CISers in the CFL, Week 6: Phillips, Kirk contribute sacks in wins; Bagg gets in end zone

Montréal Alouettes (5-1) — The amazing part of the interception that Mathieu Proulx (Laval) had in the Als' 25-0 win over Toronto was that Kerry Joseph had enough time to set up and force a deep ball into double coverage.

It was kind of a boring game for middle linebacker Shea Emry (one tackle) and the other linebackers and D-backs. Montreal's defensive line made every tackle.

Hamilton Tiger-Cats (4-2) — D-lineman Matt Kirk (Queen's) made the game's only sack at a propitious time, taking down Edmonton QB Ricky Ray in the closing seconds of the Ticats' 28-21 win in the Monsoon Cup on Saturday night.

The conditions created a field position game in the fourth quarter. Hamilton started its go-ahead touchdown drive at the Eskimos' 43-yard line thanks to a tackle in punt coverage by Dylan Barker (Saskatchewan), who's been a terror on special teams.

Saskatchewan Roughriders (3-3) — Wideout Rob Bagg (Queen's) went his whole first season without scoring a touchdown. He scored two in a space of about 30 minutes in Saskatchewan's 35-20 loss to B.C., finishing with a game-high 120 yards on five catches.

The catch was that Bagg's two big games have coincided with second-half 'Riders collapses. It is strange how that worked out, but a wide receiver isn't responsible for a team occasionally being able to stop the run. Slotback Jason Clermont (Regina) was quiet again (two catches, 33 yards) and also took a hard shot from Lions LB Anton McKenzie late in the game. Chris Getzlaf (Regina) had one catch for 13 yards.

Luca Congi (SFU) did not get to try a field goal. He did have a convert blocked.

Bagg might not even have been the best product of a west-end Kingston high school on Friday. Brent Johnson had three sacks for B.C. The Holy Cross-Frontenac rivalry in Kingston's west end knows no bounds.

Calgary Stampeders (3-3) — Wideout Brett Ralph (Alberta) had two catches for 70 yards in Calgary's 31-23 win over Winnipeg (and brother Brock Ralph, who had 26 yards on three receptions) on Saturday.

Linebacker Justin Phillips (Laurier), who seems to have become a passing down specialist, had six tackles and his first sack of the season. With the way Calgary played the run, though, it wasn't a great night for the Stampeders defence. They averaged 9.1 yards per pass to Winnipeg's 7.0 and it ended up being only a one-touchdown margin.

Safety Wes Lysack (Manitoba), in his 100th CFL game, made an interception to wrap up the win in the final minute. Burke Dales (Concordia) also outpunted his fellow Stinger, Mike Renaud, averaging 51.8 yards to his counterpart's 45.8. In the final three minutes, Dales had a fumble recovery wiped out by a penalty, then went back and hoofed a 55-yarder on the replayed down.

Edmonton Eskimos (3-3) — Safety Elliot Richardson (Acadia) was credited with two tackles vs. Hamilton. Edmonton didn't have a sack or interception, which made it awful hard to win.

B.C. Lions (2-4) — It was totally illegal and should not have counted, but special teamer James Yurichuk (Bishop's) thought on his feet to help the Lions get a game-turning touchdown vs. Saskatchewan.

The 'Riders were up 14-12 late in the first half when Gerran Walker fumbled a punt. Yurichuk, who is getting good notices in Van City, booted the live ball downfield and it was eventually recovered for a Lions touchdown. B.C. never trailed again, with defensive end Ricky Foley (York) picking up a sack.

Javier Glatt (UBC) and Jason Aragki (McMaster) were each active on special teams. Aragki almost scooped up the ball that Yurichuk kicked, but it squirted from under him. It was a great non-play, since replays revealed he was offsides and should have been called for no-yards.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers (2-4) — Winnipeg's blocking group, which includes Obby Khan (SFU), guard Kelly Bates (Saskatchewan), Brendon LaBatte (Regina) and Steve Morley (Saint Mary's), cleared the way for Fred Reid to rush 17 times for 167 yards (9.8 avg), with more than 150 yards coming in the second half. A lot of that was due to a defensive breakdown by Calgary, which did manage to come up with a big third-and-2 stop in the final 90 seconds.

Toronto Argonauts (2-4) — Al Stewart, the man who coined the terms Coach's Corner and TSN Turning Point, died last month after a long and fulfilling life. In his honour, let us say the turning point in the Argos-Alouettes game was when the CFL put it on the schedule. Slotback Mike Bradwell (McMaster) had two catches for 16 yards for the Argos.

You know the joke: Why would people in Hogtown rather watch MLS than CFL? There's a better chance Toronto will score. The other line is that if you want to see the great Canadian O-linemen the Argos have drafted, wait until the NFL season (Nick Kaczur, New England Patriots; former Calgary Dino Dan Federkeil with the Colts).