Argos score 58 to eliminate Redblacks, will face Als in East final

The Toronto Argonauts pulled up the anchors in the second half and left the Ottawa Redblacks in the dust with a dominant 58-38 win in the East Division semifinal at BMO Field.

With the win, Toronto advances to next Saturday's East final, where it will face the league-best Montreal Alouettes at Molson Stadium. It's the third straight season the longtime rivals will meet in the East final but the first time since 2012 that the game will be played in Montreal.

The Argos' 58 points are the third-most ever scored in CFL playoff history and the most by any team in the postseason since Montreal put up 56 in 2009. Toronto also set a franchise record, demolishing the former mark of 44 set against the Ottawa Rough Riders in 1982.

The teams' 96 combined points tied the CFL playoff record for highest-scoring playoff game.

Ottawa started out quick, grabbing a 10-3 lead after one quarter. Redblacks quarterback Dru Brown, who completed a playoff-record 46 passes and threw for 476 yards in the loss, tossed three touchdown passes in the first half. But the Argos hung around, with Chad Kelly throwing a pair of second-quarter majors to get the home side back in it.

The turning point came late in the first half. After Brown connected with Jaelon Acklin for a go-ahead TD with six seconds left, Redblacks kicker Richie Leone appeared to botch his squib-kick attempt, gifting the Argos the ball in field-goal position. Lirim Hajrullahu then booted a 53-yarder to make it a three-point game at halftime.

From there, the Argos took over, outscoring Ottawa 38-15 in the second half. Kelly finished with four passing touchdowns, including the game-winner to DaVaris Daniels early in the third, and rushed for a fifth. Daniels caught two majors, rookie Makai Polk hauled in a team-high 158 yards and one score, and Jake Herslow chipped in with a touchdown grab of his own.

Defensive captain Wynton McManis clinched the Argos' victory with a late interception, which he then lateraled to Tavaris McFadden for the pick-6. A few moments later, Benjie Franklin made it back-to-back house calls for the Argos' defense with another pick-6 of Brown.

The Argos have now reached the East final for four straight years and five times in the last seven seasons. They'll be looking for revenge against a Montreal team that picked off Kelly four times in last year's East final en route to an upset win and eventual Grey Cup championship.

Toronto went 2-1 against the league-best Alouettes during the regular season, including a 37-18 victory at Molson Stadium on July 11.

The Redblacks, meanwhile, went one-and-done in their first playoff appearance since 2018. Ottawa hasn't beaten the Argos in the postseason under any nickname since 1977.