Edwards leads Alouettes to division crown

Oct 28, 2006, 22:35 GMT

Toronto, ON - Robert Edwards scored the go-ahead touchdown during a 13-point fourth-quarter, helping the Montreal Alouettes rally to beat Toronto 24-20 and capture first place in the East Division.

Edwards ended with 93 yards on 19 carries and Anthony Calvillo passed for 226 yards and a score for Montreal (10-8), which finished the regular season tied with Toronto but won the division by virtue of taking two-of-three from the Alouettes this season.

Montreal will have a bye and then host the East final two weeks from Sunday. The Alouettes will play either Toronto or Winnipeg.

Arland Bruce ended with 124 yard and a touchdown receiving to lead Toronto (10-8), which could have clinched its second straight division title with a win.

Damon Allen finished 16-of-29 for 194 yards with a touchdown and Ricky Williams had 70 yards rushing for the Argonauts, who lost their final two games of the season and will have to wait and see if they will host the East division semifinal or travel to Winnipeg.

Winnipeg failed to clinch second place with a loss at British Columbia later on Saturday.

Down 20-11 after Toronto's Noel Prefontaine hit a 25-yard field goal late in the third quarter, the Alouettes began their comeback in the fourth quarter. David Duval first hit a 45-yard field goal to draw within 20-14. Then Edwards ran in from eight yards out to give Montreal a 21-20 edge and Duval capped the scoring with a 27-yard field goal late in regulation.

Duval, who started the scoring with a single, accounted for 12 points on the game.

Prefontaine answered with a single of his own, sending the game into the second quarter tied at 1-1.

Toronto then exploded for 15 second-quarter points. After a 22-yard field goal gave Toronto a 4-1 lead, Montreal went ahead 8-4 when Calvillo hooked up with Dave Stala on a 65-yard TD play.

Toronto then scored on a five-yard pass from Allen to Bruce. Duval then conceded a safety and Prefontaine hit a 43-yard field goal to send Toronto into the locker room with a 16-8 lead.

In the third quarter, Prefontaine recorded a single and Duval hit a 30-yard field goal to make it a 17-11 contest.

Game Notes

Calvillo finished the season with 4,714 passing yards, falling short of the 5,000-yard mark for the first time in five seasons.

Williams longest run was just nine yards.

Stala ended with two catches for 74 yards.

© 2006 The Sports Network