Bombers Deny Argos Grey Cup Visit With Stunning Win In T.O.
Posted November 18, 2007 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The Grey Cup will be held on the home field of the Toronto Argonauts, but the Double Blue won’t have anything to do with it.
The Boatmen bowed out of an otherwise impressive season Sunday, coming up well short against a spirited Winnipeg Blue Bombers squad in what ended as a 19-9 loss in the CFL’s East Division final.
Though Bombers quarterback Kevin Glenn broke his left arm in the fourth quarter leaving the starting job to untested backup Ryan Dinwiddie for the big game next weekend, he was around long enough to lead his club to a victory over favoured Toronto , completing 15-of-21 passes for 201 yards and a TD before getting hurt.
He also got a little help from former Argo Keith Stokes, who ran back a punt for a major in the third quarter in what proved to be a decisive point in the contest. Stokes TD made the score 19-1 Winnipeg and silenced a disappointing Rogers Centre gathering of 33,467.
Adding insult to injury for Toronto , Winnipeg made Argo linebacker Kevin Eiben eat crow. Last week he guaranteed the Bombers wouldn’t score 10 points on the Argos ‘ defence, something they did by establishing a 12-1 lead heading into the half.
Toronto quarterback Michael Bishop made it interesting with a one-yard run at 3:11 of the fourth, but for much of the afternoon was wildly inconsistent. The former Kansas State star never looked comfortable, completing 21-of-45 passes for 383 yards.
The Argos were also up against history. Since ’94 only two teams have reached the Grey Cup as the host city (’94 B.C. Lions and ’02 Edmonton Eskimos), with only the Lions going on to claim the CFL title in their home stadium.
Sunday’s game could also have been Toronto coach “Mike Pinball” Clemons’s last. Clemons completed his eighth season on the sidelines and has always maintained he’s not a career coach. Last week, Clemons said he would sit down with his family at season’s end to ponder his future.
Despite the Argos’ absence, Toronto will still play host to the last game of the 2007 CFL season next Sunday. For more on that game and the Grey Cup weekend festivities, click here.
In the West Division final, the Saskatchewan Roughriders scored 16 points off four turnovers to defeat the B.C. Lions 26-17 and book a trip to Toronto for a date with Winnipeg.
