The 91st Grey Cup was the

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A ...

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a c ...

championship game played between the

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at the Brick Field at Comm ...

and the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes ( French: Les Alouettes de Montréal) are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has folded and been revived twice. The Alouettes compete in the East Division of the Cana ...

on November 16 at Taylor Field, in

Regina, Saskatchewan Regina () is the capital city of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province, after Saskatoon, and is a commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. As of the 2021 census, Regina had a city populatio ...

before 50,909 fans. The two teams had played during the previous year with Montreal winning, but this time the Eskimos won the game by a score of 34–22.

Game summary

Edmonton Eskimos (34) - TDs, Mike Pringle, Jason Tucker (2),

Ricky Ray Ricky Ray (born October 22, 1979) is an American former professional Canadian football quarterback. Ray spent the majority of his professional career with the Edmonton Eskimos and Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He also ...

; FGs Sean Fleming (2); cons., Fleming (4). Montreal Alouettes (22) - TDs,

Pat Woodcock Patrick Ian Woodcock (born April 27, 1977) is a former Canadian football wide receiver. Woodcock attended American College at Syracuse University between 1997 and 2000 and he attended Holy Trinity Catholic High School, which is located in Kana ...

Sylvain Girard Sylvain Girard (born October 3, 1975) is a retired professional Canadian football wide receiver who played eight seasons for the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League. He won a Grey Cup championship with the Alouettes in 2002. Gira ...

, Ben Cahoon; cons. Matt Kellett (3); singles, Kellett (1). First Quarter
EDM—TD Pringle 4 run (Fleming convert) 2:43 7-0 EDM
Second Quarter
EDM—TD Tucker 41 pass from Ray (Fleming convert) 2:25 14 - 0 EDM
MTL—TD Woodcock 4 pass from Whitaker (Kellett convert) 9:25 14 - 7 EDM
MTL—TD Girard 32 pass from Calvillo (Kellett convert) 11:45 14 - 14
EDM—TD Tucker 15 pass from Ray (Fleming convert) 13:37 21 - 14 EDM
MTL—TD Cahoon 27 pass from Calvillo (Kellett convert) 14:10 21 - 21
EDM—FG Fleming 27 14:49 24 - 21 EDM
Third Quarter
MTL—Single Kellett 70 9:59 24 - 22 EDM
Fourth Quarter
EDM—TD Ray 1 run (Fleming convert) 1:28 31 - 22 EDM
EDM—FG Fleming 17 14:31 34 - 22 EDM Montreal coach Don Matthews surprised many experts by playing rookie cornerbacks D.J. Johnson and Brandon Williams. Williams got the call in place of an injured

Omar Evans Omar Evans (born September 1, 1976, in Silver Spring, Maryland) is a former Canadian Football League defensive back who has played for the Montreal Alouettes, Saskatchewan Roughriders, Calgary Stampeders, and Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Achievemen ...

, while Johnson started in place of Wayne Shaw, because Matthews felt Johnson was better in man-to-man coverage. Even though the inexperience of his young cornerbacks may have cost him the game, Matthews made no apologies for sticking with Williams and Johnson. After Edmonton running back Mike Pringle opened the scoring with a four-yard TD run on the opening drive, Edmonton took a commanding 14-0 lead in the second quarter when Ray connected with Tucker on a 41-yard touchdown pass, capping a four-play, 70-yard drive. Ben Cahoon made a spectacular, one-handed catch in tight coverage to put the Alouettes on Edmonton's four-yard line. Montreal called an unusual option play when

Anthony Calvillo Anthony Calvillo (born August 23, 1972) is the quarterbacks coach for the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and is a former professional Canadian football quarterback. He was professional football's all-time passing yards ...

pitched the ball to running back Deonce Whitaker who tossed a four-yard touchdown to a wide-open

. On Edmonton's next possession, Pringle fumbled, and Montreal went straight to work, as Calvillo hit Silvain Girard on a 32-yard TD pass to tie the game. After a Keith Stokes fumble later in the quarter, Ray hooked up with a streaking Tucker with 1:23 left in the quarter on a 20-yard TD passing play, restoring the Eskimos' seven-point advantage. Montreal struck back on the next drive. Calvillo threw a 27-yard TD to Cahoon with 50 seconds left in the half to tie the score at 21-21, but Edmonton took a 24-21 lead into the intermission when Sean Fleming connected on a 27-yard field goal following another Stokes fumble deep in Montreal's half. The Eskimo defence took over in the second half, holding Montreal to a single point in the third quarter, while Ray scored early in the fourth quarter on a one-yard run to give the Eskimos a 31-22 lead. The turning point in the game came one play earlier when a Montreal fumble recovery was negated by an offside call on D.J. Johnson, sapping the life out of the Alouettes. Fleming booted a 27-yard field goal with 29 seconds left to seal the victory for Edmonton.

Trivia

Montreal Coach Don Matthews had previously won five Grey Cup championships. Pringle eclipsed the record of 359 career yards rushing in Grey Cup games set by Winnipeg legend Leo Lewis. Jason Tucker, had two touchdowns and seven receptions for 132 yards, winning game MVP honours in the process. Ben Cahoon made six catches for 148 yards and was voted

most outstanding Canadian The Most Outstanding Canadian Award is annually awarded to the best Canadians, Canadian player in the Canadian Football League. The two nominees for the award are the Lew Hayman Trophy winner from the Canadian Football League East Division, East Di ...

. This was Edmonton's 12th championship and first since defeating the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West division. They play their home games at IG Fie ...

in the 1993 Grey Cup final. Ricky Ray completed 22 of 32 pass attempts for 301 yards. Anthony Calvillo was 22 for 37 for 371 yards. Edmonton and Montreal have met in 11

Grey Cup The Grey Cup (french: Coupe Grey) is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested be ...

clashes. The Alouettes prevailed in 1974, the Ice Bowl of 1977, and 2002. The Eskimos have won in 1954, 1955, 1956, 1975, 1978, 1979, 2003 and 2005. This is the final Grey Cup game to have been played on the first-generation AstroTurf surface.

2003 CFL Playoffs

West Division

*Semi-final (November 2 @

Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,60 ...

)

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in ...

37-21

*Final (November 9 @

Edmonton, Alberta Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city anch ...

)

30-23

East Division

*Semi-final (November 5 @

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

)

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the CFL East Division, East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based i ...

28-7

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions played their first seas ...

* *Final (November 9 @

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirte ...

)

30-26

* Cross over from West Division

External links

* * {{2003 CFL season by team

Grey Cup Grey Cups hosted in Regina, Saskatchewan Montreal Alouettes Edmonton Elks 2003 in Saskatchewan 2003 sports awards 2003 in Canadian television November 2003 sports events in Canada