Riders take down Alouettes to win 112th Grey Cup
WINNIPEG — The Saskatchewan Roughriders are champions once again.
Saskatchewan scored three rushing touchdowns and came down with a trio of interceptions to take down the Montreal Alouettes 25-17 in the 112th Grey Cup in Winnipeg.
After trailing 7-1 at the end of the first quarter, the Riders scored 24 unanswered points to take a commanding lead in the second half. Montreal battled back to make it a one-possession game in the fourth quarter, but Saskatchewan was able to halt the Alouettes comeback attempt with a fumble forced near the goal line.
AJ Ouellette scored once and Tommy Stevens added a pair of majors at Princess Auto Stadium to help the Riders capture their first Grey Cup win since 2013.
Marcus Sayles, Rolan Milligan Jr. and Tevaughn Campbell each added an interception in a dominating night for the Green and White defence.
Montreal’s starting pivot Davis Alexander was under pressure all game, finishing with no touchdowns and three interceptions. Backup pivot Shea Patterson and running back Stevie Scott III scored Montreal’s touchdowns on the ground.
It was Alexander’s first loss as a starter in the CFL.
112th GREY CUP
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Saskatchewan’s defence opened the game with a statement. After a quick first down for the Alouettes, Marcus Sayles jumped a deep ball from Alexander to earn the game’s first takeaway. Montreal’s defence was able to stop the Green and White’s following march, as Kabion Ento knocked down a second-and-three attempt. The Riders added one point to the board when Jesse Mirco‘s punt was downed in the end zone for a single.
Montreal’s next drive didn’t go far, but punter Joseph Zema was able to pin down the Roughriders on their own three-yard line. That made things difficult on Harris and the offence, who ended up having to punt deep into their own territory after a second-and-nine pass to Kian Schaffer-Baker fell incomplete. The return gave Montreal good field position and they immediately capitalized. Alexander aimed deep and found a streaking Tyson Philpot, who gained 37 yards before he was downed by defensive back Tevaughn Campbell at the 16-yard line. The Canadian receiver followed up with another first-down catch to set up first-and-goal, but Saskatchewan’s defence raised the wall on two straight plays to force third-and-goal from the one-yard line. Third time is the charm, though, as Patterson broke the plane of goal to score the first touchdown of the night and give Montreal a 7-1 lead late in the first quarter.
The Roughriders responded with their own long march. Harris connected with Schaffer-Baker on a jumping pass and the veteran receiver added yards-after-the-catch to move the ball into Montreal territory. The pivot then threw another dart, this time to Emilus, who also gained ground after the catch to set up first-and-10 from the 12-yard line. On second-and-five, Emilus was tackled short of the sticks, forcing the Roughriders to make a decision on third down. Harris and the offence stayed out there, but a short pass attempt fell incomplete as the Alouettes forced the turnover on downs. However, the Riders challenged the ruling on the field and upon review, the Alouettes were flagged for defensive pass interference. Stevens came in for the first-and-goal and added his own rushing touchdown to give Saskatchewan an 8-7 lead with the point after by Brett Lauther.
A punt by the Alouettes allowed the Riders a chance to add to their lead. Harris got things going by throwing a short pass to Ajou Ajou on an in-breaking route, before connecting with Schaffer-Baker for another first down across midfield. The quarterback then found a wide-open Ouellette in the flat for a 32-yard gain. A holding penalty pushed the Green and White back, but they rallied back to make it third-and-one. Stevens converted again to give Saskatchewan first-and-goal from the five, and Ouellette finished the job with his trademark tackle-breaking ability coming through on a five-yard touchdown run. The score gave Corey Mace’s squad a 15-7 lead with 2:38 to go in the first half.
After two quick punts by both teams, Montreal got the ball back with 31 seconds left in the second quarter. Alexander moved the ball with his legs, then connected with Cole Spieker over the middle to enter Saskatchewan territory with three seconds left. The pivot escaped the pocket in an attempt to throw it deep, but the pass was intercepted by Rolan Milligan Jr. to end the half.
Mario Anderson Jr. opened the third quarter with a long kickoff return that set up the Riders in Montreal territory. Harris connected with Schaffer-Baker for a quick first down, then found Tommy Nield deep between the hashes for a 34-yard gain all the way to Montreal’s one-yard line. Stevens took care of business once more, scoring his second touchdown of the night, again on a one-yard sneak. The major extended the Riders lead to 22-7 with 11:59 to go in the third quarter.
Later in the third, Alexander got the Als on the move with a 24-yard pass to Charleston Rambo. Two plays later, the pivot escaped the pocket and tried to find someone deep, but instead found Campbell for the game’s third takeaway. The turnover led to three more points for the Riders via Lauther’s leg from 48 yards away.
Montreal kept fighting as Alexander threw a strike to Snead to move the ball across midfield and kickstart a scoring drive for the Als. The signal-caller then planted his back foot and threw another dart, this time to Philpot, who dodged an incoming Campbell to advance the ball into the red zone. A pass interference penalty on Saskatchewan’s defence inched the ball closer to the end zone, and Scott III capped the drive with an 11-yard touchdown run. The point after made it 25-14 at the break between the final two quarters.
The defence forced a quick two-and-out to send Alexander and the offence back onto the field. Montreal turned to the quick passing game to move the ball, gaining a pair of first downs with Philpot and running back Travis Theis. A roughing the passer penalty against Saskatchewan moved the sticks to the 11-yard line, but the Roughriders defence was able to make a stop and force the field goal attempt. The kick made it a one-possession game with 7:47 left in the fourth quarter.
Harris quickly moved the Riders into scoring position, but Lauther’s field goal attempt sailed wide right to keep the lead at eight points. Jason Maas’ team almost made the most of it, shifting field position with a deep pass from Alexander to Snead that went for 51 yards to the Saskatchewan 24-yard line. Scott III added another first down on the ground, but a fumble near the goal line by Patterson was recovered by Campbell in the end zone, keeping Saskatchewan’s lead intact.
Harris and the offence were able to burn some of the clock, but were forced to punt it back to Montreal with a little over a minute left in the game. The Alouettes gained a couple of first downs, but a late attempt by Alexander fell incomplete as the Riders won their first Grey Cup since 2013.
