THE CANADIAN PRESS/ARGONAUTS.CA STAFF
TORONTO — Adrian McPherson threw two TD passes as the Montreal Alouettes dispatched the Toronto Argonauts 42-17 for their club-record 15th win of the year in the CFL regular-season finale for both clubs Saturday.
Montreal picked up its eighth win in nine games and finished the campaign with a CFL-best 15-3 record. The East Division-leading Als swept the season series 3-0.
The Alouettes finished 6-3 on the road and were a perfect 9-0 at home, a stat worth noting as they will host the conference final Nov. 22.
It was also a record-setting day for Montreal kicker Damon Duval, who had a club-record seven field goals and 24 points to boost his single-season points total to a league-record 242, breaking the mark of 236 set in 1991 by former Argo Lance Chomyc.
McPherson was 16-of-20 passing for 151 yards and added 55 yards rushing before giving way in the fourth quarter to backup Chris Leak, who was 7-of-10 for 44 yards. The two did a nice job of distributing the ball as 10 different Alouettes had catches.
A good sign for Montreal was winning so convincingly with a generous sprinkling of backups in the lineup on both sides of the ball in a game that had no bearing on the East Division standings. McPherson got the start ahead of veteran Anthony Calvillo — who dressed but was the No. 3 quarterback behind Leak — while such stalwarts as running back Avon Cobourne and kick-returner Larry Taylor didn’t dress.
The sad-sack Argos (3-15) were still overmatched against a diminished Montreal lineup before a surly Rogers Centre gathering of 28,293.
The offence under first-year quarterback Stephen Reaves, 23-of-40 passing for 209 yards and four interceptions, struggled to mount any consistency against the Als’ top-ranked defence until the fourth quarter. Toronto’s usually stout defence did register three sacks, but generally didn’t get much pressure on either McPherson or Leak and overall tackled poorly.
It was Fan Appreciation Day at the Rogers Centre, but the Argos didn’t give their fans much to cheer about. Toronto committed six turnovers and finished with less than 200 total offensive yards.
The one-sided decision was just the latest disappointment in what’s been a disastrous year for first-year head coach Bart Andrus. Toronto finished the season on an eight-game losing streak and lost its last four home contests to drop to 1-8 overall at Rogers Centre. The Argos dropped to 0-6 against Montreal, their last win over the Als coming Oct. 20, 2007.
Brandon Whitaker, Kerry Watkins and Paul Woldu had Montreal’s touchdowns. Duval added the converts.
Jamal Robertson had Toronto’s lone touchdown. Medlock had three field goals, a convert and single.
The outcome was never in doubt as Montreal dominated play in the opening half, taking a well deserved 26-3 lead into the dressing room.
The Alouettes wasted little time taking control, storming out to a 17-3 first-quarter lead after holding Toronto to minus-5 yards rushing and just eight total offensive yards. McPherson drove Montreal 62 yards on four plays to open the game, capping it with a one-yard TD strike to Whitaker at 2:17.
A high third-down snap over Medlock’s head set up the Alouettes’ second touchdown. Jamal Richardson recovered the loose ball and strolled into the end zone, but a successful challenge put the ball on Toronto’s 18-yard line after it was determined Medlock had touched Richardson when he was down.
It didn’t matter as McPherson hit Watkins on an 18-yard TD pass on the next play, putting Montreal ahead 17-0 at 8:17.
Toronto’s Andre Durie returned the ensuing kickoff 104 yards for an apparent TD, but in keeping with the Argos’ dismal season the play came back to the Montreal 35 following a terrible unnecessary roughing penalty on Ray Fontaine. It did set up Medlock’s 33-yard field goal at 11:03.
Montreal continued to control the play in the second but had to settle for three more Duval field goals.
NOTES — Back judge Don Ellis worked in his 500th career game, making him just the sixth official in league history to reach that lofty plateau . . . Linebacker Jason Pottinger and safety James Green, both members of Toronto’s special teams, didn’t dress due to the flu.