Nov
Als off to Grey Cup
Courtesy Montreal Gazette:
Larry Taylor returned two punts for touchdowns as the Montreal Alouettes rolled to a 36-26 victory over the Edmonton Eskimos in the Wendy’s CFL on TSN East Final at Olympic Stadium.
The Alouettes will host the winner of today’s West Final between the B.C. Lions and Calgary Stampeders in the Grey Cup, which will also be played at Olympic Stadium in Montreal. You can watch the Wendy’s CFL on TSN West Final live on TSN and TSN HD right now.
Taylor scored his first touchdown late in the first half to give the Alouettes their first lead of the game. He took Noel Prefontaine’s punt and darted up the field for a 64-yard major.
His second score came early in the fourth quarter and sealed the win. Taylor started on his won 13-yard line and found himself in the end zone 97 yards away.
Anthony Calvillo completed 20 of 32 passes for 295 yards with one touchdown while Jamel Richardson led the way with 91 yards on six catches and one touchdown. Avon Cobourne rushed for another major.
Ricky Ray threw for 339 yards and one touchdown in a losing effort with Outstanding Canadian nominee Kamau Peterson his favourite target, catching nine balls for 127 yards. Kelly Campbell scored the only offensive touchdown for the Eskimos.
The Eskimos jumped out to an early lead when back-up defensive end Justin Cooper blocked Damon Duval’s punt deep in Montreal’s end and recovered the loose ball in the end zone.
Duval came back on the next series when he put the cap on a long drive with a 27-yard field goal. But on the first play of the second quarter, Noel Prefontaine made good on a 45-yard field goal attempt to restore the Eskimos’ lead.
Then, Peterson came up big, hauling in two key passes from Ray, allowing Prefontaine to extend the Edmonton advantage with a 22-yard field goal.
Late in the second frame, Calvillo connected with Richardson on a 7-yard touchdown pass to close the gap to 13-12. Richardson led the league in touchdowns during the regular season with 16 majors.
After a two-and-out from the Eskimos, Larry Taylor returned a punt 64 yards for a touchdown to give the Alouettes a huge boost heading to the locker-room. And the crowd started to become a factor.
