November 9, 2024

Argos’ defence, special teams step up to win Eastern Final

Minas Panagiotakis/CFL.ca

MONTREAL — The Toronto Argonauts were not allowing the same outcome to happen two years in a row.

The Boatmen went into Montreal with the goal of advancing to the 111th Grey Cup and beat the team that eliminated them from the post-season in 2023.

To do that, the team forced six total turnovers, including a fumble on a play that should have been a turnover by their own offence, but instead returned possession back to the Double Blue.

“Our guys are swiping at the ball, right? There were some times we swiped that we didn’t tackle that well, but that was the emphasis going in,” head coach Ryan Dinwiddie told reporters after the game. “We had big turnovers. You look at (Makai Polk), when we throw the pick and he gets the ball out, that’s straight effort. That shows those guys’ want and will to get it done.”

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Polk jumped Najee Murray – who himself had intercepted a pass from quarterback Chad Kelly – to force a fumble and erase the momentum captured by the Alouettes defence.

The fumble was one of four forced by the Argonauts on Saturday, two of them coming with the Alouettes in scoring position. Mark Milton forced two of those, while veteran linebacker Wynton McManis came down with two recoveries.

Defensive back Benjie Franklin added two interceptions, including a pick six and ace returner Janarion Grant added a 71-yard punt return touchdown to complete the picture of a team that would not allow anything to come between them and a trip to Vancouver.

“That was a great play,” said Dinwiddie about Polk’s forced fumble. “He changed our season there, and so did (Grant).”

Quarterback Nick Arbuckle – who entered the game in place of an injured Chad Kelly – also highlighted how the entire team stepped up to get a chance to reach their ultimate goal.

“Our special teams and defence had the offence’s back when we were struggling earlier in the game,” said the pivot. “Everybody scored. It’s such a great team win to cap off our ride to the Grey Cup.”

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