Hogan: Clemons, Ray Reflect on Argo/Als Rivalry

The rivalry has been intense, though not as celebrated as another.

If the Toronto Argonauts version of Lex Luthor wears black and gold, there’s a group of players from a decade or two ago that would suggest another foe was an even greater supervillain.

In the 2002-12 period, the Argos thought of the Montreal Alouettes, not the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, as their fiercest rival, and for good reason. The two teams met in the Eastern Final seven times in that period, with the Als winning on five of those occasions.

Of the Argos two wins, one came in Montreal in 2004 when Als Hall of Fame quarterback Anthony Calvillo was injured in the third quarter, leaving the inexperienced Ted White to try to hang on to a slim lead.

He couldn’t.

The Boatmen and Larks also hooked up for a pair of Eastern Finals in 1996 and ’97. Those two contests couldn’t have been more dissimilar, though the hero of each game was the same.

If Montreal thought it could pull of an upset in the ’96 Eastern Final in Toronto, Michael “Pinball” Clemons put an end to that fantasy early. He’d catch the opening kickoff on the Argos 20-yard line and sprint untouched down the sideline for a touchdown, a play that set the tone in a Toronto 43-7 win.

“The execution of the special teams was stellar,” Clemons recalled for Argonauts.ca. “Instead of me being away from the ball and having them kick it to me there, we put me to the side of the kickoff and let them kick to me, kicking away from Jimmy “The Jet” Cunningham.”

Cunningham and Clemons were both elite returners, so kicking to either one was dangerous, as Montreal would soon find out.

“We had something designed for either, whether he would kick to me or away from me. I may have been the closest fan to that return because our guys did such a great job, I just had to cut it up one way and then went up the sideline. There were other Argos joining in on the run; it was so well executed that the kudos have to go to the coaches and other players.”

While that game was not remotely close, the teams would meet in Toronto again the next year in a game that was wildly entertaining. It featured a dramatic ending that Clemons has called his defining moment as a player.

The Argos led 20-9 at halftime and were on their way to covering the 17-point spread that had been posted before the game. But the Alouettes charged back, led by a spectacular 70-yard punt return touchdown by Chris Wright.

“We kind of got frustrated,” Clemons admitted to Argonauts.ca. “It was the game we couldn’t take a hold of. We believed we were the better team, respecting the fact that they were a good team. Sometimes you feel a game is closer than it’s supposed to be.”

Montreal had multiple opportunities to pull off an upset, but turnovers and three makable field goals missed by Terry Baker gave the Argos a chance. Tied at 30 with 1:36 left in the fourth quarter, the Argos took over at their own 16-yard line with a pair of Hall of Famers ready to get the job done themselves.

“Doug (Flutie) said, ‘Pinner, the next time we get the ball it’s just me and you all the way down the field.’ I didn’t know it then, but when Doug says it, you just say ‘Yes sir.’”

As usual, Flutie was right.

The QB opened the drive by running the ball twice himself, drawing a late hit penalty on the first one. A short Robert Drummond run gave the Argos a first down at their own 52-yard line, getting it closer to Mike Vanderjagt’s field goal range.

They wouldn’t need him.

“Doug called our favourite play,” said Clemons. “It had an over/under concept to it, so he dialed it up. They were blitzing so it was the perfect call at the perfect time. We called it an ‘Oakland’ route, which stood for ‘over’ route. For me, I saw the blitz so I knew I was going to have a one-on-one matchup, so I cut and broke over, hoping he could find me. As usual with Doug, not only did he find me, but the ball was already on the way.”

Two Als players converged on Clemons but ended up hitting each other as well as the receiver. Living up to his nickname, Pinball bounced off the would-be tacklers and headed toward the end zone.

“I caught it and they had another high player over the top. When I caught it, I felt the pressure of both of them, but I was able to spin out.”

He was escorted into the end zone by fellow receivers Paul Masotti and Derrell Mitchell, the latter of whom tackled Clemons when he reached the end zone.

The heart stopping 37-30 victory may have been the most dramatic win the Argos ever had at the Dome. Clemons would end up with over 300 combined yards on the day, just under 200 on returns, 130 more on receptions.

The Alouettes would then dominate the next six games played between 2002 and 2010, winning five of them, with the Als’ only loss being the game in which Calvillo was injured.

The 2012 final between the two rivals was played at Olympic Stadium in Montreal before a loud, partisan crown of over 50,000. The environment was hostile, but Argo quarterback Ricky Ray was confident they could defeat the Als nonetheless.

“I felt pretty good,” Ray told Argonauts.ca in a phone interview from his home in Northern California. “We knew it was going to be tough, I mean Montreal had been the class of the CFL for over a decade, but we felt pretty confident about it.”

The confidence may have been short lived. The Double Blue made numerous mistakes and quickly found themselves trailing the Als 17-7. There were multiple turnovers, including one on downs after being stopped three straight times at the Montreal one-yard line.

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But things started to turn around in the second half. Ray hit that year’s CFL Most Outstanding Player, Chad Owens, for 70 yards to set up a TD, part of an Argo record-setting 207-yard receiving day on 11 catches. Owens added 139 yards on returns for a 346-combined yards day, second most in CFL playoff history, trailing only a 364-yard Clemons effort in 1990.

Running back Chad Kackert, who a week later would be named the Grey Cup MVP, exploded for a 49-yard TD run in the third quarter to give the Argos their first lead of the day at 24-17.

“In the second half we had some huge plays,” Ray said in his matter-of-fact style. “Kackert had the long run, I hit Chad (Owens) on a little route when they blitzed, and he was able to take it for a big gain. I think we had a really good game plan and were executing very well – except for those few occasions in the first half that really set us back.”

Linebacker Marcus Ball had a pair of second half interceptions, but the Alouettes still came within a fingertip of forcing overtime. The Als got the ball back with just over a minute left on the clock and trailing 27-20. They moved down the field and Anthony Calvillo had one more chance on a third-down play from the Toronto 21.

The legendary QB heaved the ball deep into the end zone where Brian Bratton had gotten behind Argo DB Pacino Horne, but Horne recovered and just got a fingertip on the ball, which may or may not have influenced the play. The ball hit Bratton in the chest, and the Argos were going home to host the 100^th Grey Cup game.

The final pass seemed to hang in the air for somewhere between five and six hours.

“A guy like Anthony had done it so many times,” said Ray when reflecting upon that game-deciding play. “When the ball was in the air and going to the end zone, you were trying to see who he was trying to throw it to. We saw the guy was open and then saw it bounce off his chest. What a relief that was.”

The Boatmen would defeat Calgary 35-22 the next week in Toronto.

On Saturday the two great rivals will compete in the Eastern Final for the 11^th time in 27 years. Six of those game have been decided by single digit scores, including last year’s 34-27 Argo win.