Weird, but wonderful
It was the kind of unforgettable football game which only the CFL can produce The Montreal Alouettes and Edmonton Eskimos saved the best for last
VANCOUVER— There were bizarre plays, terrible mistakes, utterly confused coaching behavior, dreadful drops and moments of pure, delicious drama. And that was just the overtime portion of the 93rd Grey Cup classic.
This was a spectacle, ladies and gentlemen, that will go down as one of the most extraordinary contests for Lord Grey’s chalice ever played, the first OT game in 44 years, yet at the same time it will elude precise analysis and accurate description for a long time. How, exactly, the Edmonton Eskimos managed to win their 13th Grey Cup by virtue of a 3835 triumph over the Montreal Alouettes last night at B. C. Place is a question that defies a ready answer.
Almost 60,000 people were on hand live to watch this one, and most of them would have trouble describing exactly what they saw. The simple answer is that Sean Fleming’s 36- yard field goal in the second half of the CFL’s wild and wonderful “ shootout” OT format was the difference. Montreal still had a chance to tie or win the game, but it ended with Anthony Calvillo desperately trying to punt the ball downfield as he was being thrown out of bounds far from paydirt. But Fleming’s foot, really, was only a tiny part of the winning story. In truth, the Esks tried over and over to give the game to the Als.
In fact, the contest should never have gone to an extra session, but two Edmonton defensive backs, Keyou Craver and Donny Brady, both had easy chances to intercept the ball on the same play with seconds left in regulation. And both dropped the football.
That gave Als kicker Damon Duval the chance to tie the game 25- 25 on the last play to create overtime. Then things really got wacky. The Als went first, and receiver Dave Stala made a spectacular catch deep in the west end zone while being interfered with by Esks defensive back Malcolm Frank to give the Eastern champs a 35- 28 lead. Edmonton, having to score a touchdown, responded with a marvelous grab by 2003 Grey Cup MVP Jason Tucker in virtually the same spot that Stala had made his catch, tying the game 35- 35. Under the format, Edmonton then had to go first in the next part of OT. After another Edmonton drop, this time by receiver Trevor Gaylor, Fleming kicked his go- ahead field goal.
That left Montreal requiring a field goal to keep the game going or a touchdown to win it, and set the stage for one of the strangest plays in CFL history, Grey Cup or otherwise.
Als quarterback Anthony Calvillo faded back to pass, but his toss was batted down at the line. Calvillo made an amazingly quick reaction to catch the ball before it hit the ground, moved a few yards to his left and whipped the ball far downfield. To a totally, wide open receiver Kerry Watkins, without an Eskimo within 30 yards.
Casually, too casually, Watkins reached up for the ball and, it seemed, the Grey Cup winning score. And dropped it. A butterfingers miscue that would have gone down as one of the biggest drops in the history of football on either side of the U. S.- Canada border. And here comes the best part.
It didn’t count.
Calvillo, by catching the ball, had thrown a completed forward pass. Throwing it again not only negated Watkins’ unbelievable drop, it cost the Als a 10yard penalty. And quite probably the Grey Cup. But the bizarreness of this game wasn’t yet complete.
First Calvillo was sacked, losing 11 yards, and then, on second down and 31, his gorgeous pass downfield to Ben Cahoon was batted down by a diving Frank.
Seeing the ball hit the turf, rookie Edmonton coach Danny Maciocia tore off his headset, thrust his arms into the arm and started bouncing out on to the field in joyous celebration.
If only the game had been over.
This remains, you see, a threedown league, and it was only third down. An embarrassed Maciocia retreated to the sideline, readjusted his headset and, one suspects, began to pray wildly that the Als wouldn’t be able to dig themselves out of the grave. They couldn’t, and the game ended.
Ricky Ray, 34-44 passing on the day for 367 yards, was named the game’s MVP, but the most valuable element, without question, was the brilliantly unpredictable style of football we play up here in the Great White North. Vancouver put on a terrific Grey Cup game and week, and sold out the game, something the city didn’t do when it last hosted the game six years ago. But it’s the game that keeps this league not only alive, but so very much worth keeping. The NHL only recently discovered the value of having a style of competition that people actually want to watch.
Well, the CFL, to its credit, has always fought off attempts to change its game, and at a time when sports fans have tiny attention spans and demand constant entertainment and surprise endings, this Canadian collection of nine football teams delivers the goods over and over. The third Grey Cup meeting between Edmonton and Montreal in four years started slowly with a mediocre first half but then exploded with fireworks, ending up as the best of the three championship games. Ray was the hero, but it just as easily could have been Tucker, or even ex- Argo Derrell Mitchell, whose catch on a third and four gamble by the Esks with less than two minutes left in regulation was a scintillating moment. Jason Maas, expected to be a Tiger- Cat in the coming days, never saw the field after relieving Ray and leading the Esks to victory in their two playoff victories before yesterday. For Montreal, Calvillo was gutsy despite his OT error and threw for more yards than Ray, while a trio of French Canadians — Matthieu Proulx, Eric Lapointe and Sylvain Girard — delivered terrific performances. The players make the games, but the game makes the league.
Yesterday, the CFL delivered something that was equally unforgettable and completely confusing for its non- stop raw action in the defining moments. And that was just overtime.