In 2004, the Canadian Football League was dominated by two teams: the BC Lions (13-5) and the Montreal Alouettes (14-4). However, the old expression "That's why they play the games", certainly came into play for the 2004 playoffs. The Eastern Division was easily won by Montreal, as they won the division by 3.5 games over the second-place Toronto Argonauts (10-7-1), while in the Western Division, the BC Lions would roll to a 4-game cusion over the Edmonton Eskimos. In the first round of the playoffs, the Argonauts would have little trouble with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 24-6, while the Saskatchewan Roughriders would upset Edmonton 14-6. In the Division Finals, the Argonauts would continue their Cinderella story with a 26-18 win over the heavily favored Alouettes, while the Lions would have to go to overtime to defeat the Roughriders 27-25, setting up the match-up for the 92nd Grey Cup Championship. The 92nd Grey Cup game took place on November 21, 2004, at Frank Clair Stadium in Ottawa, Ontario. The Toronto Argonauts defeated the BC Lions 27-19. The BC Lions took the opening kickoff and fashioned an impressive drive that started and ended with a Jason Clermont reception. Quarterback Dave Dickenson was perfect on a series of short precision passes, taking the Lions from their own 38-yard-line down the field for a touchdown and an early 7-0 lead. The scoring play was a 12-yard toss to Clermont on a play fake that drew away the Toronto defense, which looked bewildered on the whole series. In the second quarter, a long completion from Allen to R. Jay Soward moved the Argos to the BC 20, and a 27-yard field goal by Prefontaine put Toronto on the board. Allen began to find his receivers on Toronto's next drive, hitting Robert Baker for a 35-yarder and a 20-yarder to move inside the Lions' red zone. A pass interference call against the Lions then put the ball at the 1-yard line, and Allen plunged across for the touchdown and the Argos' first lead. BC responded immediately, getting into field goal range on a Jason Clermont catch from Dave Dickenson. Duncan O'Mahony hit a 42-yarder to draw the Lions even. But just before the half, Allen again connected with Baker for a 23-yard touchdown, making the score 17-10 at halftime. The field position advantage enjoyed by the Toronto Argonauts in the second quarter continued on the opening drive of the second half, as Allen got the ball at midfield. Allen moved the ball efficiently again, and for the second time in the game dove for a one-yard touchdown to give the Argos a 14-point lead. Dave Dickenson had some success moving the ball for BC, but the Lions could only muster a 36-yard field goal by Duncan O'Mahony. On Toronto's next possession, Allen went down with an apparent leg injury while running for a first down. Ironically, the play was called back on a holding penalty. Michael Bishop replaced Allen at quarterback while the 41-year-old received treatment on the bench. Dave Dickenson took over for the Lions at his own 10-yard line, and engineered an impressive drive. Lyle Green caught two passes for first downs before running back Antonio Warren took over. Warren ran for 30 and 15 yards, setting up a Lions touchdown on Dave Dickenson's five-yard rush and dive into the end zone. Two consecutive time-count violations on a two-point conversion attempt pushed Duncan O'Mahony back for a 22-yard convert attempt that went wide. Toronto quarter back Damon Allen would return in the fourth quarter and find Tony Miles wide open and pushed down to the Lions' 10-yard line with the clock at three minutes and counting. Noel Prefontaine pushed the Argos' lead to eight points on a short field goal. BC failed to move the ball on what would
turn out to be its last chance with the ball, Dickenson just missing the outstretched hands of Simon on a bomb attempt, preserving the Argonauts 27-19 win. Toronto quarterback Damon Allen, was named the game's Most Valuable Player for the third time in his career. Jason Clermont, a Regina native who scored the game's opening touchdown, was named the Most Outstanding Canadian.