Tuesday Morning QB (CFL Week 16)
The CFL season is essentially finished for two teams as the playoffs have been determined and two teams will not be back. Meanwhile the race in the CFL is not finished as the top six teams all have a shot at their respective Conference championships. The top six will all fight for their chance to get a bye while the bottom two will figure out what went so wrong this year. Saskatchewan was one of the best teams the last two years after making the Grey Cup both seasons. In both of those seasons the Riders lost to the Montreal Alouettes becoming runner ups two years in a row. This year the riders were trying to repeat their performances of the last two years and win the Grey Cup but the season was far from what they were hoping for. They started out with a three game losing streak before they beat Montreal and then went on a four game losing streak into the halfway mark. At that point they switched coaches and for a while it seemed to solve the problem as the Riders began making a run in the second half. The winning streak came to a halt after three games and from then on the Riders scored less than ten points twice and last week lost with an 18 point game and was eliminated from the playoffs with their only chance at a crossover taken away. The Toronto Argonauts had a successful season in Jim Barker’s first year as they went 9-9 and moved to the Eastern Conference finals against Montreal. This year they were hoping for an even better season with another year under the system and another year with Cleo Lemon under centre learning the game. The Argos did not have a good season this year as Lemon seemed to get the game at some points and then looked completely lost at other points. The Argos were very bad this year as they could only manage three wins before week 16 and every win seemed to be as a result of poor playing by the other team and not the good play of the Argos. The Argos will miss the playoffs as they trend backwards but both the Riders and Argos can play spoiler to a host of teams looking to take the first place spot in the conferences with only three weeks left.
Calgary Comes up Short
TOR 31 – 29 CGY
The Toronto Argonauts were eliminated from the playoffs, officially, in week 15 after they lost another game that put them out of contention. Meanwhile the Calgary Stampeders made the playoffs in week 15 but have a big reason to play. In the West there is a three-way tie for first place and the Stamps will need to keep up with the hottest team in the CFL, B.C. Lions, and the Edmonton Eskimos if they hope to get the first round bye. A large part to this was a win against one of the worst teams in the CFL. The Stamps were hoping to get a win against the Argos but the Argos are dangerous and this is only because they have nothing to lose. The Argos are already out of the playoffs and it seems like every player is now trying out for a spot next year and are playing all out. With this in mind both teams went to battle with the Argos looking to play spoilers. The Stamps offence struggled out of the gate with Henry Burris (6/11, 65 yds, 0 TD 2 INT) seemingly off centre in leading the offence. As the Stamps struggled the Argos and Cory Boyd (18 rsh, 148 yds, 1 TD, 0 F) started rolling with Boyd scoring the first TD in 1st quarter putting the Argos ahead 7-3. The Stamps continued to struggle under Burris and the Argos began to build a bigger lead on the ground with the legs of Boyd and QB Stephen Jyles (6 rsh, 47 yds, 0 TD, 0 F) who increased the lead to 14-6 in the 2nd quarter. The Argos continued to roll after earning an interception TD by Byron Parker (5 tkl, 0 sck, 1 INT, 0 FF) and a TD pass by Stephen Jyles (11/21, 118 yds, 1 TD, 4 INT). Going into the half the Argos earned a 28-9 lead. The second half saw Henry Burris sitting on the bench as Drew Tate (19/28, 263 yds, 2 TD, 0 INT) took over under centre. With Tate leading the offence the Stamps began to fight back behind the arm of Tate and the legs of Jon Cornish (12 rsh, 128 yds, 0 TD, 0 F). The Stamps defence also stepped up as they continued to shut down the Argos offence allowing the Stamps to get back into the game. At the end of the 3rd quarter the Stamps were back into the game as they got within 9 points of the Argos. With the score 28-19 for the Argos the Stamps continued to claw back into the game with a Drew Tate TD that brought the score to 28-26. After another interception by Stephen Jyles the Stamps lined up with the ability to go ahead with a field goal. Rene Paredes (5/5 FG, 40 lng, 2/2 XP, 17 pts) kicked the field goal with four minutes left in the game putting the Stamps ahead 29-28. The Argos got the ball back and began marching but could not get a first down until the referees called a penalty giving them new life. On the next set of downs Jyles threw another INT but again it was negated by a penalty on the Stamps. With a third chance at it the Argos finally got within field goal distance and Noel Prefontaine (1/1 FG, 18 lng, 4/4 XP, 7 pts) kick a field goal to put the Argos ahead for good 31-29. With the loss the Stampeders fell behind the Eskimos and Lions and now sit in third place in the West. The Argos played spoilers as they continue to focus on next year when the Grey Cup will be in Toronto and they will hope to be playing for the Grey Cup in their home town. Next week the Stamps will continue to lean on Drew Tate electing to start him over Henry Burris for their game against the Saskatchewan. The Argos will look to throw another wrench in the Western Conference as they will take on Edmonton and look to be spoilers again.
The Als continue to Impress
MTL 27 – 25 HAM
The Tiger Cats were looking for a win or a Saskatchewan loss to clinch the last playoff spot and prevent a crossover. They would be in tough against a very good Alouettes team that is locked in one of the biggest battles in the CFL. The Alouettes have been the top of the East for years but this year they are locked in a tight battle for the Eastern crown this year with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. The Als were looking to continue their dominance over the Ti-Cats and take control of the top spot over the Bombers. The Als started off in a bad way one the opening kickoff after a fumble to give the ball to the Ti-Cats before their offence got on the field. The Als offence stepped up to bail out the special teams as the Ti-Cats could only earn a field goal off of the turnover. Both offences could not get much going in the first half but the Als would try to change this at the end of the 2nd quarter. Anthony Calvillo (27/39, 341 yds, 2 TD, 0 INT) led the Als down the field and ended the drive with a TD pass to Brandon Whitaker (4 rec, 40 yds, 1 TD) who made a few moves and straddled the line for the great TD. At the half the Als were leading 14-9 as they looked to build on their lead in the second half. The Als did just that as Calvillo led another drive that ended in a passing TD putting the Alouettes ahead 21-9. As the third quarter ended the Als had another fumble giving the ball back to the Ti-Cats who could not manage to capitalize again only kicking a field goal. The Als took advantage of this offensive output by the Ti-Cats increasing their lead again with a field goal off of a Kevin Glenn (16/24, 201 yds, 0 TD, 2 INT) interception. With the Als ahead 27-12 the game seemed to be over with all of the momentum on the side of the Alouettes. The Ti-Cats were not done yet though as they began a late comeback behind Kevin Glenn. Glenn led the Tabbies on a late fourth quarter drive and finished it off with a running TD. After stuffing a 3rd down conversion attempt by the Als the Ti-Cats took over with a last gasp attempt to reduce the 27-19 lead by the Als. On a pass play that put the Ti-Cats in the red zone Kevin Glenn was hit hard and put out of the game giving the ball to Quinton Porter (11/18, 103 yds, 1 TD, 0 INT) on their last effort to tie the game. Porter made good on his chance passing to Dave Stala (3 rec, 25 yds, 1 TD) for the TD. The Ti-Cats had to go for two points to tie the game and they put the ball in Porter’s hands again. Porter threw a good pass to Aaron Kelly (2 rec, 62 yds, 0 TD) who let the ball go through his hands and ending the comeback for the Ti-Cats. The Alouettes took the win and took the top spot in the East for the week. The Ti-Cats took the loss but were blessed by a Roughriders loss to give them a playoff spot. Next week the battle for the East will increase as the Alouettes will take on the Winnipeg Blue Bombers as they look to take the top spot for good. The Ti-Cats will face the hottest team in the league the B.C. Lions who are currently on an 8 game winning streak.
Other Scores:
EDM 24 – WPG 10
BC 29 – 18 SSK
POW Awards:
Cory Boyd, RB (Offensive POW)
18 rsh
148 yds
1 TD
0 F
Chip Cox, LB (Defensive POW)
7 tkl
1 sck
1 INT
0 FF
Paul McCallum, K (Special Teams POW)
5/5 FG
51 lng
2/2 XP
17 pts
Jon Cornish, RB (Canadian POW)
12 rsh
128 yds
0 TD
0 F
Standings
Western Conference:
1. x-B.C. Lions (9-6)
2. x-Edmonton Eskimos (9-6)
3. x-Calgary Stampeders (8-7)
4. Saskatchewan Roughriders (4-11)
Eastern Conference:
1. x-Montreal Alouettes (10-5)
2. x-Winnipeg Blue Bombers (9-6)
3. x-Hamilton Tiger Cats (7-8)
4. Toronto Argonauts (4-11)
x-Clinched Playoff Spot
Next Week:
Edmonton Eskimos vs. Toronto Argonauts (Fri. Oct. 21st; 6:30 pm)
Saskatchewan Roughriders vs. Calgary Stampeders (Fri. Oct. 21st; 9:30 pm)
Montreal Alouettes vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers (Sat. Oct. 22nd; 3:00 pm)
B.C. Lions vs. Hamilton Tiger Cats (Sat. Oct. 22nd; 7:00 pm)
The Sport Addiction 