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The Toronto Argonauts got revenge on the Montreal Alouettes, but lost their starting quarterback in the process.
Damonte Coxie had five receptions for 105 yards and a touchdown as the Argonauts defeated the defending Gray Cup champions 30-28 on Saturday in the CFL's East Division final.
Chad Kelly threw 11-for-22 for 182 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions before being taken off the field on a stretcher due to a gruesome right leg injury in the third quarter.
Backup Nick Arbuckle went 5-for-8 for 73 yards in the fourth as Toronto returned to Gray Cup play after winning the 2022 title. The Alouettes stunned the Argonauts with a 38-17 rout in the East last year's final after posting a historic 16-2 record.
Montreal's Cody Fajardo went 27-for-42 for 330 yards and three touchdowns, but also committed one fumble and two interceptions – including on a potential tie-breaker late in the fourth quarter.
A year ago, the Alouettes forced nine goals — including four Kelly interceptions — en route to victory. On Saturday, Montreal turned the ball over six times, including four fumbles, in front of a disappointed sellout crowd of 23,035 at Molson Stadium.
Toronto kicker Lirim Hajrullahu went 3-for-3 on field goals. Montreal's Jose Maltos went 3-for-3, including a 47-yarder.
The 111th Gray Cup will take place at BC Place in Vancouver on November 17. The Argos were scheduled to face the Winnipeg Blue Bombers or Saskatchewan Roughriders, meeting later Saturday in the West final.
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The Alouettes led 16-7 with 1:29 left in the first half when the momentum of the game changed.
Janarion Grant returned a punt 71 yards for a Toronto TD. Then Cole Spieker's fumble – Montreal's third of the half – was recovered by the Argos with 35 seconds left.
Kelly turned and connected with Coxie on consecutive completions, including a 20-yard touchdown as Toronto took a 21-16 lead into halftime.
After the Argonauts went up 24-16, Fajardo fumbled the ball to Toronto's 21 after a Wynton McManis sack.
Ka'Deem Carey rushed 49 yards to set up another Argonauts field goal, but not before Kelly's injury on a rush with 54 seconds left in the third quarter. Toronto's players knelt around their QB in disbelief before he was carted off.
Fajardo found Austin Mack on a 15-yard TD pass at 11:51 of the fourth, cutting the lead to 27-22 after a missed two-point conversion.
After the Argos took a 30-22 lead, Fajardo connected with Walter Fletcher for a 22-yard touchdown with 1:56 left to make it 30-28. But Montreal missed the conversion again when Fajardo threw an interception.
The Alouettes reached the red zone twice early, but failed to score both times with two fumbles, setting the tone for the rest of the game.
Two minutes later, Najee Murray intercepted Kelly and returned it 48 yards before Makai Polk forced a fumble that Toronto recovered. Fletcher was stripped of the ball on the next possession.
Things only got worse when the Argos' Benjie Franklin returned an interception 23 yards into Montreal's end zone to open the scoring at 7:11 after Fajardo's pass bounced through Fletcher's hands.
The Alouettes broke through at 8:57 of the second when Fajardo Kaion found Julien-Grant on an eight-yard touchdown pass. A 38-yard rush from Sean Thomas-Erlington helped get the scoring going as Montreal took a 13-7 lead.
Kelly threw another pick on the next possession, this time intercepted by Darnell Sankey.
© 2024 The Canadian Press
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