TORONTO — The Montreal Alouettes are heading to the Grey Cup after recording a massive upset against the Toronto Argonauts in the CFL East final on Saturday.
Toronto star quarterback Chad Kelly was intercepted four times as the visiting Alouettes notched a shocking 38-17 win before a near-sellout crowd of 26,620 at BMO Field — the largest turnout for an Argos home game since they moved to the stadium in 2016.
The Argonauts tied a CFL record by finishing 16-2 in the regular season, but fell two wins short of their goal of defending their Grey Cup title. Interestingly, the only other 16-2 CFL team — Edmonton in 1989 — also lost in the division final against Saskatchewan.
The Alouettes (11-7 in the regular season) have now won seven games in a row and will face the winner of the West final between the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and B.C. Lions in the Grey Cup next Sunday in Hamilton. Montreal will play in its first Grey Cup since winning in 2010.
The Alouettes were picked by many to be the worst team in the CFL prior to the season. They didn’t have an owner during free agency — preventing them from making significant offers to many players. Pierre Karl Peladeau bought the team in March and now will watch his team in the Grey Cup after strong work by returning GM Danny Maciocia and first-year head coach Jason Maas.
Kabion Ento and Marc-Antoine Dequoy both recorded pick-sixes for the Alouettes on Saturday as the defence once again led Montreal to victory.
Short-yardage QB Cameron Dukes scored Toronto’s first touchdown, cutting the Montreal lead to 24-10 early in the fourth quarter. But on the next play, Montreal’s James Letcher Jr. returned the kickoff 105 yards for a touchdown to restore his team’s 21-point edge.
Kelly finally made a big play midway through the fourth quarter when he connected with DaVaris Daniels for a 54-yard touchdown to trim the deficit to 31-17.
Ento’s 22-yard interception return in the third quarter gave the Alouettes a commanding 24-3 lead.
Tyler Snead put Montreal up 17-3 earlier in the third quarter on an eight-yard touchdown catch from quarterback Cody Fajardo. That play came after Toronto’s Shawn Oakman was flagged for unnecessary roughness on a short field-goal attempt, giving the Als a free set of downs.
The Alouettes led 10-3 at halftime with the only touchdown on the first drive of the game.
With the Argos marching and at the Alouettes’ seven-yard line, Montreal star safety Dequoy jumped a Kelly short route for the interception and raced 101 yards the other way for the pick-six.
It was one of four turnovers forced by the Alouettes in the first half, but Montreal didn’t take full advantage.
Pass protection has been an issue all season for the Alouettes and it was again in the first half as Toronto sacked Fajardo five times — three of them by Oakman.
