Alouettes post club-record 15th win, sink Argos
Last Updated: Saturday, November 7, 2009 | 6:16 PM ET
The Canadian Press
Toronto Argonauts quarterback Stephen Reaves, centre, gets sacked by Montreal Alouettes Jeff Robertshaw, right, during the first half. (Nathan Denette/Canadian Press)Adrian McPherson threw two TD passes as the visiting Montreal Alouettes dispatched the Toronto Argonauts 42-17 for a club-record 15th win of the year in the CFL regular-season finale for both teams Saturday.
Montreal picked up its eighth win in nine games and finished the campaign with a CFL-best 15-3 record. The East Division-leading Als swept the season series 3-0, outscoring Toronto 94-25.
The Alouettes finished 6-3 on the road and were a perfect 9-0 at home, a stat worth noting as they will host the conference final Nov. 22.
It was also a banner day for Montreal kicker Damon Duval, who had a club-record seven field goals and 24 points to boost his single-season points total to a league-record 242, breaking the mark of 236 set in 1991 by former Argo Lance Chomyc.
"He's as good as there is," McPherson said of his kicker. "As soon as we cross the 50-yard line, we know he's in range."
McPherson was 16-of-20 passing for 151 yards and added 55 yards rushing before giving way in the fourth quarter to backup Chris Leak, who was 7-of-10 for 44 yards. The two did a nice job of distributing the ball as 10 different Alouettes had catches.
"My biggest focus was I wanted my teammates to feel comfortable and confident in me," said McPherson. "My biggest thing was not to put pressure on myself.
"This game meant everything to us because we wanted to finish strong going into the playoffs."
The start was McPherson's second in three weeks. With Calvillo out due to a calf injury, McPherson was 20-of-35 passing for 231 yards and a TD while rushing 11 times for 95 yards in a 41-24 loss to Winnipeg on Oct. 24.
"I thought he played well in the first game," Alouettes head coach Marc Trestman said. "He protected the football well and if he does that, this team will be in a position to win.
"I think we saw a team willing to give him the support he deserved."
A good sign for Montreal was winning so convincingly with a generous sprinkling of backups in the lineup on both sides of the ball in a game that had no bearing on the East Division standings.
McPherson got the start ahead of star veteran Anthony Calvillo — who dressed but was the No. 3 quarterback behind Leak — while such stalwarts as running back Avon Cobourne and kick-returner Larry Taylor didn't dress.
The sad-sack Argos (3-15) were still overmatched against a diminished Montreal lineup before a surly Rogers Centre gathering of 28,293.
"The whole season was disappointing," said veteran defensive lineman Jonathan Brown. "That game was even worse."
The Toronto offence under first-year quarterback Stephen Reaves, 23-of-40 passing for 209 yards and four interceptions, struggled to mount any consistency against the Als' top-ranked defence until the fourth quarter.
Fan Appreciation Day wasted
Toronto's usually stout defence did register three sacks, but generally didn't get much pressure on either McPherson or Leak and overall tackled poorly.
It was Fan Appreciation Day at the Rogers Centre, but the Argos didn't give their fans much to cheer about. Toronto committed six turnovers and finished with less than 200 total offensive yards.
The one-sided decision was just the latest disappointment in what's been a disastrous year for first-year head coach Bart Andrus.
Toronto finished the season on an eight-game losing streak and lost its last four home contests to drop to 1-8 overall at Rogers Centre. The Argos dropped to 0-6 against Montreal, their last win over the Als coming Oct. 20, 2007.
"Just the way the game unfolded was disappointing to me," said Andrus. "I see these guys doing better than this. It was not acceptable to me and these guys."
Andrus, who has drawn the ire of Argos fans all season for questionable coaching decisions, did so again to end the second quarter.
Facing third and one from the Montreal 47-yard line on the half's final play, he opted to punt rather than throw deep for a touchdown. The result was Justin Medlock's 67-yard single, which cut the Als' half-time advantage to 26-4 and drew a sarcastic cheer from the disgruntled Toronto faithful.
Andrus also raised eyebrows when trailing 39-14 in the fourth as he had Medlock boot a 27-yard field goal at 8:24 instead of trying for a first down.
A 3-15 record is Toronto's worst since '93 when it had a similar mark under the coaching tandem of Dennis Meyer and Bob O'Billovich.
Brandon Whitaker, Kerry Watkins and Paul Woldu had Montreal's touchdowns. Duval added the converts.
Jamal Robertson had Toronto's lone touchdown. Medlock had three field goals, a convert and single.
The outcome was never in doubt as Montreal dominated play in the opening half, taking a well-deserved 26-3 lead into the dressing room.
Weak start for Argos
The Alouettes wasted little time taking control, storming out to a 17-3 first-quarter lead after holding Toronto to minus five yards rushing and just eight total offensive yards. McPherson drove Montreal 62 yards on four plays to open the game, capping it with a one-yard TD strike to Whitaker at 2:17.
A high third-down snap over Medlock's head set up the Alouettes' second touchdown. Jamal Richardson recovered the loose ball and strolled into the end zone, but a successful challenge put the ball on Toronto's 18-yard line after it was determined Medlock had touched Richardson when he was down.
It didn't matter as McPherson hit Watkins on an 18-yard TD pass on the next play, putting Montreal ahead 17-0 at 8:17.
Toronto's Andre Durie returned the ensuing kickoff 104 yards for an apparent TD, but in keeping with the Argos' dismal season, the play came back to the Montreal 35 following an unnecessary roughing penalty on Ray Fontaine. It did set up Medlock's 33-yard field goal at 11:03.
Montreal continued to control the play in the second but had to settle for three more Duval field goals.
