The Toronto Argonauts (11-1) and the Montreal Alouettes (6-7) played each other for the final time of the regular season on Friday night at Percival Molson Memorial Stadium.
Toronto won the two previous meetings against Montreal, who attempted to stop the Argonauts from winning the East Division. Montreal gave the Argonauts a run for their money but came up short in the final seconds of the game.
In the first quarter, Montreal quarterback Cody Fajardo completed two passes for 17 yards. Next, running back Walter Fletcher had three carries for 13 yards at the Argo’s 33-yard line. The drive would lead to a David Cote 33-yard field goal. Montreal led 3-0 with 5:28 left.
Toronto quarterback Chad Kelly completed two passes for ten plus a too many men penalty on Montreal placed the ball on their 55-yard line. Next, A.J. Ouellette rushed up the middle for a gain of 27 yards before he was tackled on the Alouettes’ 28-yard line.
Then, Kelly completed two more passes to Tommy Nield for 26 yards to get to the Alouettes’ two-yard line. Running back A.J. Ouellette rushed up the middle for the touchdown which made it 7-3 Argonauts with 2:59 left of the first quarter.
The Alouettes had the ball for the rest of the first quarter. Quarterback Cody Fajardo rushed up the middle for a gain of 13 yards. They made it to their 50-yard line facing second to begin the second quarter trailing 7-3.
In the second quarter, Montreal made it to the Argo’s 50-yard line before punting the ball on the Argo’s 15-yard line. For the majority of the second quarter, both offenses would make some progress before their drives stalled.
Late in the second quarter, Toronto quarterback Chad Kelly completed two passes for eight yards which forced third down from the Alouettes’ 40-yard line. Kicker Boris Bede kicked a 47-yard field goal which made it 10-3 Toronto with 38 seconds left. Montreal would have one more chance to tie the game before halftime but could not do it. The Argonauts led 10-3 at halftime.
Toronto had 143 yards on offense. Quarterback Chad Kelly completed 9 of 15 passes (60%) for 94 yards, and one carry for eight yards. Running back A.J. Ouellette had three carries for 32 yards, one touchdown, and one catch for three yards. Wide receiver Tommy Neild had three catches for 38 yards. Toronto’s defense had four sacks.
Montreal had 69 yards on offense. Quarterback Cody Fajardo completed 12 of 17 passes (70.6%) for 63 yards, and three carries for 14 yards. Running back Walter Fletcher had two carries for 12 yards and wide receiver Austin Mack had five catches for 34 yards. Montreal’s defense had one sack.
In the third quarter, Toronto kicker Boris Bede converted a 16-yard field goal which made it 13-3 with 9:59 left. Montreal started to battle back. Quarterback Cody Fajardo completed a 33-yard pass to Tyler Snead. Then, he completed two more passes for 25 yards. Running back Jeshrun Antwi had two carries for six yards.
On the next play, Cody Fajardo took off for a gain of four yards before getting whacked by Dewayne Hendrix. An unnecessary roughness penalty on Toronto moved the ball to the Argo’s one-yard line. Backup quarterback Caleb Evans scored the touchdown which made it 13-10 with 6:41 left of the third quarter.
After Toronto went two-and-out, Montreal tied the game 13-13 on a 16-yard field goal by David Cote with 3:36 left of the third quarter. Montreal had the ball for the final 2:14 of the third quarter. Cody Fajardo completed four passes for 41 yards. Running back Walter Fletcher rushed for a gain of 11 yards before he was tackled on the Argo’s 26-yard line as the third quarter came to an end.
In the fourth quarter, Cody Fajardo threw a quick slant pass to Tyson Philpot for a three-yard touchdown which gave Montreal its first lead of the night 20-13 with 12:13 left.
Montreal’s defense forced a two-and-out. Cody Fajardo completed five straight passes for 52 yards before he was sacked by Toronto’s Wynton McManis which forced third down. David Cote attempted a 54-yard field goal but was no good.
With 2:25 left of the game, Toronto quarterback Chad Kelly appeared to have thrown a six-yard touchdown pass to Damonte Coxie, who made a nice leaping catch but an unnecessary roughness penalty on Toronto wiped it off. On third down, Toronto went for it but Kelly’s pass to Damonte Coxie went incomplete and Montreal took over possession.
Toronto’s defense stopped Montreal on two-and-out giving their offense another shot. On the second play, Kelly dropped back to throw a deep pass to Damonte Coxie for a 41-yard touchdown which tied the game 20-20 with 1:41 left of the fourth quarter.
Toronto’s defense came up with another big play. They pressured Cody Fajardo and it resulted in an interception by Jamal Peters. The turnover would lead to a Boris Bede 38-yard field goal with 21 seconds left.
Montreal quarterback Cody Fajardo completed a 33-yard pass to Tyson Philpot, followed by a 7-yard pass to Cole Spieker before he went down on Toronto’s 38-yard line. David Cote came on the field to kick a 46-yard field goal and send it to overtime. However, Cote’s field goal was blocked by Wynton McManis and the Argonauts survived to beat the Alouettes by the final score of 23-20.
With the win, Toronto completes the regular season sweep. They also clinched the East Division and will host the Eastern Final in November. There is a chance that these two teams could meet again in the playoffs.
Toronto overcame adversity to pull out a win in Montreal. Their defense made two key plays and their offense took advantage of them. Good teams know how to win games and this team is destined to appear in this year’s Grey Cup. Their goal for the rest of the year besides wins is to keep the guys healthy and not have any major injuries.
Toronto had 369 yards on offense. Quarterback Chad Kelly completed 21 of 35 passes (60%) for 275 yards, one touchdown, and one carry for eight yards. Running back A.J. Ouellette had ten carries for 53 yards, one touchdown, and two catches for 11 yards.
Wide receiver Tommy Neild had seven catches for 82 yards, and Damonte Coxie had four catches for 75 yards and one touchdown. Toronto’s defense had 47 tackles, five sacks, one fumble recovery, and one interception.
Montreal did not play a bad game considering they scored 17 points in the second half. However, they crumbled under pressure late in the game and made too many mistakes. Their secondary gave up a lot of big plays which led to the Toronto comeback. Montreal needs to put this behind them and focus on next week.
Montreal had 311 yards on offense. Quarterback Cody Fajardo completed 30 of 39 passes (77%) for 274 yards, one touchdown, one interception, and three carries for 19 yards. Running back Walter Fletcher had six carries for 29 yards, and Tyson Philpot had nine catches for 105 yards and one touchdown. Montreal’s defense had 36 tackles and two sacks.
Next Saturday, the Montreal Alouettes visit the Calgary Stampeders at 4 pm on CFL+, while the Toronto Argonauts host the Hamilton Tiger-Cats at 7 pm on CFL+. Subscribe to Fubo to watch all of the 2023 CFL Season. Purchase CFL tickets today on StubHub and Viagogo.
