Argonauts upset Alouettes in East final, but lose QB Chad Kelly

By Daniel Rainbird, The Canadian Press on November 9, 2024.

MONTREAL – The Toronto Argonauts got their revenge on the Montreal Alouettes, but lost their starting quarterback in the process.

Damonte Coxie made five receptions for 105 yards and a touchdown as the Argonauts defeated the defending Grey Cup champions 30-28 in the CFL’s East Division final on Saturday.

Chad Kelly threw 11-for-22 for 182 yards, one TD and two interceptions before he was 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 returns to the Grey Cup game after winning the title in 2022. The Alouettes stunned the Argonauts with a 38-17 upset in last year’s East final after posting a historic 16-2 record.

Montreal’s Cody Fajardo went 27-for-42 for 330 yards and three TDs, but also committed one fumble and two interceptions – including on a possible game-tying conversion late in the fourth quarter.

A year ago the Alouettes forced nine turnovers – including four Kelly interceptions – en route to victory. On Saturday, Montreal turned the ball over six times, including four fumbles, before 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 was 3-for-3, including a 47-yarder.

The 111th Grey Cup is at BC Place in Vancouver on Nov. 17. The Argos would face the Winnipeg Blue Bombers or Saskatchewan Roughriders, who met in the West final later Saturday.

The Alouettes led 16-7 with 1:29 left in the first half when the game’s momentum shifted.

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 on the clock.

Kelly turned around and connected with Coxie on back-to-back completions, including a 20-yard TD strike as Toronto took a 21-16 lead into halftime.

After the Argonauts went up 24-16, Fajardo fumbled the ball at Toronto’s 21 on a sack by Wynton McManis.

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 kneeled in disbelief around their QB before he was carted off.

Fajardo found Austin Mack with 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 TD with 1:56 remaining to make it 30-28. But Montreal missed the conversion again as Fajardo threw an interception.

The Alouettes reached the red zone twice early but failed to score on both occasions with two fumbles, setting the tone for the rest of the game.

Two minutes in, 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 off Fletcher’s hands.

The Alouettes broke through at 8:57 of the second as Fajardo found Kaion Julien-Grant with an eight-yard TD pass. A 38-yard rush by Sean Thomas-Erlington helped set up the score as Montreal took a 13-7 lead.

Kelly threw another pick on the next possession, intercepted this time by Darnell Sankey.