(Toronto) A. J. Ouellette rushed for 105 yards and scored two touchdowns, and the Toronto Argonauts secured their place in the upcoming Canadian Football League playoffs with a 39-10 victory over the Montreal Alouettes Saturday afternoon at BMO Field.
The Argonauts (10-1) signed a fourth victory in a row and, in the process, made sure to dominate their seasonal series against the Alouettes (6-6).
These two teams will cross swords next Friday at Percival-Molson Stadium to complete their home-and-away series.
“We needed this game,” winning coach Ryan Dinwiddie said. A defeat would have opened the door for them to break the deadlock, at home no less. »
Ouellette sealed the victory for the Argonauts with a major following a two-yard run at 2:36 of the fourth quarter, making the score 36-10.
The Toronto offensive line delivered a fifth game in a row without allowing a sack.
The brigade has only allowed 10 since the start of the campaign, in addition to creating gaps for a player like Ouellette.
The Toronto team posted its sixth win in six outings against its East Division rivals and improved its record to 6-0 in local games – although one of them took place in Halifax.
The Alouettes suffered a third straight loss and now have to worry about the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (5-7), who sit third in the East.
Jason Maas’ squad played most of the game without Austin Mack – who leads CFL receivers with 60 catches for 971 yards and four touchdowns – after he was ejected in the first quarter.
The Argonauts collected their fifth victory in seven games against the Alouettes, to the delight of the crowd of 14,415 spectators gathered at BMO Field. Since 2021, they are 17-5 in this stadium.
Chad Kelly, the Argonauts’ starting quarterback, completed 21 of 28 passes for 278 yards. He also had six yards on two carries, one of which led him into the end zone in the third quarter.
For the Alouettes, Cody Fajardo had 21 passes on 24 attempts for 236 yards and a touchdown. He also made two carries for gains of five yards before giving way to Caleb Evans late in the fourth quarter.
Cameron Dukes had the other game-winning touchdown. Boris Bede added three conversions and four placements.
Cole Spieker scored the Alouettes’ only touchdown. David Côté successfully completed the conversion and a placement.
Kelly’s rushing touchdown, accomplished on a five-yard sprint on third down and three yards to go, increased the Argonauts’ lead to 29-10. The Toronto team, however, missed its conversion attempt by two points.
Côté had previously made a field goal from 10 yards, allowing the Alouettes to reduce the Argonauts’ lead to 23-10.
Only three points were scored in the second quarter, the result of a 37-yard field goal from Bede that allowed the Argonauts to retreat to the locker room after the first half with a 23-7 lead.
The Alouettes did not help their cause by committing four turnovers (three following fumbled balls, the other on a failed attempt on a third down), and five penalties which cost them 51 yards in the first half. They were limited to five first downs compared to 12 for the Argonauts.
The Alouettes suffered a blow near the end of an emotional first quarter when Mack was ejected following a scrum that followed what looked like an interception by the Argonauts, but was ultimately judged to be an incomplete pass.
“It had a big impact,” quarterback Cody Fajardo said of having to cope without Mack.
The Alouettes’ only touchdown came following a 19-yard pass from Fajardo to Spieker midway through the first quarter.
The Argonauts scored the first 14 points of the game thanks to Ouellette’s first touchdown, on a 15-yard sprint, after that of Dukes on a one-yard run.
