MONTREAL - Not even their nemesis, the B.C. Lions, could stop Anthony
Calvillo and the Montreal Alouettes in the CFL East Division final.
Calvillo equaled a league playoff record with five touchdown passes
and the Alouettes defence stuffed hot quarterback Casey Printers and
the Lions' running game in a 56-18 romp before 53,792 roaring fans at
Olympic Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
The win got the Alouettes into their seventh Grey Cup game this decade, next Sunday in Calgary.
"No
matter how many points we put up, the objective was to win," said the
37-year-old Calvillo. "It was exciting to do what we did today, I'll
enjoy it, but we have to get ready for next week."
Montreal had a dominant 15-3 season while B.C. was only 8-10, but
the East final was widely seen as a toss-up because of the strong form
Printers showed after joining the Lions in September - and because the
Alouettes have a history of struggling against their rivals from
Vancouver. Even with the loss, the Lions are 11-5 against Montreal
since Wally Buono became coach in 2003.
This game was no contest. The near-sellout crowd saw the Montreal
defence force five turnovers and hold running back Martell Mallett, who gained 213 yards in a win over the Alouettes this season, to five
yards on six carries. The B.C. running game had only 12 total yards.
Meanwhile, the Montreal offence shredded B.C. for long gains as Calvillo needed only 19 completions for 312 yards.
"We had a lot of plays designed to get a shot downfield," said
Calvillo. "We felt that when they went into zone (defence), they
sometimes get out of position and that's how it happened.
"It was crazy, throwing the ball and finding guys wide open."
The Lions, who made long trips across three time zones to the east in consecutive weeks, had no response.
"They were better than us, that's it," said all-star defensive end
Ricky Foley. "Up front, in the back end, offence, defence - you don't
get beat like that and have too many good parts of the game."
Jamel Richardson, Brian Bratton (with two each) and Kerry Watkins
had TD receptions while Richardson added another on a blocked punt
return for Montreal. John Bowman added one more TD with a 41-yard
interception return off backup Lions QB Travis Lulay, who replaced
Printers late in the game.
Damon Duval added two field goals and a single. Calvillo equaled
the single-game mark for post-season TD passes, held by five other players.
Paris Jackson caught a TD throw from Printers, Ryan Grice-Mullen
scored on a record 106-yard punt return and Paul McCallum had a field
goal for B.C., which was attempting to be the first crossover team to
reach the Grey Cup. They beat Hamilton in overtime in the East
semifinal last week.
It was a second year in a row the Alouettes defeated a crossover
team from the West in the East Division final, after beating Edmonton
36-26 last year.
They face another demon next week - their record in the
Grey Cup game. Montreal has lost its last four, including last year at
home against Calgary, and has only one win in six visits to
the championship game.
"We all know about our record in the Grey Cup, and that's something
I'll have a chance to change," said Calvillo. "I've always said, I'll
never quit and the team won't quit no matter what the record is.
"I'm just glad to have another chance to correct that."
The game turned only seven minutes in when, after the teams
exchanged field goals, Mallett fumbled and Shea Emry recovered on the
Lions' 22. On the next play, Calvillo found Richardson alone in the end
zone.
Billy Parker returned an interception 45 yards to set up a
four-yard TD pass to Watkins, then LaVar Glover's missed tackle let
Watkins romp 91 yards to set up a seven-yard TD toss to Richardson to
start the second quarter.
The Lions got seven back after Larry Taylor dropped a punt and Tad
Crawford recovered, which allowed Printers to find Jackson with a
14-yard throw. But Calvilo answered with a 45-yard scoring pass to
Bratton. A late B.C. single made it 31-11 at halftime.
Momentum could have switched 4:54 into the third quarter as
Grice-Mullen raced around the left side for a 106-yard punt return TD,
breaking a league playoff record 103-yard return by Henry (Gizmo)
Wiliams of Edmonton in 1992.
But Montreal marched back for Bratton's 14-yard TD catch. Cory Huclack blocked a punt and Richardson ran it in at 11:20.
"When they blocked that punt it was basically over," said Jackson.
Duval added a field goal and a point on a missed field goal to
give the Alouettes a team-record 49 points, one more than they scored
in a playoff game against Hamilton in 1956.
The teams split their last four meetings, with no game decided
by more than a touchdown, and this one was also expected to go down to
the wire. Instead, it was a blowout.
"We all decided that it doesn't have to be close because we saw some
things we could do defensively and offensively and we went out and
played hard from the first kickoff," said Montreal rush end Anwar
Stewart. "It was big play after big play.
"It's our turn. We had a pick and a fumble early and scored off
them, and when you do that, sometimes it takes the air out of their
sails."
Alouettes back-up receiver Andrew Hawkins was carried off, favouring
his right leg in the second half. Coach Marc Trestman said he does
not expect him to be available for the Grey Cup game.
Notes: The Lions lost cornerback Dante Marsch to an injury early in
the first quarter… The last QB with five TD tosses in a playoff game
was Danny Barrett in 1991… Richardson tied a team record shared by three
others with three TDs in a playoff game… It was Montreal's first
game at the Big O since a loss to Calgary in last year's Grey Cup game.