The Toronto Argonauts (3-2) visited Percival Molson Memorial Stadium on Thursday night to kick off Week 6 of the CFL season against the Montreal Alouettes (5-1). These two teams played each other a couple of weeks ago where the Alouettes won the game 30-20 in Toronto. The Argonauts were looking to return the favor.
Before the game started, Montreal wide receiver Kaion Julien-Grant injured himself during warmups and did not play the game. He would not be the only major player to get hurt in this game.
First Quarter:
The game got off to a relatively slow start with a good defensive battle in the first quarter. The two defenses combined with four sacks in the first quarter. On Montreal’s first possession of the game, they went on a five-play drive for 44 yards before kicker Jose Carlos Maltos missed a 38-yard field goal but the ball went behind the endzone for a single point. The Alouettes led 1-0 with 8:15 left of the first quarter.
Toronto got the ball for their third series of the game with 5:26 left. They went on a seven-play drive for 58 yards when kicker Lirim Hajrullahu made a 29-yard field goal giving the Argonauts a 3-1 lead with 25 seconds left of the first quarter.
On the final play of the first quarter, Montreal quarterback Cody Fajardo threw an incomplete pass intended for Reggie White Jr. During the first quarter, Fajardo was on the sidelines grabbing his hamstring. He would not return for the rest of the game. The Argonauts led the Alouettes 3-1 at the end of the first quarter.
Montreal had 70 yards on offense (62 yards passing, 11 yards rushing, three yards lost). Quarterback Cody Fajardo completed 5 of 6 passes for 62 yards, and one carry for five yards. Toronto had 51 yards on offense (34 yards passing, 32 yards rushing, 15 yards lost). Quarterback Cameron Dukes completed 3 of 4 passes for 34 yards, and one carry for four yards.
Second Quarter:
The game picked up in the second quarter. On the first play, Montreal punter Joseph Zema punted the ball 50 yards into the endzone for a single point. The score was now 3-2 Toronto with 14:12 left.
Caleb Evans was the new quarterback for Montreal. With 8:02 left of the second quarter, Evans tried to throw a screen pass to running back Walter Fletcher. Toronto linebacker Wynton McManis spotted the screen pass then intercepted the ball for a pick-six nine-yard touchdown. The Argonauts extended their lead to 10-2 with 7:39 left of the second quarter.
Evans responded on the next series. He led the Alouettes to a seven-play drive for 71 yards then he threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Charleston Rambo. Evans knew Toronto was blitzing and took a vicious shot from Fraser Sopik, after throwing the touchdown. The Alouettes trailed the Argonauts 10-9 with 4:16 left of the second quarter.
Toronto quarterback Cameron Dukes led the Argonauts on a six-play drive for 56 yards ending when he scrambled out of the pocket before throwing a 10-yard touchdown pass to Damonte Coxie for a 17-9 lead with 2:16 left. Coxie did a great job coming back to the football, something you don’t see a lot of wide receivers do.
Montreal came back. On the third play from scrimmage, Montreal running back Walter Fletcher turned on the jets and made several Argonauts players miss him. He ran for 50-yards before going out of bounds on the Argonauts’ four-yard line. Two plays later, Toronto blitzed Evans but he completed a two-yard touchdown pass to Tyson Philpot as he got hit. The Alouettes attempted to tie the game with a two-point conversion but did not get it. The Alouettes trailed the Argonauts 17-15 with 51 seconds left of the second quarter.
On the kickoff, Jose Carlos Maltos kicked the ball to Janarion Grant for 73 yards. Grant turned on the jets where the blockers created room for him before sprinting for a 103-yard touchdown. The Argonauts led the Alouettes 24-15 at halftime.
First Half Stats:
Toronto had 133 yards on offense (82 yards passing, 66 yards rushing, 15 yards lost). Quarterback Cameron Dukes completed 9 of 10 passes (90%) for 82 yards, one touchdown, and one carry for four yards. Running back Ka’Deem Carey had seven carries for 33 yards and made one catch for 17 yards.
Wide receiver Richie Sindani made one catch for 29 yards, while Rasheed Bailey made three catches for 19 yards. Toronto’s defense made two sacks, one interception, and one touchdown.
Montreal had 231 yards on offense (162 yards passing, 78 yards rushing, three yards lost). Quarterback Caleb Evans completed 10 of 16 passes (63%) for 100 yards, two touchdowns, one interception, and two carries for 12 yards. Running back Walter Fletcher had four carries for 70 yards and made one catch for 16 yards.
Wide receiver Cole Spieker made six catches for 70 yards, while Charleston Rambo made four catches for 53 yards and one touchdown. Montreal’s defense made one sack and two tackles for loss.
Third Quarter:
In the third quarter, Toronto running back Daniel Adeboboye had the ball stripped by Montreal linebacker Darnell Sankey. Sankey recovered it on their 41-yard line. However, the offense could take advantage and punted the ball back to Toronto.
On Toronto’s next possession, running back Ka’Deem Carey had two carries for 11 yards, while quarterback Cameron Dukes rushed for a gain of five yards before kicker Lirim Hajrullahu made a 37-yard field goal extending the Argo’s lead to 27-15 with 5:23 left of the third quarter.
Montreal quarterback Caleb Evans threw two straight passes for 27 yards before kicker Jose Carlos Maltos made a 50-yard field goal. The Alouettes trailed the Argonauts 27-18 with 3:21 left of the third quarter.
Toronto had the ball for the final three minutes of the third quarter. Quarterback Cameron Dukes was sacked by Mustafa Johnson for a seven-yard loss forcing third down. On the final play of the third quarter, Toronto punter John Haggerty punted the ball 50 yards where returner James Letcher Jr. returned it for five yards but an illegal block penalty on Montreal moved the ball back to their seven-yard line to begin the fourth quarter.
Fourth Quarter:
Three plays into the fourth quarter, Montreal punter Joseph Zema punted the ball 48 yards to Janarion Grant for a 14-yard return. Toronto quarterback Cameron Dukes led the Argo’s offense on a six-play drive for 34 yards plus an offsides penalty moved the Argo’s to the five-yard line. On the next play, Toronto running back Deonta McMahon scored a five-yard touchdown for a 34-18 lead with 8:22 left in the game.
Toronto’s defense made a big play when Montreal quarterback Caleb Evans tried to throw a pass to Charleston Rambo but Benjie Franklin made a nice interception for a 43-yard return to the Alouettes’ 22-yard line with 8:06 left in the game.
Toronto’s offense took their time killing the clock on an 11-play drive for 65 yards ending when kicker Lirim Hajrullahu kicked a 14-yard field goal for a 37-18 lead with 38 seconds left. Montreal did not try to add any points as they took three kneel-downs to end the game. The Toronto Argonauts ended the Montreal Alouettes’ 13-game unbeaten streak with a 37-18 win. The last time the Alouettes lost a game was on September 23, 2023, against the Toronto Argonauts.
Final Stats:
Toronto had 290 yards on offense (131 yards passing, 183 yards rushing, 24 yards lost). Quarterback Cameron Dukes completed 16 of 20 passes (80%) for 131 yards, one touchdown, and nine carries for 46 yards. Running back Ka’Deem Carey had 16 carries for 94 yards and made one catch for 17 yards.
Wide receiver Richie Sindani made two catches for 36 yards, while Rasheed Bailey made four catches for 28 yards. Kicker Lirim Hajrullahu made three field goals with a long of 37 yards. Toronto’s defense made 29 tackles, two sacks, two interceptions, one touchdown, and nine tackles on special teams.
Montreal had 269 yards on offense (189 yards passing, 85 yards rushing, 5 yards lost). Quarterback Caleb Evans completed 12 of 22 passes (55%) for 127 yards, two touchdowns, two interceptions, and five carries for 18 yards. Running back Walter Fletcher had five carries for 60 yards and made one catch for 16 yards.
Wide receiver Cole Spieker made six catches for 70 yards, while Charleston Rambo made four catches for 53 yards and one touchdown. Kicker Jose Carlos Maltos made one field goal for 50 yards. Montreal’s defense made 49 tackles, three sacks, seven tackles for loss, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, and seven tackles on special teams.
Final Thoughts:
Montreal lost quarterback Cody Fajardo and wide receiver Kaion Julien-Grant which affected the team. Hopefully, those guys won’t miss much time but the Alouettes do have a bye next week.
However, Caleb Evans did not do a bad job despite the loss. Toronto’s defense blitzed a lot and Evans took some shots. The Alouettes looked tired out there. They last played on Saturday which did not leave them much time to recover and it is the reason that guys like Edmonton quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson have gone after the league for the scheduling.
Toronto quarterback Cameron Dukes had a good game. He moved around the pocket extending plays to get the ball to his receivers. Speaking of his receivers, they did a nice job coming back to the football when Dukes was in trouble. That was an improvement from their last game. Lastly, Toronto’s running game was effective with 183 yards on the ground. Toronto should keep giving Carey and McMahon the ball.
Next week, the Montreal Alouettes are on a bye week, while the Toronto Argonauts visit the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Sunday at 7 pm on TSN and CBS Sports Network. Subscribe to Fubo to watch all of the 2024 CFL Season. Purchase CFL tickets today on StubHub and Viagogo.
