Playmakers live for the key moments.
The Montreal Alouettes found all their playmakers when they needed them most in last night's stunning 28-27 Grey Cup victory.
The incredible victory will be known for Damon Duval's zero-to-hero moments, Anthony Calvillo's night of redemption and the Saskatchewan Roughriders blowing a big lead and taking a too-man-men penalty which gave the Alouettes one last chance.
But all those would have been moot without the clutch plays down the stretch.
Especially in the final 10 minutes when the Als were down 27-11 and seemingly out of chances.
"We pulled each other through. We dug deep," said Als running back Avon Cobourne, whose ball-carrying skills came through in the second half. "We're the best team. We've got to give credit to them, but we're the best team this year. Things may change next year, but this year, we're the best team. We just stuck together It got tough, but we stuck together."
Cobourne began the comeback immediately after the Roughriders took their 16-point edge.
The next play from scrimmage was a 27-yard scamper. Two more carries meant another first down. He capped the drive with a three-yard run to the endzone. Thanks to Calvillo's two-point convert pass to Kerry Carter, the Als pulled within eight points in the blink of an eye.
"My number got called, and we were making plays because their defence allowed it," Cobourne said, alluding to the Riders' blanket coverage on the receivers to that point. "Another defence, it would have been different."
His 85 yards rushing on 16 carries, earned him the game's most outstanding player award.
Then came the key catches, none bigger than Jamal Richardson's clutch third-down reception with less than three minutes remaining.
An incomplete pass would mean a celebratory wave rolling like a tsunami all the way from Calgary through Saskatchewan.
Instead, Richardson's 11-yard catch set up the TD that pulled the Alouettes within two points and set up one of the wildest finishes in Grey Cup history.
"He was supposed to run an out pattern, but Eddie Davis was sitting outside. He was able to turn back in," Calvillo said of Richardson's clutch catch. "He's a big body and a big-play guy, and he came up big for us."
It wasn't a game-winning touchdown play, but for Richardson, it felt just as good.
"You got to do the little things that keeps drives alive. We believed all game. Believe -- that was our motto," said Richardson, who finished the game with eight catches for 113 yards. "(Davis) had been jumping routes all game. Anthony had seen me cut out, (Davis) jumped out, and I cut in. A.C. stayed with me.
"A.C. is a wonderful guy -- one of the greatest quarterbacks in history. He deserves this. It's for him."
"That's Streaks making a big play, man. That's what he does. He was exhausted when he made that catch," Cobourne said. "I wanted to run the ball, but they called a pass play, and he made the play. That's what he does."
The big plays didn't stop there.
There was Richardson's 23-yard reception on the final drive which moved the Als into Riders territory.
A 17-yard passing play to Kerry Watkins put the team in range for the game-winning kick -- although Duval missed on the first attempt but received a second chance from 10 yards closer.
With 10 minutes remaining, it was about time to give last rites to the Als and call them the greatest under-achievers.
Thanks to big plays and a bizarre turn of events, they were enjoying the cigars and champagne.
"I had faith the size of a mustard seed," Cobourne added.
"It was little, but it was there."
RANDY.SPORTAK@SUNMEDIA.CA
