96th Grey Cup
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Date | November 23, 2008 | ||||||||||||||||||
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Stadium | RDS HD | ||||||||||||||||||
Announcers | (TSN): Chris Cuthbert, Glen Suitor, Dave Randorf, Jock Climie, Matt Dunigan, Chris Schultz (RDS): Denis Casavant, Pierre Vercheval, David Arsenault, Mike Sutherland | ||||||||||||||||||
Ratings | 3,654,000 in Canada | ||||||||||||||||||
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The 96th Grey Cup was held in
Broadcast
This was the first Grey Cup not to be broadcast on
The game was available in HD on both TSN HD and RDS HD and shown in HD in the United States on
Events
Much like in 2001, there was a Grey Cup Village at the Dorchester Square. Musical events included Porn Flakes, Kellylee Evans, Rock Story, Véronique Labbé, Guy Bélanger, Take the Boys, White Faze, Marc Parent et Wang Dang Doodle, Angel Forrest, Young Soul, and Sylvie Desgroseilliers (Motown Show).[3] There also was the annual Montreal Christmas Santa Claus Parade on Saturday November 22/2, 008.
The Montreal Canadiens' decision to retire the jersey of Patrick Roy the same weekend caused controversy, as some felt that the hockey team — the city's dominant sports franchise — was trying to take attention away from the Montreal Alouettes and the CFL during their championship game weekend.[4]
Attendance
The organizers of the 96th Grey Cup hoped to break the 70,000 attendance mark. The current record for highest attendance was set at the 1977 Grey Cup, also at the Big O in Montreal (68,318). The attendance was reported at 66,308 during the TSN broadcast of the game. In so doing, the 2008 game displaced the 2001 Grey Cup, for second-best attendance (65,255 in 2001, also played in Montreal).
Tickets were priced from $84 in the balcony to $274 in the platinum section.[5] Tickets had three pre-sale days, one during the 95th Grey Cup, one in December and one during Super Bowl XLII. Regular tickets went on sale in March 2008.
Game summary
Calgary Stampeders (22) - TDs, Brett Ralph; FGs Sandro DeAngelis (5); cons., DeAngelis (1).
Montreal Alouettes (14) - TDs, Avon Cobourne; FGs Damon Duval (2); single Duval (1); cons., Duval (1).
- First Quarter
- MTL – FG Duval 14-yard field goal (4:34)
- Second Quarter
- CGY – FG DeAngelis 44-yard field goal (1:12)
- MTL – TD Cobourne 16-yard run (7:18) (Duval convert)
- MTL – FG Duval 19-yard field goal (12:08)
- CGY – TD Ralph 20-yard pass from Burris (14:16) (DeAngelis convert)
- Third Quarter
- CGY – FG DeAngelis 12-yard field goal (8:22)
- MTL – Single Duval 63-yard kick went out-of-bounds 9 yards deep in end zone (11:13)
- CGY – FG DeAngelis 21-yard field goal (15:00)
- Fourth Quarter
- CGY – FG DeAngelis 30-yard field goal (2:46)
- CGY – FG DeAngelis 50-yard field goal (10:48)
Calgary quarterback, Henry Burris threw for 328 yards and one touchdown, leading all rushers with 79 yards, while kicker Sandro DeAngelis kicked five field goals as the Calgary Stampeders rallied for a 22–14 victory over the Montreal Alouettes to win the Grey Cup, in front of the 66,305 Montreal faithful at Olympic Stadium.
For his efforts, Henry Burris was named the game's
The game got off to a slow start with a Damon Duval 14 yard chip shot field goal for Montreal representing all the scoring in the first quarter. The drive was highlighted by a 55-yard completion from Alouettes' quarterback Anthony Calvillo to Jamel Richardson. Sandro DeAngelis answered back in the second quarter with a 44-yard field goal to put the Calgary Stampeders back on even terms at 3-3.
However, the Montreal Alouettes responded when Montreal linebacker, Reggie Hunt intercepted a Henry Burris pass, giving the Alouettes the ball near midfield. The Alouettes offence drove the ball deep into Calgary territory before running back, Avon Cobourne scored the game's first touchdown in the second quarter on a 16-yard run. Then, special teams standout Larry Taylor gave the Alouettes great field position again with a 42-yard punt return. Duval again stepped in and made good on his 19-yard attempt to extend the Montreal lead to 13–3.
With momentum on the home team's side, the Calgary Stampeders responded late in the first half when Henry Burris threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Brett Ralph, cutting the Montreal lead to 13-10 heading into halftime and taking momentum away from Montreal.
In the second half of the game, it was all Calgary Stampeders. In the third quarter, Sandro DeAngelis kicked his second field goal of the game to tie the game 13-13. Montreal took a 14–13 lead after Damon Duval added a punt single, but that was all the offence that Montreal was able to muster in the second half of the game.
On Calgary's next possession, Henry Burris put together a 75-yard drive, including runs of 14 and 29 yards for first downs, which led to a short field goal kick from DeAngelis to give Calgary a 16–14 lead. fry t Montreal's offence started to threaten, but the Calgary defence responded. On the first play of the
Stampeders wide receiver,
Notable game facts
Referee Jake Ireland officiated in his 15th Grey Cup game. This also marked his final game as an official after calling 555 games in his 30-year CFL career.[6][7]
2008 CFL playoffs
Division Semi-finals
East Semi-Final
Date and time: Saturday, November 8, 12:00 PM
Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Edmonton Eskimos |
3 | 18 | 8 | 0 | 29 |
Winnipeg Blue Bombers | 8 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 21 |
The
In the
The Eskimo charge began in the second quarter after a poor Serna punt into a gusting 30-km/h wind caused a 25-yard return by Tristan Jackson to the Blue Bombers' 32-yard line, which eventually led to an A.J. Harris 1-yard rushing touchdown to make it a 10-8 Edmonton lead. Two minutes after Edmonton would take the lead, the Blue Bombers would answer back with a touchdown on a Jason Armstead 93-yard punt return, which became a franchise record to give Winnipeg a 15–10 lead, however the Eskimos would eventually take the game over after that point. Right after a 28-yard field goal by Noel Prefontaine, Eskimos' defensive end Fred Perry would tip and intercept a Kevin Glenn pass for a 31-yard interception return to give the Eskimos a 20–15 lead, which proved to be the turning point in the game. At the end of the second quarter the Eskimos ended up scoring 18 unanswered points and never looked back.
At the 6 minute mark of the
Going into the game, the Blue Bomber rushing duo of
Winnipeg quarterback, Kevin Glenn would only manage 15 completions on 34 attempts for 233 yards and threw for one touchdown and the costly interception to Fred Perry, while Milt Stegall managed 56 receiving yards on 5 receptions, which could possibly be his final appearance in the CFL.
While the Winnipeg season comes to an end, Edmonton will now head to Montreal to face their long-time Grey Cup rivals, the Montreal Alouettes, but this time it is for the right to play in the Grey Cup.
West Semi-Final
Date and time: Saturday, November 8, 3:30 PM Central Standard Time
Venue:
Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
BC Lions | 7 | 9 | 10 | 7 | 33 |
Saskatchewan Roughriders | 0 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 12 |
On offence, Lions'
While the Lions' offence was successful, the same could not be said for the Roughriders who turned over the ball seven times in the game. In addition, quarterback,
With the victory, the Lions now head to Calgary to face the Stampeders in the West Final.
Two days later, Riders QB Michael Bishop would be placed on waivers.[8]
Division Finals
East Final
Date and time: Saturday, November 15, 1:00 PM Eastern Standard Time
Venue: Olympic Stadium, Montreal, Quebec
Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Edmonton Eskimos |
7 | 6 | 0 | 13 | 26 |
Montreal Alouettes | 3 | 16 | 10 | 7 | 36 |
Although, in the early stages of the game, the
After a Damon Duval field goal made it 7–3, Edmonton's Ricky Ray came back with his own drive that led to a Noel Prefontaine 45-yard field goal, which gave Edmonton a 10–3 lead. Prefontaine would eventually would add another field goal kicking a 22-yarder, five minutes into the second quarter for a 13-3 Edmonton lead. However, the Eskimos were unable to generate any momentum with their opening lead. Despite outplaying the hosts for about 21 of the 24 minutes, Edmonton would see their early lead disappear.
Trailing 13-5 after Edmonton surrendered a safety, the Alouettes offence finally got on track as Anthony Calvillo began to get the protection that he is used to from the line that led to a nine-play, 75-yard drive ending in an eight-yard toss off a post pattern to Alouettes' wide receiver, Jamel Richardson to score the first touchdown of the game for Montreal. Then the Montreal defence would hold the Edmonton offence to a quick two and out, which forced Noel Prefontaine to punt the ball away that landed into the hands of Larry Taylor who was able to get a couple of key blocks and made a nice cut back to run the ball for 62 yards for the touchdown, giving the Alouettes its first lead with 1:07 left in the second quarter. All of a sudden an eight-point Edmonton lead evaporated into a 19-13 Montreal lead heading into halftime.
In the third quarter, the Montreal offence continued their scoring surge, first on a long, strange drive that included two drops of perfect passes from Anthony Calvillo and seemed to end with a touchdown run by backup quarterback Adrian McPherson. However, the touchdown was called back due to an inadvertent whistle, but Montreal running back, Avon Cobourne would run into the endzone to give the Alouettes a 26–13 lead. The other key moment in that drive for the Alouettes, was an injury to Eskimos defensive back, Jason Goss that forced Edmonton to make a couple of changes to their defensive setup, which the Alouettes offence were able to exploit. Damon Duval would also kick his second field goal of the game to give the Montreal Alouettes a comfortable 29–13 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Leading 29–13 in the fourth quarter, the Montreal Alouettes would add to their lead when Larry Taylor scored his second punt reception touchdown when he received a Noel Prefontaine punt on the Alouettes 13-yard line after four perfect blocks opened a huge hole up in the middle to give Montreal a 23-point lead. The Eskimos tried to mount a comeback after scoring two touchdowns with the first, being from Ricky Ray who put together a 55-yard passing play for a touchdown to Kelly Campbell, and then Tristan Jackson was able to close the gap to 10 points after he scored a touchdown on a long punt return. But a missed two-point conversion would seal the victory for the Montreal Alouettes, despite an Edmonton recovery on an on-side kick that set up a last gasp, which quickly ran out of steam.
Anthony Calvillo finished the day 20-for-32, 295 yards and a touchdown as the Eskimos' defence did a good job of keeping him under control, although, Montreal received a superb 140 yards in total offence from running back, Avon Cobourne, working off a sore ankle, including 52 on the ground. Ricky Ray, meanwhile, tossed the ball an astonishing 49 times (26 receptions for 339 yards and a touchdown) as part of an offensive game plan that simply ignored a running game completely. Already boasting the league's worst ground attack, Edmonton's coaching staff put Ray in a tactical straitjacket by running just three times all game for just three yards.
West Final
Date and time: Saturday, November 15, 2:30 PM
Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
BC Lions | 6 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 18 |
Calgary Stampeders | 0 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 22 |
The
The BC Lions did a great job moving the ball in the first half as they had 229 yards of total offence compared to only Calgary's 89, which was also helped by running back, Stefan Logan who was outstanding in the first half, rushing for 94 yards on 13 carries against a Stampeder defence that was specifically designed to stop the run. However, the BC Lions were not able to finish, which would come back to hurt them before halftime.
Already leading 3–0, Lions
With one minute remaining in the second quarter, Stampeders quarterback, Henry Burris, would put together a quick five-play drive that resulted in a touchdown pass to receiver, Ken-Yon Rambo who pulled the ball in behind Lions cornerback, Dante Marsh with nine seconds left on the clock to cut the lead to 12-9 into halftime and giving Calgary the momentum.
In the third quarter, the BC Lions again threatened to score a touchdown to increase their lead, however, Calgary's defensive end, Mike Labinjo made two consecutive tackles on the goal line to prevent a Lions touchdown early in the second half, which caused Paul McCallum to kick a 12-yard field goal, his fifth of the game to make it 15–9, Lions. However, Calgary kicker, Sandro DeAngelis would kick two field goals in the third quarter to tie the game 15-15, heading into the fourth quarter.
The Stampeders would build on that momentum, when quarterback, Henry Burris and the Calgary offence would put together an eight-play drive in the fourth quarter that was capped by Burris's one-yard touchdown run at 11:57 to give the Stampeders its first lead of the game, 22–15. A few minutes later, Paul McCallum would kick his sixth field goal of the game from 30 yards to cut Calgary's lead to four points, but the Lions would not be able to score anymore points as they were held in check for the remainder of the game by the Stampeders' stellar defence, especially cornerback, Brandon Browner who intercepted a Buck Pierce pass with 1:19 remaining in the game. However, the star of the game was Mike Labinjo, who not only made two key tackles to prevent a BC Lions touchdown in the third quarter, but he recorded two sacks and forced a fumble in the game.
Although Lions' quarterback, Buck Pierce started strong and completed 16-of-29 passes for 262 yards, his inability to get a touchdown for the Lions' offence proved to be costly, especially throwing an interception at the late stages of the game. His counterpart and finalist for this year's most outstanding player award, Henry Burris had a slow start in the first half and threw for one interception, as well, but was able to bounce back and complete 17-of-27 passes for 236 yards and was able to throw one touchdown completion and rushed in for the winning touchdown that proved to be the difference in the game.
With the win, the Calgary Stampeders will head to Montreal and play against the hometown, Montreal Alouettes for the chance to win their sixth Grey Cup in team history.
References
- ^ Cox, Damien (November 16, 2008). "Als, Stampeders a fitting East-West final". Toronto Star. Retrieved November 16, 2008.
- ^ Ralph, Dan. "Collaros throws overtime TD pass to rally Bombers to Grey Cup victory". cp24. Retrieved December 13, 2021.
- ^ Grey Cup village is epicentre of festivities, Montreal Gazette
- ^ Hall, Vicki (November 21, 2008). "Habs ruffle feathers with Roy ceremony". Calgary Herald. Canada.com. Archived from the original on November 5, 2012. Retrieved November 21, 2008.
- ^ Zurkowsky, Herb (September 26, 2008). "Grey Cup tickets going fast". The Snap. Montreal Gazette. Retrieved November 17, 2008.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "CFL Officials Named for 96th Grey Cup". OurSports Central. November 19, 2008. Retrieved November 19, 2008.
- ^ Fitz-Gerald, Sean (November 18, 2008). "Grey Cup is Ireland's last stand". National Post. Retrieved November 19, 2008. [dead link]
- ^ "Roughriders place QB Bishop on waivers". CBC Sports. November 11, 2008. Retrieved November 20, 2008.