Late turnover seals deal as Montreal wins second straight Grey Cup

A stingy defense, and the only turnover of the game late in regulation combined to give the Montreal Alouettes a 21-18 win over the Saskatchewan Roughriders and their second consecutive Grey Cup

The Als drove deep into Saskatchewan territory on their second possession of the night, where Avon Cobourne would run it in over right tackle for the first score of the game, capping a 4 play, 38 yard drive. Damon Duval added the convert with 9:21 remaining in the opening quarter, giving Montreal a 7-0 lead. On their very next possession, another drive deep into Roughrider territory stalled, and Duval would miss a 31 yard field goal wide right. The single would give the Alouettes an 8-0 lead with 4:06 left in the opening quarter. Saskatchewan would drive deep into Montreal territory, with a pass interference penalty on the final play of the opening period giving the Riders the ball at the 1. Wes Cates would dive over the left side for the major at the end of an 8 play, 75 yard drive with Warren Kean kicking the convert, cutting the deficit to 8-7 after 15 minutes time.

Saskatchewan's first possession of the second quarter featured a 40 yard pass-and-run hookup between Darian Durant and Cary Koch and ended when Kean kicked a 27 yard field goal with 12:07 to play in the second, giving Saskatchewan a 10-8 lead. Eddie Johnson would add a 48 yard punt single with 1:25 left in the half, giving the Riders an 11-8 lead, an advantage they would take to halftime.

The only points of the third quarter would come with 5:53 left as Duval would cap a 14 play, 83 yard drive that took 6:51 off the clock, by kicking a 22 yard field goal for the Alouettes, tying the game 11-11, the first tie after three periods since the 1972 Grey Cup, when Saskatchewan and Hamilton were tied 10-10.

Duval would give Montreal a 14-11 lead 1:17 into the fourth with a 42 yard field goal. Seven minutes later, Jamel Richardson would catch a 38 yard pass from Anthony Calvillo, giving the Als a first down at the Rider two, where Cobourne would punch it in on the next play. Duval's convert would put Montreal on top 21-11 with 7:46 remaining in regulation time. A short Duval punt from deep in his own end and a no yards penalty gave Saskatchewan the ball at the Alouette 32. After gaining 31 yards on a Durant to Andy Fantuz pass, Marc Parenteau on a tackle-eligible play caught his first CFL touchdown pass from Durant. With the Kean convert, the deficit was 3 at 21-18, with 3:28 left in regulation time. Duval would miss a 40 yard field goal inside of two minutes left, giving the Roughriders the ball, but most of the field to go. Durant, pulled himself away from a loss, but while attempting to throw the ball out of bounds was hit again, forcing the ball to float to the sideline, where Montreal's Billy Parker would intercept the ball at the Saskatchewan 36. The Als were able to run the clock out from there, winning their second consecutive Grey Cup, 21-18, becoming the first team since the '96-'97 Toronto Argonauts to win two straight years.

Anthony Calvillo led Montreal with 29-of-42 passing for 336 yards. Avon Cobourne rush for a pair of majors, Grey Cup MVP Jamel Richardson caught 8 balls for 109 yards and Damon Duval kicked 2 field goals, 2 converts and 1 single. Darian Durant was 18-of-31 passing for 215 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception for the Roughriders. Wes Cates rushed for a touchdown, Marc Parenteau caught a touchdown pass, Warren Kean kicked a field goal and 2 converts and Eddie Johnson had a punt single. The Alouettes outgained Saskatchewan on the night 435 yards to 298, had 24 first downs to 13, and had the only take-away of the game. The Riders sacked Calvillo 3 times while allowing Durant to be sacked just once, and Montreal was penalized 7 times for 90 yards, while Saskatchewan was flagged 8 times for 80 yards. The Alouettes also won the time of possession statistic by a wide margin, 36 minutes to 24.