11.21.05
Eric Lapointe came off the bench to score three second-half touchdowns as the Montreal Alouettes upset the Toronto Argonauts 33-17 in the East Division final on Sunday.

Lapointe, replacing the injured Robert Edwards, stunned the rabid Rogers Centre gathering of 44,211 by erasing a 14-6 deficit and putting Montreal ahead 20-14 with two one-yard runs in the third. Lapointe's heroics came before the largest crowd to see an Argos playoff game since 50,380 fans watched the club beat Winnipeg 42-3 in the 1991 East Division final.

Toronto had an impressive start on offence - scoring twice in the first quarter - then fizzle. Montreal, very solid defensively in last weekend's 30-14 semifinal win over Saskatchewan, forced six Toronto turnovers (two interceptions, four fumble recoveries).

Lapointe, who had 112 yards rushing on 15 carries, cemented the win with a 10-yard TD run with 1:50 to play.

Montreal is off to its third Grey Cup appearance in four years. The only exception was last year when Toronto beat the Alouettes 26-18 in the East final, then downed the B.C. Lions 27-19 in the CFL title game.

Montreal will face either the B.C. Lions or Edmonton Eskimos, who played later Sunday, in the Grey Cup on Nov. 27 in Vancouver.

Lapointe's second TD at 9:21 put Montreal ahead for the first time in the game. It was set up by a 53-yard pass interference penalty on Toronto's Jordan Younger that put the ball on the Argos' two-yard line.

Edwards, who rushed for 1,199 yards this year, left late in the first half with an unspecified injury and didn't return. He ran for 33 yards on eight carries.

Duval hit field goals of 48 and 40 yards in the fourth, the last coming at 11:20 to put Montreal ahead 26-17.

The loss was a bitter one for Toronto, which beat Montreal twice in three meetings this season and finished first in the East Division for the first time since 1997.

Quarterback Damon Allen, coming off a career-best 5,082 yards passing, was among four Argos named as conference representatives for the CFL's top individual awards and is a heavy favourite to be named the league's outstanding player. But his goal was to bring the entire team to Vancouver to defend its Grey Cup title.

Now Allen, linebackers Kevin Eiben (top Canadian) and Michael Fletcher (top defensive player) and punter Noel Prefontaine (special-teams player) will have to be content to represent their team at the CFL's awards banquet instead.

Allen and R. Jay Soward scored Toronto's touchdowns. Prefontaine added the converts and a field goal.

Duval booted two field goals and two converts.

Toronto opened with a bang as Allen's one-yard touchdown run capped an impressive 83-yard, 10-play drive following the opening kickoff. Then at 13:28, Allen hit a streaking Soward on a 43-yard strike for a 14-0 Toronto lead.

Montreal's offence, which had gained nine yards on its first three possessions, got going late in the first and managed to drive 60 yards on 11 plays to set up Duval's 27-yard field goal at 3:36 of the second.

Montreal closed to within 14-6 at 10:33 on Duval's 20-yard field goal, three plays after Jeff Piercey recovered Bashir Levingston's fumble on a punt return.

Toronto's offence also cooled down noticeably in the second, with Prefontaine's blocked 21-yard field goal attempt late in the opening half being the only scoring chance.

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Venue: Rogers Centre (Toronto)
Attendance: 44, 200
Status: East Division Championship
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Game Notes:
RB Robert Edwards left game. Did not return.
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#88 Robert Baker

1st Runner-Up: #30 Kenny Wheaton
2nd Runner-Up: #26 Jordan Younger