There was heartbreak in Montreal Sunday as fans watched a ball bounce off the chest of Receiver Brian Bratton onto the turf, ending the Alouettes's last-chance to create a late-game tie in an Eastern Final game they went on to lose 27-20 against Toronto.
The Argonauts will now play at home against either Calgary or B.C. in the 100th Grey Cup game next Sunday.
Toronto trailed by seven at halftime but scored two third quarter touchdowns - a 44-yard Chad Kackert run and a two-yard pass from Ricky Ray to Dontrelle Inman to take a lead which the Alouettes would be unable to counter.
The Alouettes carried a 17-10 lead over the Toronto Argonauts into halftime in an electric game with plenty of long-bomb completions, big hits and dramatic goal-line stands.
The Alouettes scored two touchdowns, one late in the second quarter on a short run by backup QB Adrian McPherson and scored the other by Chris Jennings on a 22-yard run. Sean White also booted a first quarter field goal.
Toronto did not score a touchdown, scoring its points on a pair of Swayze Waters field goals and safeties.
The winner plays either the B.C. Lions or Calagary Stampeders for the Grey Cup in Toronto next Sunday.
Alouettes linebacker Marc-Olivier Brouillette was taken off the field on a stretcher Sunday early in the fourth quarter of the CFL East final.
The six-foot 230-pounder was hurt on a Montreal kickoff.
Players from both sides immediately kneeled in the vicinity of the player as medical staff immobilized him as a precaution. After a lengthy delay, he was wheeled off the field.
The Toronto Argonauts were leading 24-20 at the time.
The game drew a crowd of 50,112 to Olympic Stadium.
Toronto goes to Grey Cup for the first time since 2004
The Argonauts reached the CFL championship game for the first time since 2004, when they won their 15th Grey Cup with a victory over B.C.
Chad Owens piled up 207 receiving yards on 11 catches -- a Toronto playoff record -- and was the main target of the veteran Ray who was throwing strikes from the pocket all afternoon.
Ricky Ray threw a touchdown pass to Dontrelle Inman and Chad Kackert scored on a long touchdown run. Swayze Waters added three field goals for Toronto, which had lost to Montreal in three previous East final meetings.
Toronto's first-year coach Scott Milanovich, who was offensive co-ordinator in Montreal last season, said this week that turnovers would be key and there were certainly plenty of them.
Montreal quarterback Anthony Calvillo threw three interceptions in the second half -- two of them to Marcus Ball --while Toronto gave away the ball twice on fumbles and twice on downs.
Trailing 17-10 at the half, the Argonauts tied the game on their first drive, marching 101 yards on four plays including a 69-yard toss to Owens that was stopped at the two with a desperate tackle from Dwight Anderson. Ray hit Inman with a TD pass.
Ball then picked off a Calvillo pass and four plays later, Kackert ran 49 yards straight up the middle for another TD and a 24-17 lead.
A Chip Cox run on a fake punt kept Montreal's answering drive alive for a field goal, but the Argos answered with three points of their own.
Missed opportunities by Toronto and a tight Montreal defence in the red zone marked a tentative first half.
Toronto coughed up the ball on its first two possessions to give Montreal a 10-0 lead.
A Kackert fumble was recovered by Ollie Ogbu on the Alouettes' 46 and was converted to Whyte's 25-yard field goal.
Montreal pounded the ball up the middle after taking over on a turnover on downs, capped by Jennings' 18-yard TD run at 11:03.
Ray responded with a long drive highlighted by Maurice Mann's 32-yard catch. Waters would split the uprights from 22 yards out.
After a punt single, Ray marched the ball to the Montreal one. But the Argonauts sent in backup quarterback Jarious Jackson and he failed to punch in the ball on three tries and Toronto gave it up on downs.
The sequence produced a safety, however, and Toronto picked up another single on their next set of downs to make it 10-7.
Calvillo hit Jamel Richardson with a 49-yard pass as Montreal struck right back with McPherson's one-yard TD plunge, and Toronto settled for a field goal with the final drive of the first half after failing to score from the five.
-With a file from The Canadian Press
