MONTREAL – For the third consecutive season the Toronto Argonauts and Montreal Alouettes square off with a chance to play in the Grey Cup up for grabs.
This time around, the scene shifts to Percival Molson Memorial Stadium.
The Alouettes will be looking for a repeat performance from a year ago when they downed the Argonauts 38-17 en route to their eighth championship.
For Argos quarterback Chad Kelly, the game represents a chance at redemption after the 2023 matchup saw him throw four interceptions. Kelly completed 18 of 20 passes for 387 yards and four touchdowns in a 58-38 win over the Ottawa REDBLACKS in the Eastern Semi-Final.
Receivers Makai Polk and DaVaris Daniels were his top targets in the victory and will need to bring their best again against the league’s second ranked pass defence. Damonte Coxie is also listed as a game-time decision and would provide a significant boost if he’s ready to go.
It’s an Als secondary that works collectively to suffocate opposing pass games. Defensive back Dionte Ruffin leads the team with five interceptions and playing alongside veteran Marc-Antoine Dequoy and Wesley Sutton, they’ve helped limit quarterbacks to 267.1 passing yards per game.
Sutton said the team got together to watch the Eastern Semi-Final and feels like they were able to learn from the game.
With the Als pass defence being a strength, head coach Ryan Dinwiddie will likely give the ball to running back Ka’Deem Carey frequently. Carey averaged 4.8 yards over nine carries against Ottawa and now has 1,103 combined between 18 regular season games and one playoff contest.
Up front for Jason Maas’ side is a defensive line led by Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund and his seven sacks. But their best defensive playmakers may be in the middle of the field as linebackers Tyrice Beverette and Darnell Sankey finished third and fourth in total tackles with 111 and 107, respectively.
There were questions around whether Als quarterback Cody Fajardo could win the big game a year ago but with the doubters now silenced, he’s hoping to do it again.
He’ll be without Tyson Philpot who’s out for the season and Austin Mack is a game-time decision. Despite what he might not have come kickoff, he still has a plethora of weapons. Aside from Mack, Fajardo will look the way of Kaion Julien-Grant, Tyler Snead, Cole Spieker and Charleston Rambo as he tries to spread the Argos secondary.
Defensive back Benjie Franklin and linebacker Wynton McManis picked off Dru Brown passes a week ago but as a group surrendered 487 passing yards. It’s a total they can ill afford to cough up again if they want to silence the Montreal faithful and stay in the game.
Disrupting the Als air attack is critical as the Argos try to get Maas to go to his ground game. Defensive linemen Jake Ceresna and Robbie Smith will have their sights on Fajardo and closing gaps on running back Walter Fletcher. With the line also featuring Ralph Holley and Folarin Orimolade, stopping the run is where they stand out.
Fletcher has been a dual threat all season long in the offensive game plan, though, making defending him a challenge. He’s managed 764 yards on 141 carries and caught 71 of 85 passes for 682 yards.
Maas knows what his team is going up against and understands they need to be ready from the opening snap.
A trip to Vancouver for the 111th Grey Cup is on the line.
Kickoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. ET. Canadian fans can watch the game on CTV/TSN/RDS. International and U.S. audiences can tune in to catch the action on CFL+.
