The Toronto Argonauts dominated the Montreal Alouettes with a convincing 39-10 victory at the BMO Field over the weekend led by Argonauts starting quarterback Chad Kelly who kept Montreal’s defense on it’s heels all Saturday.
The Argonauts offensive line took center stage with their performance, opening lanes for running back A.J. Ouellette who ran for 105 yards and two touchdowns as Toronto clinched a CFL playoff spot.
“They’re the best in the league and they don’t get enough praise,” Ouellette said, according to TSN and their panel of CFL journalists. “I want to make sure that’s the headline in the next paper that comes out: Our front five is the best in the league.
“It was easy running out there. It was a two-way go every time I got the ball. Pick left or right, it didn’t matter.”
“I just knew this was the one we had to have,” Argonauts head coach Ryan Dinwiddie said. “If we lose this one, then we’ve got to go to their place and if we lose both games they’ve got the tiebreaker on us.
“Then it’s a different story.”
Toronto (10-1) earned a fourth straight victory and tied the 1996 squad for best start in club history.
“It just shows how much we’ve matured as a football club that we don’t have to get on the grass,” Dinwiddie said. “Guys understand walk-through reps are just as important.
“We told them we had to be mentally tough this week and when you’re mentally tough, being physically tough comes with it. It was a tough week and we found a way to overcome it.”
The Alouettes played most of the contest without CFL leader in receiving Austin Mack who was rejected during the first quarter.
“It was big,” Alouttes’ quarterback Cody Fajardo said of Mack’s ejection from the game. “Not many people think about it, but when you start shuffling receivers, guys have to play positions they’re not used to playing.
“As a quarterback you have a repertoire or relationship with a guy at a certain position that runs certain routes and so it changes up the whole offence, it changes up our whole dynamic. Austin is leading the league in receiving yards so obviously he’s one of the top receivers in the league … we’re a much better football team with him on the football field than in the locker room.”
