There always seemed to be something on the line when the Montreal Alouettes and Toronto Argonauts met this season, and now they're locked in their biggest must-win game of the year.
The victor in the CFL East Division final at Olympic Stadium today earns a trip to the Grey Cup game.
"I don't get caught up with people talking about rivalries," Montreal quarterback Anthony Calvillo said Saturday. "It's going to be a tough game whether you like the other team or not."
The Alouettes won two of three meetings with Toronto this season to claim first place in the division, but that was before quarterback Ricky Ray and the Argonauts offence jelled for an impressive finish to the season.
Toronto won their first meeting of the year with Montreal 23-20 on July 27 with Ray behind centre, but he was hurt in the first quarter of their next matchup on Sept. 23, a 31-10 victory the Alouettes needed to avoid losing the season series to the Double Blue.
Jarious Jackson was in for the injured Ray as Montreal secured first place with a 24-12 win in Toronto on Oct. 14.
In three games since returning from injury, including a 42-26 victory over Ray's former team Edmonton in the East semi-final last Sunday, the veteran has completed 67 of 93 passes, a 72 per cent clip, for 922 yards and 10 touchdowns.
"Everyone's playing a lot better," said Ray, Toronto's prize pick-up in a trade last winter. "Offensively, guys are starting to understand what we're doing.
"This was all new for everybody. People understand their roles. Guys aren't thinking as much.
We're just playing good football."
Ray has faced the Alou-ettes four times in the playoffs with Edmonton, winning Grey Cup games in 2003 and 2005, losing a Grey Cup on home soil in 2002, and dropping a 36-26 decision in the East final at the Big O in 2008.
He knows it will be deafening in the domed stadium, where a crowd approaching 50,000 is expected.
"The biggest challenge for us is the crowd noise," Ray said. "We've just got to communicate really well. It's every road team's goal to get off to a good start and quiet the crowd."
These are teams that know one another better than most.
The Argos' first-year head coach Scott Milanovich was Montreal boss Marc Trestman's offensive co-ordinator last season. Defensive co-ordinator Chris Jones and offensive line coach Steve McAdoo also once coached in Montreal. Quarterbacks coach Jason Maas was once one of Calvillo's backups.
Among the Argonauts who once played for Montreal are star receiver and kick returner Chad Owens, safety Etienne Boulay and tackle Chris Van Zeyl.
"We had some success when I was with this [Montreal] organization, but our team is anxious and hungry to come out here and take that next step that we've been building toward all year," said Milanovich. "It's nice to be back, but it doesn't feel the same when you're on the other side."
Montreal has won six of 10 meetings with Toronto in division finals, including the last three.
