AJ Ouellette’s five-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter rallied the Toronto Argonauts to a thrilling 24-23 win against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the 109th Gray Cup Sunday night in Regina.
Ouellette’s TD, his second of the game, came at 11:36 on Boris Bede’s conversion to give Toronto its slender lead.
And it was backup Chad Kelly, the nephew of former NFL star Jim Kelly, who engineered the five-play, 36-yard drive with veteran McLeod Bethel-Thompson sidelined with an unspecified injury. Ouellette’s touchdown was set up by Javon Leake’s 44-yard punt return that put Toronto at the Winnipeg 31-yard line with 6:07 remaining.
On Winnipeg’s next possession, linebacker Henoc Muamba intercepted Zach Collaros to put the Argos at the Winnipeg 43-yard line with 3:20 to play. But the Bombers stayed alive with Nick Hallett’s block of Bede’s 37-yard field goal that put the West Division team at its own 29-yard line with two minutes left.
After Robbie Smith’s sack, Smith reached Collaros again on third down, but was flagged for a facemask penalty, putting Winnipeg at its 41. The Bombers drove to the Toronto 40-yard line, but Smith block Liegghio’s 47-yard attempt, putting. Toronto at their 14-yard line with 43 seconds to play.
ROBBIE SMITH YOU MOON! pic.twitter.com/RITaOXafWO
—@CFL
Toronto was able to run out the clock.
The loss wiped out a record-setting effort by Winnipeg’s Janarion Grant, who had a 102-yard TD return early in the quarter. It was the longest punt return in Gray Cup history.
Winnipeg was trying to become the first CFL team to win three straight Gray Cups since Edmonton won five in a row (1978-82).
MAN IS ANOTHER THING
—@Wpg_BlueBombers
Toronto won its first Gray Cup since 2017 and extended its streak in the big game to seven straight.
The two teams met in the first game of the Gray Cup at the new Mosaic Stadium. The last time it was contested was in 2013, when the game was played at Mosaic Stadium at Taylor Field and the hometown Roughriders dispatched Hamilton 45-23 for the franchise’s fourth and final championship.
The contest was played in front of an announced sell-out crowd of over 33,000, although there were notable patches of empty seats throughout the venue.
The temperature at the start was -2C (feels like -7C) with winds of 23 kilometers per hour. It got down to -4C (feels like -11C) and the wind picked up to 28km/h to open the second half.
The action began after pre-game festivities that included a flyover of nine aircraft by the 431 Air Demonstration Squadron, formerly the Snowbirds of the Royal Canadian Air Force.
Collaros finished 14 of 23 passing for 183 yards with one interception.
Bethel-Thompson completed 15 of 28 passes for 203 yards while Kelly completed 4 of 6 passes for 43 yards.
Andrew Harris, who helped Winnipeg to titles in 2019 and ’21, rushed for 55 yards on 10 carries for the Argos. Ouellette had 24 yards rushing on six carries.
The two stroke! AJ Ouellette does it again! pic.twitter.com/gnncLpJI45
—@CFL
Bede made just three of his six field goals on the night. He also added two converts and a bachelor.
Dakota Prukop scored both of Winnipeg’s touchdowns. Liegghio added two conversions and a field goal.
Prukop’s one-yard TD run at 11:04 of the third gave Winnipeg a 17-14 lead. He finished with a smart 13-play, 74-yard drive that lasted 7:12.
Ouellette gave Toronto a 14-10 lead with a four-yard TD at the 3:30 mark. The four-play, 35-yard scoring drive was set up by Leake’s 23-yard punt return to the Winnipeg 35-yard line.
Toronto Argonauts running back AJ Ouellette (34) celebrates with wide receiver DaVaris Daniels after scoring a four-yard touchdown during the third quarter of the 109th Gray Cup game against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Sunday at Mosaic Stadium in Regina. (Heywood Yu/The Canadian Press)
Liegghio’s 45-yard field goal at 14:39 of the second gave Winnipeg a 10-7 halftime lead. Bede had a chance to tie it, but his 53-yard attempt on the final play was deflected.
The second was better for Winnipeg (148 net yards of offense compared to Toronto’s 119). However, the Bombers had the upper hand as their defense forced the Argos to settle for field goals and Bede could only convert two of their four first half attempts.
After struggling in the first, Collaros was 6-for-10 passing for 95 yards in the half. Twice, however, he had Dalton Schoen open, but the two couldn’t successfully connect.
More importantly, Collaros emerged after a seven-yard run in the second, showing no ill effects from the foot injury he suffered in last weekend’s West Division final.
Toronto looked determined to set up the pass as Bethel-Thompson completed 10 of 21 attempts for 142 yards. Harris rushed five times for 36 yards.
Bede’s successful 36-yard field goal at 11:30 made it 7-7.
Toronto took a 4-0 lead when Bede’s 36-yard boot made a single at 2:56 of the second. Winnipeg’s offense finally got something together as Prukop’s one-yard TD run on third down at 7:09 capped an eight-play, 70-yard drive that lasted 4:35.
Bede opened the scoring with a 46-yard field goal at 4:44 of the first, which was controlled by Toronto. The Argos had the ball for 8:55 and outgained Winnipeg 71-29 in offensive yards, while Collaros was just 1-for-4 passing for four yards.
However, defensive lineman Jackson Jeffcoat had his team’s biggest play of the quarter, recovering a fumble after sacking Bethel-Thompson.