Crum’s two first-half touchdowns lead Montreal Alouettes past Toronto Argonauts 33-16

TORONTO — It took five tries but Dustin Crum finally has his first win over the Toronto Argonauts.

Crum ran for two touchdowns while Caleb Evans threw two scoring strikes as the Montreal Alouettes defeated Toronto 33-16 on Friday night in the CFL regular-season finale for both teams. As the starter, Crum was credited with the victory.

“It feels good to break that streak,” he said. “I’ve been watching Davis (Als starter Davis Alexander) do it all year, it was awesome to have a chance to (start a game).

“Obviously he sets the bar and standard very high so just trying to meet that is a lot of fun.”

Montreal (14-4) swept the two-game series with Toronto (9-9) but this contest had no bearing on the East Division standings. The Als and Argos came in having already clinched the top two spots so each rested a number of starters before 13,198 spectators at BMO Field.

“When you play an 18-game schedule, I’m telling you right now we don’t concede one of them,” said Montreal head coach Jason Maas. “We’ve worked really hard to try and win as many as we can and win every week and that’s our standard.

“When you come up with 14 of those, that’s huge. It’s hard to win in this league and to do what we’ve done I’m very proud of (the Als players), I’m proud of this organization.”

Toronto will host the fourth-place finisher in the West in the East semifinal Oct 31. The winner visits Montreal in the division final Nov. 7.

Davis was among Montreal’s regulars who didn’t play. He entered weekend action leading the CFL in TD passes (35) and completion percentage (72.1) and second in yards (5,257).

Most importantly, Alexander is 13-3 this season as a starter.

Crum completed 17-of-20 passes for 153 yards and ran four times for 12 yards and the two TDs. Crum didn’t find it difficult to play in a game that had no playoff implications.

“Coach Maas has created an extremely competitive environment on the team,” Crum said. “I think it’s a big reason for the success we’ve had this year.

“That’s just kind of the standard that he brings to the table and you’re expected to meet it.”

Evans took over to begin the second half. After a slow start he finished 11-of-14 passing for 82 yards with the two TDs and an interception.

Evans found Charleston Rambo on a five-yard TD pass at 7:50 of the fourth following a 44-yard punt return by Mekhi Mews. He then hooked up with Kaseem Ferdinand on a 23-yard touchdown toss at 13:08.

Tucker Horn, Toronto’s No. 3 quarterback, drew the start. He was 20-of-26 passing for 215 yards with a TD and interception before giving way to Luis Perez in the fourth quarter.

Perez completed two-of-three passes for 26 yards.

Toronto’s Kevin Mital had three catches for 27 yards to crack the 1,000-yard plateau for the first time. He’s the fourth Argos receiver this season to reach the mark — Damonte Coxie, David Ungerer III and Tyler Kahmann are the others — for a franchise first.

Montreal’s Lewis Ward kicked two field goals and three converts.

Dymere Miller had seven catches for 115 yards and Toronto’s touchdown. Lirim Hajrullahu added the convert and three field goals.

Hajrullahu’s 45-yard field goal to end the third pulled Toronto to within 19-16. He connected from 47 yards out at 1:39.

Crum’s nine-yard TD run at 14:44 of the second gave Montreal a 19-10 halftime lead. The six-play, 60-yard drive was aided by pass interference and roughing the passer penalties against Toronto.

Montreal was deserving of the lead. It ran 43 offensive plays to Toronto’s 14 and held the ball for over 22 minutes in the first half.

Ward staked Montreal to a 12-10 lead with a 42-yard field goal at 6:12. It followed Hajrullahu’s 53-yard boot at 2:30.

Ward put Montreal ahead 9-7 with a 15-yard field goal at 13:41 of the first. The Alouettes had the ball for 13 minutes two seconds in the quarter.

Toronto’s first play from scrimmage was Horn’s 71-yard TD pass to Miller at 6:10 for a 7-6 advantage. Crum’s one-yard TD run at 5:35 capped Montreal’s opening 10-play, 76-yard drive but Joseph Zema missed the convert.

UP NEXT

Alouettes: Host the East Division final Saturday, Nov. 7.

Argonauts: Host the East Division semifinal Saturday, Oct. 31.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2026.

Dan Ralph, The Canadian Press