Saturday’s tilt between the Argos and the Alouettes was a crucial one for both teams, as the winner would move into a first place tie with Hamilton with the season winding down.
In front of the officially announced attendance of 16,834 fans at Rogers Center, the Argos were winners of three straight games and looking to build on a emotionally charged comeback win against the Ticats the week prior. Unfortunately, they ran into a Montreal team who has found new life with John Crompton behind center.
Argonauts Mental Mistakes Prove Costly
The first half of the game featured crucial mistakes for the Boatmen. Two lost fumbles inside Montreal territory resulted in promising drives that delivered no points; add in the dropped pass to a wide-open LaVon Brazil on the Montreal side of the field near the end of the half, and there you have three wasted opportunities to put points on the board.
Although the double blue missed out on at least nine points on those blown drives, the Argos remained in the game. The Alouettes seemed set to bury the Argos for good in the second half, but their offence was almost ineffective, letting the home team remain in the contest until late into the game.
One of the reasons for the Argos’ relative success this year is their ability to hang around in games that they should otherwise have not had a part in. Case in point, a forced fumble on Crompton, which gave new life to Toronto. And soon after, Sean Whyte aimed for a third coffin-corner punt to pin the Argos deep yet again, but the punt was blocked near mid-field.
In the end, though, unlike their previous game’s late heroics against the Tabbies, there would be no miracle comeback at Roger Centre.
With the season winding down and the Als having surpassed Toronto, the Argos never-say-die attitude will be tested again. One positive is that the Argos have the luxury of playing the two teams (Hamilton, Montreal) they are chasing in the standings over the next two weeks. With a win over both the Ticats and Alouettes, the Argos would secure a tie breaker over both of their rivals.
Despite the frustrating loss to Montreal on Saturday evening, the season is not lost for Toronto. The main thing to focus on will be to make sure the Boatmen are ready to play a full four quarters. We all know this isn’t a team that will lie down and give up, and with two huge games coming up, Coach Milanovich has to find a spark if his team is to be in the thick of it come November.
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