As he and Logan Kilgore set up for the highest-stakes moment of the night for the Toronto Argonauts, Lirim Hajrullahu had his confidence tested one more time.

Hajrullahu was teeing up a 53-yard field-goal attempt with 1:15 left in Sunday night’s game, his team knotted at 20-all with the Ottawa Redblacks. With a shot at first place in the CFL’s East Division on the line and a chance to hand the Redblacks their first defeat at home this season, he heard Kilgore, his holder, yelling out a command to the rest of his team.

“He was pumped up beforehand, because every point counts in the CFL,” Hajrullahu said. “If I were to miss we’d have to get down to the end zone and cover.

“He was saying, ‘Hey guys, get down there and cover, every point counts.’ I said, ‘Logan, I’m going to make this.’ ”

Kilgore told him he knew he’d make it, the snap came, the ball was planted and Hajrullahu showed why he was so confident. He easily put the ball through the uprights, finishing a perfect 5 for 5 on the night.

“He had faith in me, he held the ball great and he was able to do a great job for special teams and offence. I’m very proud of him,” Hajrullahu said.

The two were joking about the moment as they traded spots doing post-game interviews.

Kilgore, who kept his holding duties while earning his first win as a starting quarterback, was only obeying the commands of a higher power when he shouted out the instructions to his teammates.

“Scott (Milanovich, the Argos’ coach) was in my ear saying, ‘Make sure you tell them to cover.’ I can’t not do it,” Kilgore said.

Hajrullahu was busier than Redblacks kicker Chris Milo, who was 2 for 2 on his attempts on Sunday, but the two duelled down the stretch of the game, with Milo hitting from 50 yards to tie the game at 17, then from 55 with 2:23 left to tie it at 20.

“You see on the other side that he’s playing great, you’ve got to pull up your socks and match his intensity,” Hajrullahu said. “I think that brings other things out of athletes, when he’s making those kicks. He pushed me to be better and that’s all you can ask out of your opponent.”

Hajrullahu and the special-teams unit as a whole battled themselves last week, giving up field position while Hajrullahu was 0 for 2 on field goals. The Argos beat Montreal, but special-teams captain James Yurichuk didn’t reward anyone from his unit with a game ball. This week, the Argos chanted “ice cold” as Yurichuk handed Hajrullahu the ball.

“We want to be the reason we win games,” Hajrullahu said of the group’s rebound this week.

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“We sat down with our core guys and said, ‘Listen, we need to pull up our socks.’ We weren’t playing to our potential and it left a bitter taste in our mouth. We wanted to make sure we get together and spend the extra hours after practice, watch some film, get better. We want to be the reason we win, not the reason we lose.”

The Argos go into their first bye week of the season at 4-2. They’re back in action on Aug. 12 when they host Hajrullahu’s former team, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, at BMO Field.