Toronto Argonauts defensive back Benjie Franklin celebrates with defensive lineman Ralph Holley after scoring a touchdown on an interception during first quarter CFL Eastern Conference Final football action Saturday, Nov. 9, in Montreal.Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press
The Toronto Argonauts are going back to the Grey Cup.
But they’ll have to win without their starting quarterback to lift the biggest trophy in Canadian football.
The Argonauts defeated the defending champion Montreal Alouettes 30-28 in the CFL’s East Division final on Saturday. Chad Kelly, however, was taken off the field on a stretcher after breaking his ankle late in the third quarter.
“Feel so bad for 12,” an emotional Argos head coach Ryan Dinwiddie said. “That’s a tough go.”
Kelly threw 11-for-22 for 182 yards, one TD and two interceptions before the gruesome injury. Backup Nick Arbuckle went 5-for-8 for 73 yards with a couple crucial completions in the fourth to help the 2022 champions seal the deal.
Arbuckle, a journeyman who went unsigned most of the off-season, will unexpectedly be a starter in the Grey Cup game on Nov. 17 at B.C. Place Stadium in Vancouver.
“Back in May and April, I didn’t know if I was ever going to play football again,” he said. “I was just on the couch, training some quarterbacks in Ottawa, trying to make some kids better and keep myself ready.”
Toronto will face Winnipeg in the Grey Cup after the Blue Bombers beat the visiting Saskatchewan Roughriders 38-32 on Saturday night in the West Division final.
The Argonauts avenged a stunning loss in last year’s East final, when the underdog Alouettes pulled off a 38-17 upset after Toronto’s historic 16-2 record.
Montreal forced nine turnovers – including four Kelly interceptions – en route to victory 12 months ago. On Saturday, the Alouettes turned the ball over five times, with four fumbles, before a disappointed sellout crowd of 23,035 at Molson Stadium.
Quarterback Cody Fajardo went 27-for-42 for 330 yards and three TDs. But last year’s Grey Cup MVP also committed one fumble and two interceptions, the most crucial coming on a possible game-tying conversion late in the fourth quarter.
“Feels like a nightmare, honestly,” Fajardo said. “You can’t turn the ball over that many times in a playoff game and expect to win, especially where our turnovers were.”
The Alouettes led 16-7 with 1:29 left in the first half when the game’s momentum shifted with Janarion Grant’s 71-yard TD off a punt return. Dinwiddie called it the turning point.
“No question,” he said. “We talked about it all week, we got to get a turnover on special teams, or we got to take one to the crib. And they gave him a chance, right? Janarion’s a special player.”
On the next Alouettes possession, 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 Damonte Coxie on back-to-back completions, including a 20-yard TD strike as Toronto took a 21-16 lead into halftime.
“We got big-play receivers,” Dinwiddie said. “We went into this game saying we’re playing to win. If we’re playing not to lose, that’s not our model, right? We’re playing to win.”
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 run with 54 seconds left in the third.
Arbuckle said the Argos were fuelled by a crowd that, from his point of view on the field, was “laughing and chanting” when Kelly went down.
Kelly was suspended for violating the CFL’s gender-based policy after a former Argos strength and conditioning coach filed a lawsuit against him for sexual harassment. The lawsuit was settled in June through mediation and Kelly was reinstated by the CFL in August.
“We couldn’t wait to get out there and be able to shut everybody up,” Arbuckle said. “This team was just in our way. We didn’t care about trying to win the East final or nothing like that. Our goal is ahead of us.”
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 two-point conversion attempt again as Fajardo threw a pick.
“We gifted them a lot more points than we wish we did, but how good our football team is, we were able to almost overcome it and win the football game,” Fajardo said. “It’s just unfortunate that we didn’t play our best ball tonight.”
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 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.
“Not only is it the times we turned it over, we turned it over in the red zone … and then the other one we give up is a pick six,” Alouettes head coach Jason Maas said. “Those things just don’t happen when you win football games.”