Steeltown Steals

THE CANADIAN PRESS

It’s never a surprise when special teams contribute heavily to a Toronto Argonauts victory.

But it certainly is if the key contribution comes from Matt Black and not dynamic kick-returner Chad Owens.

Black forced a fumble and recovered another as the Argos registered five turnovers en route to a 16-13 upset victory over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the East Division semifinal. That was an about-face from the regular season, when the Ticats forced a whopping 15 turnovers in sweeping the Argos in three straight games.

Special-teams brilliance has been a staple of Toronto’s season, but the fireworks have mostly been provided by Owens, the CFL leader in punt, kickoff and missed field goal returns as well as all-purpose yards. But no one’s happier to see the Ticats on the sidelines than the former Hawaii star, who was held in check by Hamilton in all four meetings this season.

And the coverage units still excelled despite the absence of veterans Bryan Crawford and Jeff Johnson, both integral members who were injured.

Here’s a look back at some of the biggest surprises in both CFL division semifinal contests:

East Division

Toronto 16 Hamilton 13

A tenacious Hamilton squad had its way with Toronto during the regular season mostly because it was able to force first-year Argos quarterback Cleo Lemon into making mistakes. Lemon had thrown five interceptions (and no touchdowns) in the three previous games and had also lost three fumbles.

There was no doubt cutting down on turnovers was key for Toronto, but the approach the club took to do so was quite unconventional.

The gameplan seemed to call for a healthy dose of tailback Cory Boyd, and on passing downs for Lemon to check down to his secondary receivers and make short, safe throws.

Boyd, the CFL’s second-leading rusher with 1,359 yards, ran for 93 yards on 19 carries. He was especially effective in the third quarter when Toronto outscored the Ticats 10-0 with starter Kevin Glenn nursing a knee injury. The Argos, who were down 6-3 at halftime, took a seven-point lead into the fourth.

But when Toronto was in passing situations, Lemon continually went to his check-down receivers even though they were often short of potential first downs, forcing the Argos to punt. Other times he merely kept the ball and ran it himself, something Lemon didn’t do very often during the regular season. That was made clear by his inability to perform a simple hook slide and avoid contact.

Lemon finished 22-of-29 passing and recorded his first TD strike against Hamilton this year, but had just 134 yards in the air.

Overall, Toronto’s low-risk offence had little flow. The Argos appeared as if they were trying not to lose the game rather than attempting to do what they could to win it. While ugly to watch at times, there’s no denying its effectiveness given the final outcome.

Considering Toronto’s offensive struggles this season maybe it was a sound approach. The Argos were last in the CFL in scoring (20.7 points per game), passing (221 yards per game), total yards (316 per game) and touchdowns (29) and surrendered the second-highest number of sacks (48).

With the game on the line, Lemon did come up huge, orchestrating an impressive 10-play drive that began at Toronto’s three-yard line with 4:51 left in the fourth. The Argos did punt but Noel Prefontaine put his 41-yard kick out of bounds at the Hamilton 10-yard line with 52 seconds remaining.

Still, Glenn appeared poised to put Hamilton in position to kick the tying field goal, driving the Ticats to the Toronto 41-yard line. But Argos cornerback Byron Parker ended the threat with an interception with two seconds remaining.

It will be interesting to see if head coach Jim Barker allows his offence to try to open it up against Montreal. The Alouettes’ defence is one of the CFL’s best, but plays a lot of man coverage which leaves it open to giving up big plays.

Toronto will head to Montreal convinced it has a legitimate shot at gaining the win and a berth in the Grey Cup. After all, the Argos beat the defending Grey Cup champions twice this season, even if their last victory was against an Alouettes team missing plenty of its starters.

But there was nothing cheap about Toronto’s 37-22 victory at Rogers Centre on Aug. 14, something Barker will undoubtedly hammer home this week.

West Division

Saskatchewan 41 B.C. 38 (OT)

There’s always no shortage of big near-misses in an overtime contest, but it was a surprise to see star receiver Geroy Simon drop a pass in the end zone during the first half. While B.C. still managed a field goal, a Simon TD catch would have given the Lions a 20-7 halftime advantage and much more momentum heading into the second half.

COMEBACK KID —Riders starter Darian Durant had a weak first half, completing just 6-of-16 passes for 74 yards while being sacked three times as B.C. surged to a 16-7 halftime lead. But Durant, the CFL passing leader with 5,542 yards, got going in the second half. He completed 14-of-21 passes for 236 yards and three TDs to rally Saskatchewan to the victory. And he did it without relying on Andy Fantuz, the CFL’s leading receiver this season with 87 yards for 1,380 yards and six TDs. Fantuz registered just two catches for 11 yards in the game but did have a key two-point convert in overtime.

LULAY SOLID— Travis Lulay was brilliant in his first playoff start, only further solidifying his position as the Lions’ starter. Lulay finished 28-of-49 passing for 357 yards and two TDs, including a 29-yard Hail Mary touchdown pass to Emmanuel Arceneaux on the final play of regulation to force overtime. It capped an impressive drive under pressure that Lulay began at the B.C. 27-yard line. Then again, it was Lulay who put the Lions on his back late in the season. B.C. won its final three regular-season games thanks in large part to its quarterback, who completed 72-of-108 passes for 1,019 yards and five TDs although he did also have six interceptions. But there’s no question heading into training camp who the Lions’ starter is.

CLERMONT UNLIKELY HERO— Of all the Roughriders’ potential overtime heroes, Jason Clermont was the most unlikely. Sure, he was facing his former team, but Clermont had been primarily a part-time player since joining the Riders two years ago after being released by the Lions. But it was Clermont who hauled in a short Durant pass, broke a tackle and scampered into the end zone on a 24-yard TD catch that earned Saskatchewan the overtime victory. Clermont finished with three catches for 63 yards and the touchdown. He spent seven productive seasons with the Lions, being named the CFL’s top rookie in 2002 and top Canadian in 2004 and 2007. He was also the top Canadian in B.C.’s 2004 Grey Cup loss to Toronto. Overall, Clermont had 428 catches for 5,917 yards with B.C.

KEAN COMES THROUGH— When Luca Congi went down with a season-ending knee injury Oct. 17, there was serious concern regarding the Riders’ kicking game. And with good reason. Congi had connected on 26-of-34 field goal tries, with a long boot of 54 yards. But with Congi out, that put the onus on punter Eddie Johnson and newcomer Warren Kean to pick up the slack. Kean was selected second overall by Edmonton in 2007 and also had tryouts with Winnipeg (2008) and Calgary (2010) before signing with Saskatchewan. On Sunday, Kean connected on four of the five field goals he attempted.