The Toronto Argonauts have clinched first place in the East Division with six weeks remaining in the CFL season.
Toronto achieved the feat with a come-from-behind 23-20 victory over the Montreal Alouettes on Friday night, moving their record to 11-1 and sweeping the three-game season series.
The visitors were trailing by a score with under two minutes remaining when quarterback Chad Kelly found Damonte Coxie for a 41-yard score to tie the game. After Jamal Peters secured a critical interception on the following drive, Boris Bede hit a 38-yard field goal to go ahead by three. Montreal effectively moved down the field with 20 seconds left in an attempt to force overtime, but Dewayne Hendrix came through the middle to block the deciding field goal attempt.
The Argos clinched a playoff spot with a one-sided win over the Alouettes last week and have now finished first in the standings for three consecutive seasons for the first time since 1984. The club’s recently extended active postseason streak of three years is already its longest since 2007.
Toronto is the CFL’s reigning champion after upsetting the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in last year’s Grey Cup in Regina by a score of 24-23. It was the club’s eighteenth CFL title and first since 2017 when they upset the Calgary Stampeders at TD Place Stadium in Ottawa.
The Argos will return to action on Saturday, September 23 when they host the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
