November 2, 2014

Als secure spot in post-season with win over Argos

CFL.ca Staff
#TORvsMTL

MONTREAL — Jonathan Crompton completed a 23-yard touchdown pass to Duron Carter midway through the fourth quarter to lift the Montreal Alouettes to a 17-14 win over the Toronto Argonauts Sunday afternoon at Percival Molson Stadium.

With the win, the Alouettes have clinched a home playoff date in the 102nd Grey Cup Playoffs.  A win next week over Hamilton will clinch the division for them.

Carter led the way for the Alouettes with 11 receptions for 181 yards while Tyrell Sutton did the leg work on the ground, rushing for over 100 yards and a touchdown.

The news was not as good for the Argonauts who not only lost the game but may have lost their quarterback late when Ricky Ray took two hits on consecutive plays, sending him to the sidelines for the remainder of the afternoon late in the fourth.

Related: Argonauts at Alouettes

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With the loss, Toronto now needs a Montreal win next week over Hamilton combined with a win over Ottawa to clinch a playoff berth.

The Argos were coming off a critical win over Hamilton, edging out their rivals in Week 18 to put themselves back into the playoff discussion while the Als were fresh off a 23-17 victory over Ottawa.

The Als had the first opportunity to put points on the board on their opening possession when QB Jonathan Crompton completed a 22-yard pass to Eric Deslauriers and then a 12-yarder to Duron Carter to set up a 45-yard Sean Whyte field goal.  The veteran missed wide right however keeping the score at zero with 9:51 remaining in the first quarter.

Crompton has led a resurgence in Montreal entering the game 7-1 as a starter following one of slowest starts to a season in Alouettes history. 

The club’s traded two-and-outs before John Chiles helped get the Argos the first points of the game.  The sophomore receiver came down with a 37-yard reception inside the Montreal 20 to set up a 21-yard Swayze Waters field goal to give Toronto a 3-0 lead.

As the second quarter got underway, the Alouettes running game started to motor.  Sutton ripped off gains of 16, 7 and 4 before taking a handoff up the middle for a 12-yard touchdown to give Montreal a 7-3 lead.  Along the way, Carter aided by grabbing an 18-yard grab as a part of a 6-play, 69-yard scoring drive.

Carter made his presence known on the next Montreal drive, hauling in an 19-yard pass on second-and-long and then taking pass on a curl route up field but had the ball stripped by DE Aston Whiteside.  The ball was recovered by Argos safety Jermaine Gabriel at the Toronto 40 yard line.  The Boatmen could only muster a punt single off the turnover however.

As the second quarter entered its final few minutes, the Argos defence started to get Crompton and Carter under control.  The Argos showed blitz on a few occasions and although they didn’t get a the Als quarterback, they did disrupt his throws, forcing Montreal to concede field position.

After getting a two-and-out with just over two minutes left, Ray went to work on the Argos first touchdwon drive of the game.  The future Hall of Famer found SB Mike Bradwell for 15 yards and then RB Steve Slaton for 8.  Two precision passes from Ray to SB Chad Owens for gains of 9 and 12.  One more dump pass to Slaton put the Argos on the Als 1-yard line.

Is Ray okay?

Not only did Toronto lose the contest but may have lost their quarterback late when Ricky Ray took two hits on consecutive plays, sending him to the sidelines for the remainder of the afternoon late in the fourth.
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In short yardage, backup Mitchell Gale faked the handoff to his tailback and floated a ball into Bradwell for the touchdown and a 11-7 lead right before halftime.

The third quarter went by with almost no incident with both teams playing a relatively clean game in the penalty department and the defences winning the chess matches.  However, one play with 5:17 left gave the Argos a bit more momentum.

On a third-and-two inside their own 40, the Als faked a punt and were stuffed, giving Toronto the ball at the Montreal 36 yard line.  Two quick receptions by Owens and Chiles set up Waters for a 25-yard field goal to extend the lead to 14-7 before the fourth quarter began.

A completion to Carter and a strong run by Sutton on Montreal’s next drive gave the Als an answer with a 45-yarder from Whyte to cut the lead to four as the final frame began.

Stuck four midway through the fourth quarter, the Alouettes re-took the lead on the strength of their two most dynamic receivers.  Crompton found SJ Green twice for first downs before sailing a pass into Carter down the seam and behind coverage for a 23-yard touchdown to give Montreal a 17-14 lead with just over 9 minutes remaining.

As the clock ticked down, so did the Argos chances in pulling this one out; made more difficult with 2:38 on the clock when Ray left the game with an injury and did not return.

Trevor Harris took over under centre but with limited reps and only 1:58 to work with, he was unable to lead the comeback.