Chiu on CFL: Icing in the cake

Toronto @ Winnipeg

The Bombers had a great opportunity to move back into first place with a win over the Argos.

Unfortunately they played like there was nothing on the line.

Buck Pierce threw a costly interception for a TD to Byron Parker, which enabled the Argos to take a 24-6 lead into halftime.

Pierce was injured on the interception and did not return. Alex Brink did a decent job replacing Pierce and rallied the Bombers back into the game with 13 points in the third quarter.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough.

The Argos, on the other hand, have played much better since being eliminated from the playoffs.

You could see the team was playing loose and they did a great job in their role as spoiler.

There was a scary play where Steven Jyles was running and slid feet first to protect himself. Bombers linebacker Johnny Sears hit Jyles with a helmet-to-helmet hit that knocked the QB out cold for a few seconds. The hit resulted in an ejection and a one-game suspension for Sears.

Hamilton @ Saskatchewan

Another game where one team has no chance of making the playoffs.

Hamilton has been the most inconsistent team this season.

After beating the red-hot Lions last week, they laid an egg this week against the Riders.

Kevin Glenn had a rough game going 14-for-22 for 171 yards and four interceptions.

For a team that is making the playoffs, they aren’t playing nearly well enough.

They must find a way to put the ball in the end zone.

As for the Riders, they know they aren’t in the playoffs. However, they are still playing hard.

Ryan Dinwiddie didn’t have a very productive game throwing the ball.

He went 7-for-20 for 139 yards, although he did a good job managing the game.

They ran the ball effectively and, most importantly, didn’t turn the ball over. That was the biggest reason why they won this game.

Hamilton will have to play better if they plan to make a trip to the Eastern final.

Edmonton @ B.C.

This was the best game of the week – the battle for first place in the West.

B.C. saw its eight-game win streak end last week in Hamilton.

The Lions got off to a great start in this game with two quick TDs. But Edmonton answered right back with one of their own.

Travis Lulay had another solid game throwing for 322 yards and three TDs.

Edmonton kept this game relatively close.

It was nice to see Hugh Charles contribute. He was eliminated from the playoffs a few weeks back when he was a Rider and now is battling for first place with the Eskimos.

With this loss there is now a three-way tie in the West with all three teams sporting 10-7 records.

The last game of the season will determine everything.

This is great for the CFL and for the fans.

Calgary @ Montreal

The Als had another opportunity to jump back into first place in the East; Calgary, however, had other ideas.

It was truly a heavyweight match. Both teams traded TDs throughout the first half.

In the third quarter things got more interesting.

John Cornish scored his second TD of the day, giving the Stamps a 22-14 lead.

The Als quickly answered back with a little trickery.

M.O. Brouillette took a direct snap and ran a punt fake for a 72 yard TD. It was an incredibly gutsy call by Marc Trestman considering the ball was on their own 38 yard line.

Drew Tate was unfazed and drove his team downfield and scored another TD.

The Als gambled a lot on third downs this game.

With the Als trailing by eight points, Calvillo threw a bomb on third-and-10 to Eric Deslauriers for the TD.

They missed the two point convert when Calvillo was tripped up by former Alouette DeVone Claybrooks.

The Stamps went right back to work. Rather than playing passively, the Stamps attacked Montreal’s defence and connected on a field goal.

The only problem was that the Stamps left Calvillo 58 seconds on the clock.

Calvillo marched the Als all the way down into the red zone.

On second down, AC threw a fastball between two linebackers right into Jamel Richardson’s hands; he dropped it! It was down to one last play on third down, and Calvillo threw a floater to S.J. Green, but Johnnie Dixon made a fantastic play by batting the ball away.

It now all comes down to the last game of the regular season to determine who finishes first in both divisions.

What a great regular season it has been.

Hopefully the playoffs will be just as good.