Bethel-Thompson delivers under spotlight for Argonauts with Grey Cup in sight

TORONTO – No one has been a bigger critic of McLeod Bethel-Thompson’s play on the field than McLeod Bethel-Thompson himself.

In the biggest game of the season, the Toronto Argonauts quarterback had his best performance throwing for 299 yards and two touchdowns in a 34-27 win in the East final over the Montreal Alouettes to book their ticket to the Grey Cup.

All week long, the Argonauts stressed the importance of getting the ball in the endzone on offence and it was going to be up to Bethel-Thompson to engineer the plays needed to get them there. The team could not have asked for a better start going up 21-3 early in the game executing on the chances that were in front of them.

“We were where we needed to be at the right time in the right space,” Bethel-Thompson said after the game. “We’ve been wanting more touchdowns all year. That’s what this whole season has been about, getting to a place when you’re at your best when you need it most.”

“We felt we had a good plan. We knew what they were going to do and it was good to start fast and it was good to finish.”

While it wasn’t a perfect game for the 34-year-old, he avoided the backbreaking mistakes and took advantage of all the different weapons he had at his disposal.

No one was more proud of what Bethel-Thompson was able to accomplish than receiver DaVaris Daniels, who has always been impressed with how he continues to ignore the criticism thrown his way and be an example both on and off the field.

“To see the work that he puts in, day in and day out and how he stays level-headed and how leads this team on a day-to-day basis it’s amazing how he's able to be such a professional and to have those things day in and day out for us," Daniels explained. “We rally behind him and his energy and couldn’t be more proud. We knew it was going to happen, we always had confidence in Mac, especially me, I would run through a wall for him. For him to finally have that game on the biggest stage when we needed it the most is everything.”

It didn’t take long for Toronto to make the most of their first opportunity on offence after Banks took the punt out of the endzone for a 31-yard return. AJ Ouellette took a screen pass down the field for 46 yards which eventually led to running back Andrew Harris rushing in for a six-yard touchdown run.

It was Harris’ first game back since having surgery for a torn pectoral muscle that was supposed to close the book on his 2022 season. Instead, the 35-year-old did what he could to get back on the field and like he has done the last three seasons, helped play a pivotal role in his team reaching the Grey Cup.

Adding veterans like Harris, Ja'Gared Davis, Brandon Banks and Wynton McManis was a big focus from the front office because they wanted players who had been on the big stage to help elevate a group that has struggled to get there.

“I think it’s a level of maturity and a level of confidence that our other players recognize saying these guys have been there done that,” head coach Ryan Dinwiddie said about the presence of the veteran plays. “Guys look up to them kind of rally around them and follow them. I think Andrew most importantly, he's been the one that's kind of got us going. Players gravitate towards him. It's infectious I mean even myself I enjoy his leadership it's every day I listen to him we talk all the time and you know you got a guy like that in the locker room you know it spreads across the rest of the guys.”

Unfortunately for Montreal, the disappointment will sit with many of the players, especially after the team rallied from a 2-6 start to the season and felt like they had as good of a chance to reach the Grey Cup but couldn’t make the plays when they needed to.

Head coach Danny Maciocia looked back on the trick play by Toronto where they faked the quarterback sneak and turned it into a 46-yard touchdown as one where a lack of execution was costly for his team.

Despite the tough start, the Alouettes remained in striking distance and wasted no time cutting into the Argonauts’ lead with William Stanback breaking free for a 52-yard touchdown run which allowed them to pull within three points after getting the two-point conversion.

However, they needed their defence to give the offence opportunities to pull ahead and that was the missing element that ultimately led to their season ending on Sunday.

“I felt we were going to come out and play a little bit better and we answered back when we came out of the locker room,” Maciocia said. “We needed to counter and we needed a stop and we didn't get it. You have to give them credit, they were able to answer back and make plays down the field.”

Toronto wanted to make sure that Montreal’s rushing attack would not be a factor in this game and minus the touchdown from Stanback, the ground game wasn’t as big of a factor as the Alouettes wanted it to be.

What allowed Montreal to remain within striking distance was quarterback Trevor Harris’ accuracy with the football as he went 25-of-30 for 362 yards but only had one touchdown to show it in the end.

“When it’s a seven point game and we score instead of kicking a few of those field goals it’s an extra seven points and maybe puts more pressure on them to score,” Harris explained. “Any time you can apply pressure to a team it’s going to change the outlook of the game.”

Another bright spot for the Alouettes was Canadian rookie receiver Tyson Philpot who stepped up with eight catches for 127 yards and a touchdown. The 22-year-old benefitted from the extra attention being paid to Eugene Lewis who had five receptions for 83 yards.

While Toronto’s secondary gave up a big chunk of yards through the air, they had a crucial turnover as Jamal Peters forced Kaion Julien-Grant to fumble the ball. The Alouettes also gave the Argos opportunities to keep drives going with costly penalties.

None were more detrimental than the facemask call on the final drive which allowed the Argonauts to get a fresh set of downs and the chance to run down the clock and not let Montreal get one last chance to try and tie the game.

With their spot in the Grey Cup secured, the Argonauts are not letting the result of today’s game distract them from their ultimate goal.

“We were talking about yesterday they don't we've had one of these roads right now (a road full of curve),” Dinwiddie explained. “We want to make sure it's straight. Since our loss to Calgary at home earlier this season, look at who we’ve been. I think we've matured as a football club, guys understand what's at stake, we got three goals done. We're not too happy with the win tonight. This was just to give us a chance for our fourth goal.”

NOTES: The Argos lost a big part of their defence with Wynton McManis leaving in the second quarter holding his wrist after trying to make a tackle on running back Walter Fletcher. His status for the Grey Cup is uncertain until they can determine the exact nature of the injury.