Chat » I blew the whistle and gave him an interference penalty. H

TORONTO - Jonathan Crompton is 6-1 as Montreals starting quarterback, thanks to John Bowman and the rest of the Alouettes defence. Crompton was 19-of-28 passing for 219 yards and a TD as Montreal earned an important 20-12 win over Toronto on Saturday night. But it was the Alouettes defence that anchored the teams fourth straight win by continually harassing Ricky Ray and keeping a potent Argonauts offence without a touchdown before 16,834 spectators at Rogers Centre. Its important to get every win because of how tight it is in the East, said Bowman, the veteran Alouettes defensive lineman. We came here with the intention of winning and getting after the quarterback and thats exactly what we did. We didnt get a lot of sacks but we forced a lot of errant throws, we forced some tough throws and they made some good receptions. But in the end we didnt give up a touchdown and got the win. Montreal (7-8) moved into a tie for first in the East Division with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (7-8). Its defence allowed just four field goals and effectively shut down a Toronto offence that had scored 140 points in its previous four games despite losing defensive linemen Gabriel Knapton and Aaron Lavarias to injury. Our defence has been playing well the past few weeks, Crompton said. You cant say enough good things about them. Theres not a lot you cant say about them right now. Toronto mustered just 19 total yards offensively in the third quarter alone. But after rallying the Argos from a 17-point deficit last week in a 34-33 win over Hamilton, Ray literally fell just short of doing so again Saturday as he was stopped on a third-and-one at the Montreal 35 with 1:27 remaining. We knew what play they were going to run, Bowman said. We stood tall. Still, the Argos had many chances late in the game. They appeared in business when a pass interference call on Gerald Brown put them at the Montreal 23 with 12:09 remaining to play. But Montreal successfully challenged the call, forcing Toronto to punt. Toronto got the ball back at the Montreal 47 after Aston Whiteside recovered a Crompton fumble. But the Argos settled for Swayze Waters 37-yard field goal at 6:45 that cut the Als lead to 20-9. Toronto got another break when it took over at its 52-yard line after James Yurichuk blocked Whytes punt with 5:17 remaining. Waters 48-yard field goal at 11:50 cut Montreals lead to 20-12. After turning the ball over on downs, Toronto got it back for the last time at its 16-yard line with 24 seconds remaining. But Brown ended the comeback hopes with an interception. Toronto mustered just 283 net offensive yards and Ray, who came in as the CFLs passing leader, finished 25-of-39 passing for 202 yards with the pick. Ray said the overturned pass interference call was big. That couldve put us down deep and if we couldve scored it wouldve been a real momentum builder, Ray said of the reversed call. To have that call and have it taken off the board kind of gave them the momentum. Added Argos coach Scott Milanovich: It was a factor for sure, we were at least in field-goal range. But we still had opportunities. Toronto (6-9) suffered its first loss in four games to drop to third in the East, making its next two contests crucially important. The Argos host Hamilton next weekend, then travel to Montreal on Nov. 2 needing to win those games to clinch both season series and solidify their post-season run. Toronto, Hamilton and Montreal are essentially playing for two playoff spots due to the crossover. The B.C. Lions (8-7) are fourth in the West but would secure the No. 3 seed in the East if they finished the regular season with a better record than the Eastern conferences third-place squad. Montreal, which began the season 1-7, visits Ottawa on Friday night before hosting Toronto. Montreal coach Tom Higgins credited the Alouettes players for the teams amazing turnaround. They believed in the message that was presented to them from the start of training camp that we are a good football team, there is talent here, he said. Youve got to learn to play together and understand the ebbs and flows of the game and they did that beautifully and its paying huge dividends. Despite his stellar record, Crompton hasnt been lights-out for Montreal. He still hasnt recorded a 300-yard passing game and has thrown one more TD pass (eight) than interception, but Higgins says thats to be expected with a CFL sophomore. I think people forget he is truly a young quarterback learning and getting better each and every time, he said. It just bodes well for us. Tanner Marsh and S.J. Green had Montreals touchdowns. Sean Whyte had the converts and two field goals. Waters had Torontos field goals. Players and coaches on both teams teams wore pink-coloured items as part of the CFLs program to bring awareness to womens cancers. Argos slotback Chad Owens wore a sharp-looking pair of custom cleats in honour of an aunt who was diagnosed with breast cancer. NOTES - Offensive lineman Jarriel King and defensive back Branden Smith didnt dress for Toronto while defensive end Brian Brikowski and slotback Andrew Smith were Montreals scratches . . . Heading into weekend action there had been 83 challenges by CFL coaches, with 25 being successful . . . West Division teams still lead the head-to-head series 28-12 but East squads have won nine of the last 11 matchups . . . According to the CFL, just two teams have ever won their division without being over .500, the 85 Hamilton Tiger-Cats (8-8) and 01 Edmonton Eskimos (9-9) . . . Ray has never finished the season leading the CFL in TD passes. He came into Saturdays game with a league-high 27. Cheap Shoes Websites . 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He had only five rounds in the 60s in his previous eight trips.Got a question on rule clarification, comments on rule enforcements or some memorable NHL stories? Kerry wants to answer your emails at cmonref@tsn.ca. Kerry, Great column and Happy New Year to you and your family! Wanted to give kudos to referee Brad Meier, who demonstrated great knowledge of the rules when a rare situation occurred in a game between the Kings and Bruins on Thursday night (and the second time Ive seen it at Staples Center). Bostons Dougie Hamilton was exiting the penalty box shortly after the start of the second period and played the puck while his skates were still in the box. Meier immediately blew the play dead and assessed the minor for interference. This was a much better outcome than a couple seasons ago when a player stopped a potential breakaway by playing the puck from the bench in a late-season game. Kerry, youve made thousands of calls over your career, whats the rarest/oddest youve had to make? Keep up the great work! Derek May Hey Derek:Kudos to you as well for crediting referee Brad Meier for his quick and accurate response when Dougie Hamilton committed a violation of rule 56.2 by playing the puck while his skate(s) remained firmly planted inside the penalty box. (56.2—A minor penalty shall be imposed on any identifiable player on the players or penalty bench who, by means of his stick or his body, interferes with the movements of the puck or any opponent on the ice during the progress of the play. In addition, should a player about to come onto the ice, play the puck while one or both skates are still on the players or penalty bench, a minor penalty for interference shall be assessed.) Quite interestingly I had the occasion to assess a similar penalty when a player stepped out of the penalty box in Calgary to grab a clearing shot with full intention to sprint away on a breakaway. He never got any farther than touching the puck before I blew the whistle since his back skate was still in coontact with the threshold of the penalty box door! At the time all the players were confused by the call since they had no idea about the rule.dddddddddddd The most bizarre interference penalty of this nature was one I called on Jaromir Jagr in a game at the Igloo in Pittsburgh. Jagr was waiting patiently to replace his teammate on the fly who was still a good fifteen feet from the Penguins bench. Jaromir wanted to get a head start so he sat on top of the bench dasher boards with his skates hanging down and dangling above the ice. Jagrs teammate made it to the bench in time for a legal change just as the puck came near the bench. Rather than jump off the dasher onto the ice Jaromir remained seated, stopped the puck and began to stickhandle it with his skates still hanging off the ice. Jagr was quite surprised when I blew the whistle and gave him an interference penalty. He didnt know that what he did was illegal either! Another time the same player (Jagr) decided to leave the ice while play was in progress. The problem was he didnt go to his players bench to make a legal substitution but instead stopped in front of the end zone door that leads to the Penguins dressing room. Jags knocked on the glass, the young kid that attended to the dressing room opened the door (who was he to argue with Jaromir Jagr?) and the Penguin superstar stepped off the ice as play continued! The Pens were subsequently playing a man short with Jagr heading to the dressing room so a replacement player jumped over the boards from the bench. Once the Penguins gained possession of the puck I stopped play and assessed a bench minor penalty for illegal substitution. Jaromir Jagr is an amazing player and an automatic selection to the Hockey Hall of Fame awaits him whenever he finally retires. It was a thrill to watch him perform from close range for so many years. I was also happy that I was able to teach Jagr some of the playing rules along the way. ' ' '