,” Cassar said of the play. “I see the ball jump out of Lucky’s hands, and I just grabbed it, man.”
Cassar had some traffic to negotiate just as Sopik made his attempt to clear the ball. “I got blocked, but I got rid of it quickly,” Cassar said.
“I don’t know who stopped me,” Cassar replied when I asked him how well he remembered the piece. “It doesn’t matter. I got the ball at this point, man. And honestly, that changed the game.”
“I was thinking about picking him up and taking him to the end zone,” Cassar admitted with a laugh. “But I wanted to make sure I got possession of the ball and that we gave the offense a chance for a touchdown. So I made sure I jumped on that thing. The rest is history, man.”
“We were able to get the offense into the end zone, I think that was the next play.”
Indeed it was.
THE TOUCHDOWN RECEPTION
First-year Argonaut recipient Kevin Mital took a short swing pass from the quarterback Nick Arbuckle when the Toronto offense was taken off the Winnipeg 17-yard line.
Mital hauled in the pass and spun around a block set up by his teammate DaVaris Danielsturned onto the field and ran toward the end zone, squeezing along the right sideline.
“Just a well-designed play,” Mital, the Argos’ first-round pick (fifth overall) in the 2024 draft, said last April.
There was some deception.
“At one point I try to look like I’m crossing to block the defensive end on the other side and then come right back,” he said, describing his move before Arbuckle called for the ball.
“We had a bunch formation on the right side,” said Mital, who credited his fellow receivers on the right flank for their excellent blocking work.
“DD (Daniels) did his job, he closed the corner,” Mital explained. David (Ungerer) was in front of me to throw a block and I had a walk-in touchdown. Pretty amazing.”
“It’s definitely a big moment,” said a smiling Mital, dangling his legs as he sat on the edge of the podium where his team had moments earlier presented the Gray Cup.
“I’m just happy to be a part of this team, this organization,” Mital said. Six months ago they took a chance on me by drafting me. I’m just grateful to be part of this team.”
And part of a crucial series of events that put the Argos under full sail.