Nov. 29, 2009

CALGARY, ALBERTA -- With the help of former Furman standout wide receiver Brian Bratton `05, the Montreal Alouettes rallied from a 16-point fourth quarter deficit to claim a 28-27 victory over former Paladin All-America offensive tackle Joel Bell `09 and the Saskatchewan Roughriders in Sunday's 97th Grey Cup, the Canadian Football League's championship game.

With Montreal trailing 27-11 with just over 10 minutes remaining in the game, Bratton, now in his third year with the Alouettes, helped ignite the comeback with a 33-yard reception to the Saskatchewan 3-yard line to set up a touchdown and two-point conversion that cut the Roughriders' lead to 27-19.

Montreal's Jerald Brown then picked off a pass by Roughrider quarterback Darian Durant with 5:28 remaining to set up another touchdown, which pulled the Alouettes to within two points, but the two-point conversion attempt failed.

Trailing 27-25, Montreal quickly forced a Saskatchewan punt, which Bratton fumbled but recovered at his own 34-yard line. From there the Alouettes quickly moved into Roughrider territory to set up Damon Duval's game winning 33-yard field goal. Duval's decisive kick came on his second try. His first attempt missed, but on the play Saskatchewan was penalized for too many players on the field, which moved Duval 10 yards closer for the eventual game winner with no time left on the clock.

Montreal, the 2009 CFL East Division champion, completed the season with a 16-3 record while Saskatchewan, which won the West Division, went 10-8-1 this season.

Bratton, a native of Martinez, Ga., caught two passes for 39 yards and had three kickoff returns for 82 yards in Sunday's championship game. He recorded 58 receptions for 613 yards and two touchdowns and had 10 kickoff returns for 155 yards in the 2009. During his Furman career (2001-04), he caught 131 passes for 1.826 yards and 18 touchdowns. He also earned All-America honors as a return specialist, averaging 23.1 yards on school record 89 kickoff returns, three of which he returned for touchdowns.

Bell was a mainstay at tackle for Saskatchewan this year in his first season in professional ball. A year ago the 6-foot-7 Spartanburg, S.C., product earned All-America honors and captured the Southern Conference's Jacobs Blocking Award for Furman, where he twice garnered first team all-conference honors during a solid four-year career (2005-08).

Bratton had brief stints with the Atlanta Falcons and Baltimore Ravens prior to joining Montreal in 2007. Bell, meanwhile, signed as a free agent with the Buffalo Bills before joining Saskatchewan prior to the start of the 2009 campaign.