Argos complete another unlikely upset against Stamps
Calgary loses to East underdog for 2nd year in a row
OTTAWA — Lirim Hajrullahu dealt the Calgary Stampeders another stunning Grey Cup defeat.
Hajrullahu’s 32-yard field goal with 53 seconds remaining earned the Toronto Argonauts a 27-24 win over Calgary on a snowy Sunday night. It marked the second straight year the Stampeders had posted a CFL-best record during the regular season, only to be upset in the biggest game of the year.
Calgary, which registered a 15-2-1 record in 2016, dropped a stunning 39-33 overtime decision last year to an Ottawa Redblacks team that finished the regular season with an 8-9-1 mark. The Stampeders had a 13-4-1 record this year, while Toronto finished atop the East Division at 9-9.
Toronto won its CFL-best 17th Grey Cup, and its first since beating Calgary 35-22 in 2012 at Rogers Centre.
Calgary looked poised to at least force overtime before veteran Matt Black intercepted Bo Levi Mitchell in the end zone with eight seconds left before a TD Place Stadium sellout of 36,154.
Among those braving the elements were CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who sat together.
Toronto used the big play to earn its first Grey Cup win in five years.
The Argos pulled even 24-24 at 10:25 of the fourth quarter on Cassius Vaughn’s 110-yard fumble recovery TD and Declan Cross’s two-point convert.
In the first half, Ricky Ray hit DeVier Posey on a Cup-record 100-yard TD strike against a Calgary team that had beaten Toronto eight straight games.
Ray set another record by winning his fourth Grey Cup as a starting quarterback.
Posey, with 102 yards on seven receptions, was named the game’s most valuable player.
The white stuff start falling roughly two hours before kickoff, lightly at first before steadily increasing. Toronto running back James Wilder Jr., the CFL’s top rookie and a Tampa native, was undeterred as he did pre-game laps on the field shirtless as the game-time temperature was -3 C.
The snow tailed off to start the second half and Toronto responded with an eight-play, 71-yard scoring march capped by Wilder’s two-yard TD run that cut Calgary’s lead to 17-16.
Calgary running back Jerome Messam, from Brampton, Ont., had two touchdowns and was named the game’s most valuable Canadian. Kamar Jorden had the Stamps’ other TD.