Nov
Als win was Taylor made
Courtesy Montreal Gazette:
The Alouettes are going to the biggest game in the Canadian Football League – thanks to the smallest player on the field.
Larry Taylor, who stands only 5-foot-6 and weighs 177 pounds, returned two punts for touchdowns, leading the Als to a 36-26 victory over the Edmonton Eskimos yesterday afternoon in the East Division final before 38,102 Olympic Stadium spectators.
With the victory, Montreal advances to the Grey Cup next Sunday at the same venue against the Calgary Stampeders, who beat the British Columbia Lions 22-18 in the West Division final.
The Als become only the ninth team in more than a half-century to advance to the championship game as the host, and the first since the Eskimos, in 2002.
No CFL team has captured the title at home since the Lions in 1994.
With the Als trailing 13-12 in the second quarter, Taylor returned a Noel Prefontaine punt 62 yards for a touchdown at 13:36, giving Montreal a lead it wouldn’t relinquish. Taylor went up the middle before cutting to the right. Taylor Inglis missed a tackle on the play.
Taylor then returned a kick 97 yards for a score in the opening seconds of the fourth quarter, providing the Als with an insurmountable 36-13 advantage. On this play, Taylor simply ran up the middle. Kenny Onatolu had the first crack at him, but every defender was basically blocked on the play.
Taylor established a league record for most return yards, 203, in a playoff game. Montreal’s Johnny Rodgers held the old mark of 157 yards, set in 1975.
The Als, playing for the first time in two weeks after enjoying a bye in the opening round of the playoffs, started tentatively and appeared nervous. Montreal’s offence failed to generate a first down on its opening two possessions, as quarterback Anthony Calvillo was constantly under pressure.
Edmonton scored early on a blocked kick. Justin Cooper went up the middle, past long-snapper Cory Huclack and then beyond Dahrran Diedrick, who turned the wrong way. Cooper, a rookie, blocked Damon Duval’s kick and recovered the ball in the end zone at 4:53.
The Eskimos led 13-3 following a pair of Prefontaine field goals before the Als’
offence finally got untracked. A nine-play,
75-yard drive ended in Calvillo’s eight-yard touchdown pass to Jamel Richardson at 12:29 of the second quarter.
Six minutes into the third quarter,
the Als added a second offensive score. A one-yard run by Avon Cobourne capped an 11-play, 80-yard drive.
Duval kicked a pair of field goals, from 12 and 27 yards, while Prefontaine conceded a safety for Montreal’s other points.
The Eskimos’ other touchdowns came on a 55-yard bomb to Kelly Campbell at 3:07 of the fourth quarter, followed by a
78-yard punt return by Tristan Jackson in the final minute. A two-point convert failed.
