Argos beat Bombers in 109th Grey Cup

The double blue reigned supreme at Mosaic Stadium on Sunday, with quarterback Chad Kelly turning into the unlikely hero.

The Toronto Argonauts’ backup quarterback needed to come in after starter Macleod Bethel-Thompson suffered a dislocated thumb on his right hand in the fourth quarter.

With the game hanging in the balance against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Kelly got away from the pass rush and scrambled for 20 yards for a hard-fought first down. That drive ended in an AJ Ouellette rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter.

The Argos would go on to win 24-23 in the CFL championship game, putting an end to the Bombers’ three-peat aspirations.

“It feels amazing. (Bethel-Thompson) did an amazing job to get us to that point. All year long he’s helped me so much. I can’t speak any more great things about him,” Kelly said. “It’s a blessing. I thank the good lord. My grandfather had a big part in this and I wish he was here to see this today. I know upstairs he’s smiling right now.

“This year has been so hard mentally for me and I know there was no giving up and everything worked out exactly the way I wanted it to.”

Kelly finished the game with four completions on six attempts for 43 yards.

While Kelly saw his star rise in the crucial moments of the game, it turned into a moment of redemption for defensive end Robbie Smith.

Smith thought he had sacked Winnipeg quarterback Zach Collaros to seal the game but he was penalized on the play for a facemask that gave Winnipeg a new set of downs.

“It hurt. I didn’t think I got the flag but it is what it is,” Smith said. “It honestly was a short memory and just thinking about what I had to do to win the next play.”

And the next play Smith made would be the game-winner.

He was able to burst through the middle on a 47-yard field-goal attempt by Winnipeg kicker Marc Liegghio and get his hand up to block the kick, clinching the game for the Argos.

“I think it was the fingertip. I just felt the ball hit the hell out of my hand. I didn’t know how much of it I got until I saw it fall on the ground,” Smith said. “It felt amazing.”

“That’s got to go down as one of the best finishes in Grey Cup history, I assume,” Argos head coach Ryan Dinwiddie said. “No one hit the panic button. They all believed we were going to find a way to get it done.

“I just love seeing those guys smile. They mean a lot to me.”

The Argos’ defence was able to keep a high-flying Winnipeg offence in check for most of the game.

While Collaros missed two practices during the week due to an ankle injury, he didn’t seem hindered by it during the game. But the Argos defence wouldn’t surrender a touchdown to the 34-year-old quarterback, with Winnipeg’s two scores coming from Dakota Prukop one-yard plunges.

Collaros finished the game 14-for-23 for 183 yards and a late fourth-quarter interception that was hauled in by Argos linebacker Henoc Muamba.

That play was one of many for the Canadian linebacker, who was named the game’s most outstanding player and most outstanding Canadian. It was the first Grey Cup title for the 10-season CFL veteran.

“Eleven years – I just wanted to seize the moment. I wanted to live in the moment, I didn’t want to be a prisoner of it,” Muamba said.

Ouellette finished the game with just 24 yards but two of his carries were touchdowns. Running back Andrew Harris led the way for the Argos’ rushing attack with 55 yards.

The Bombers’ scoring came on a big special-teams play. On the first play of the fourth quarter, returner Janarion Grant returned a Josh Hagerty punt 102 yards to put the Bombers up 23-14. It was the longest punt return in Grey Cup history.

But in a game as close as Sunday’s, every play could be the difference. Liegghio missed the convert attempt — one that would loom large the rest of the quarter.

Liegghio made one of his two field-goal attempts in the game.

Argos kicker Boris Bede was good on three of his six attempts. He had one go wide right but went through the end zone for a single point.