The Alouettes are heading back to the Grey Cup!

Alouettes head to Grey Cup after beating Ticats in Eastern Final
The Montreal Alouettes will head to the Grey Cup for the second time in three years after beating the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, 19-16, on a walk-off field goal by Jose Maltos-Diaz.
The Alouettes never trailed in the game, but they needed every second on the clock to earn the victory.
The Tiger-Cats managed to tie the score, 16-16, with under two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. The offence got the ball back with 1:41 remaining and they made sure to close out the game.

Here’s how the Alouettes took home the win:

The final drive:

Everybody deserves a lot of credit for the game-winning drive, but receiver Charleston Rambo deserves a shoutout for coming up with a pair of huge grabs that helped put the Alouettes in field goal range.
Davis Alexander found Rambo on second-and-six to move the chains and to avoid the team going two-and-out on that final drive. Two plays later, Alexander found Rambo again for 19 yards. The Als receiver did a great job of making one Hamilton tackler miss and he was able to put the team in Maltos Diaz’s field goal range.

“I have to thank my coaches for putting me in that position,” Rambo said after the game. “I didn’t get the ball in the first half and in the second half they find me. I appreciate them and I trust this organization to keep this up. All I can say is (Davis Alexander) balled out and made a play. He got it to us.”

Alexander also deserves praise for the way he handled those final moments, as he showed his ability to stay cool under pressure.
Another big reason the Als were able to move the ball at times throughout the game was because Alexander was able to use his legs effectively. The 27-year-old finished the night with seven carries for 64 yards.

“I’m just so proud of Rambo,” the Alouettes quarterback said. “He didn’t get many targets tonight, but what I talk about to our guys – especially when you have five stud receivers – you don’t know when the ball is going to come your way and when you’re going to get your opportunity. He wants to win more than anybody on this team. I’m so proud of him for staying in it.”

D-FENCE:

If last week’s Eastern Division Semi-Final was an offensive affair, Saturday’s game in Hamilton was a defensive struggle. The score at the half was just 6-3, and both teams were held to under 20 points.
Noel Thorpe’s unit managed to create one turnover (Wesley Sutton interception in the first half), but they managed to hold down the fort for most of the night. The only touchdown they allowed came in the middle of the third quarter.
The defence’s biggest stop came on Hamilton’s final possession. They managed to hold the Tiger-Cats to a field goal, which tied the game. The defence did a great job of leaving time on the clock for the offence and not surrendering the go-ahead score.

Maltos Diaz’s big moment:

How can you not feel good for Maltos Diaz? He had an incredible season and overcame so much to get to this point.
The Mexican kicker was out of professional football for three years after being released from an NFL opportunity by the New Orleans Saints. He waited patiently for the phone to ring, and he got an opportunity in the CFL via the league’s global initiative.
Maltos made no mistake on his field goal attempt. There was never a doubt in his mind that he was going to make that kick.

“I was thinking of my off-season workouts,” Maltos said of what was going through his mind before the game-winning kick. “I was happy to have this opportunity. This is it. I prayed for this; I worked for this. I’m from Monterey, Mexico which is far away from here, so it was one show, one kick, let’s go.”

What’s next?

The Alouettes are heading to Winnipeg on Monday afternoon for Grey Cup week. They’ll spend the entire week on-site before taking on the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the Grey Cup game.
These two teams went head-to-head in the 2009 and 2010 Grey Cup games – both of which were won by the Alouettes.