CFL: BC, Montreal to Meet in 88th Grey Cup Final

After the gun sounded at McMahon Stadium on Sunday afternoon, the 88th Grey Cup final had its combatants.

The BC Lions and Montreal Alouettes are set to play in the Canadian Football League’s Grey Cup final after both teams won their respective division finals.

The Alouettes fell behind early against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, their division rivals. The Bombers took a 16-0 lead before the Alouettes put any points on the board. Khari Jones connected with ex-Alouette Milt Stegall for a six-yard strike early in the first, and Troy Westwood’s two field goals put the Bombers ahead. But the Alouettes weren’t about to let another East Final slip away. Anthony Calvillo threw a 36-yard score to slotback Jock Climie to cut the lead to 16-7. Terry Baker’s single made it 16-8, and Mike Pringle’s touchdown late in the second quarter made it a football game, as the score into halftime was 16-15 Bombers.

In the third quarter, it was all Montreal. Baker kicked two field goals early in the third to make it 21-16 Alouettes. Backup tailback Thomas Haskins, in relief of Mike Pringle because of a slightly pulled hamstring, made it a 28-16 game when he ran in a touchdown from five yards out. Troy Westwood scored the only point for the Bombers in the third with a single after missing a 34-yard field goal.

There were only two scores in the fourth, the first at 11:51 of the quarter when Montreal fullback Bruno Heppell plunged in from a yard out to give the Als a bit of insurance and a 35-17 lead. Khari Jones threw a 38-yard score to Cory Philpot late in the quarter to cut the Als’ lead to 35-24. But by then, the damage had been done, mostly off of turnovers. Montreal forced five Bomber turnovers, four of them off of Khari Jones as the Als’ secondary showed who was the top team in giveaway-takeaway ratio in the CFL this past season.

BC had a score to settle with West division champion Calgary. It was last season that the Stampeders spoiled the Lions’ party by beating them in the division final to ensure that the Lions would not play at home in the Grey Cup final. This season, the Lions wanted revenge.

The Lions, just like the week before in Edmonton, jumped on the Stamps early. Lui Passaglia scored four of the Lions’ points in the first quarter with a single and a 37-yard field goal, while Mark McLaughlin’s single was all the scoring the Stamps did in that quarter. The Lions came alive in the second quarter, first from a Damon Allen-to-James Cunningham touchdown to make the score 11-1. Then, the proverbial knife in the heart of Calgary came from Eric Carter’s 52-yard interception return for a touchdown to make the score 18-1. Lui Passaglia added a 42-yard field goal to make the score 21-1. BC scored seventeen unanswered points before Mark McLaughlin’s 23-yard field goal made the score 21-4. Dave Dickenson’s 24-yard touchdown pass to Travis Moore made the score 21-11. But on the same play, Dickenson’s season ended when his knee was rolled over. He did not return. Passaglia added yet another field goal, this time from fifthteen yards to make the score 24-11 at the half.

In the second half, BC continued its onslaught. Sean Millington caught a five-yard touchdown pass from Damon Allen to make the score 31-11. Lui Passaglia added his fourth field goal, this from 23 yards, to make the score 34-11. By the end of the third quarter, the game was all but handed to the Lions. The Stamps weren’t about to give up. Mike Cawley scored on a two-yard run to make the score 37-18. Mark McLaughlin added a 41-yard field goal to make it 34-21. Lui Passaglia kicked his fifth field goal of the afternoon to increase the Lions’ lead to 37-21. The Stamps added a safety in the final two minutes of the quarter to keep the score humble at 37-23. It wouldn’t matter, however, as the Lions had extracted their revenge with a whooping of the Stamps. The Lions’ defense, fifth during the regular season, forced eight turnovers, including the return by Carter for a touchdown in the second quarter.

This is BC's eighth appearance in the Grey Cup. the last time they won was in 1994, when they defeated the Baltimore Stallions, 26-23. The city of Montreal will send a representative to the Cup final for the first time in 21 years. The last time the city claimed the Cup was in 1977, when they defeated Edmonton 41-6 at Olympic Stadium.