TORONTO | Abused early in the game by the Argonauts, the Montreal Alouettes saw their 2022 season end with a 34-27 loss in the East Final on Sunday afternoon at BMO Field.
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Head coach Danny Maciocia’s squad allowed crowd favorites three times in their first four offensive streaks of the game. The third major hurt particularly. In second down and one-yard position, the “Argos” sent their backup quarterback into the fray. Believing in a quarterback sneak, the “Sparrows” left receiver DaVaris Daniels completely alone and the latter scored probably the easiest touchdown of his career.
Trailing by 18 points and visibly injured in their pride with 39 minutes left in the game, the Alouettes experienced an offensive upheaval after this embarrassing success by their rivals. The unit led by Trevor Harris has crossed for 82 yards on five plays. The center completed the streak with a 36-yard throw to Tyson Philpot. It was one of the very few moments of celebration in the visitors’ camp in the first half.
No defensive solution
Returning from the locker room after the half-match break, the attack of the “Als” was unrecognizable. In a short time, the gap was only three small points. William Stanback had a 52-yard run for six points, while Harris and Philpot once again joined forces for the two-point convert.
Two good streaks were followed by placements with David Côté.
The problem is that the Alouettes’ defense was never able to win against the Argos’ attack. Coordinator Noel Thorpe’s unit gave up a touchdown in the third quarter and didn’t get the job done in the final three minutes. Absolutely having to give the ball back to their attack, the defense were handed penalties and were unresponsive to their rivals’ ground game.
Under the win, the Argonauts will play their first Gray Cup game since the 2017 campaign, when they won the prized trophy for the 17th time. The Queen City club will play the final game of 2022 against the winner of the West Final, which pits the Winnipeg Blue Bombers against the BC Lions.