LADY LUCK SHINES THROUGH THE SNOW
Toronto’s big plays and Calgary’s mistakes tell tale of the unbelievable 105th Grey Cup
It was a wet, stormy and historically crazy night for the Toronto Argonauts.
Somehow, in a championship game in which Bo Levi Mitchell outplayed Ricky Ray and Jerome Messam outran James Wilder Jr. and the Calgary offensive and defensive lines were dominant, the Argos won the 105th Grey Cup — really, on two plays that almost defy explanation.
Little-known Cassius Vaughan ran back a 109-yard fumble return just as Calgary was about to clinch the title game, and that came after a 100-yard touchdown pass to DeVier Posey in the first half, a play that could easily have been knocked down by Calgary defensive back Tommie Campbell.
The two record-breaking plays provided Ray with enough time and momentum to bring Toronto back for a last-minute 27-24 victory. The win was a lot like the Argos’ season, coming from nowhere, unexpected but enthralling in the end. For Calgary, the loss is yet another example of a good team not being best when it mattered most.
LAST CHANCE
The Stampeders got the ball back with 46 seconds to play, down three points, with no time outs left. They started on the 44-yard line. For reasons unexplained, Mitchell threw long, was intercepted by Matt Black and the Stamps again lost a championship they should have won.
BAD CALL ONE
After both teams had used up their replay challenges in the first half, the Argos were victimized in the second half.
Elusive punt returner Martese Jackson broke a long return that was called back on an apparent illegal block from Llevi Noel. Noel clearly hit the Stampeder player from the side. It was the wrong call, it cost the Argos 50 yards of field position and a huge lift in momentum was denied.
OFFENSIVE EARLY
For the Argos, it basically was one play in the first half. That was it — but what a play. A 100yard pass from Ray to Posey, the longest in Grey Cup history.
Calgary DB Tommie Campbell, who didn’t give up a touchdown pass all season long, was in position to make a play but Ray dropped a perfect long pass into Posey’s hands and he outran Campbell half the field to the end zone.
The Argos had the ball eight times in the first half and punted seven of those times. They rarely moved the ball at all until the second half.
SNOW FALL ON GREY CUP
This looked like Canada. The snow began to fall about an hour before kickoff, and it never stopped, the sky lit up with what looked like a glistening bubble bath. Then the game began and the weather played a part in almost everything that happened.
Argos defensive lineman Cleyon Laing was so inspired by his early sack on Calgary quarterback Mitchell that he followed it up with a bellyflop and slide on the stadium turf.
The conditions weren’t exactly good friends with Argo cornerback Akwasi Owusu-Ansah. Owusu-Ansah was victimized on the first Calgary score, a thirddown gamble touchdown pass to Kamer Jorden.
In the second quarter, Owusa-Ansah was covering Rory Kohlert, who caught the pass before fumbling it several yards away. Kohlert somehow outpositioned Owusa-Ansah on the long fumble and retained the ball.
Before the game, during the game and certainly at halftime, the snowplows tried to take care of the field. They couldn’t succeed under the circumstances. Every time they cleared an area, the snowfall outpaced the cleanup.
Inn the fourth quarter, in a close game, Owusa-Ansah got beat on a 50-yard pass with Mitchell throwing to Marken Michel.
Calgary punter Rob Maver made a wise play in the second quarter when a snap went over his head. Maver raced back to the end zone and had a choice to make: turn around to punt the ball or kick it out the back of the end zone.
He made the safer play, we believe, when he kicked the ball out the back of the end zone. The Argos got two points on the play, but it could have been a lot worse for the Stamps.
Calgary head coach Dave Dickenson was clearly in a gambling mood in the first half, and for the most part it paid off.
He went for it on third down and three yards to go, which resulted in the first Calgary touchdown. He went for a twopoint convert on the play and failed. He went for another twopoint convert after the Messam touchdown. On the last play of the half, when it was uncertain what kicking conditions were like, he allowed his kicker, Rene Paredes, to attempt a 39-yard field goal, which put the Stamps up 17-8 at the half.
Partly because of the Argos offence’s early ineptitude, the Stampeders started the entire first half with terrific field position. The Stamps opened their nine drives at an average of the 45-yard line. Mitchell was an impressive 17 for 21 in the first half for 160 yards.
Tough game for the Argos offensive line, which rarely seemed to get the better of the Calgary defensive line. Ray was under siege a lot of the game and Wilder had little room to run. He carried the ball five times for seven yards in the first half, but did bounce back momentarily with a second-half touchdown … Conversely, the Argonauts needed to get more pressure on Mitchell. He had way too much time to throw … The Argos attempted something they hadn’t done all season long: a flea-flicker pass. It didn’t work … We love our own. Shania Twain, probably after the best-before date, rocked it and had the frozen crowd engaged and enthused … Even when things went wrong for Calgary, they seemed to go right. In the first half, there was a clear mix-up in the backfield. Mitchell looked for Messam, who went the other way. One play later, the Stampeders scored on a third-down pass … Looked like a Ray interception, but somehow S.J. Green took the ball out of Campbell’s hands for a big catch in the third quarter … Don’t know what this looked like on home television, but the in-stadium attempt to get the crowd singing along and harmonizing with the national anthem seemed a little forced and a little overdone.
This looked like Canada. The snow began to fall about an hour before kickoff, and it never stopped, the sky lit up.