By Richard Obrand,
MontrealAlouettes.com

Montreal – Coming into their first matchup of the 2008 season, the Montreal Alouettes had every reason to do what most media pundits expected them to do... Lose.

The formula was all in place; an aging quarterback, a vast amount of injured veterans, and a rookie head coach. They seemingly had no shot, even before the opening kickoff.

The Als had another idea, however.

Anthony Calvillo, the “aging quarterback,” matched every step of his young teammates who were replacing those injured veterans en route to passing Danny McManus for second on the CFL’s all-time passing yards list, while rookie head coach Marc Trestman led as if he’d been in the league for his entire 25-year coaching career.

In the end, after all factors were accounted for, the Alouettes found themselves on the bright side of a 33-10 score.

The Als got on the board three minutes into the game with a field goal after Damon Duval connected from 31 yards out. Just under two minutes later, Montreal took advantage of a Hamilton turnover on downs as Calvillo set up receiver Kerry Watkins for the first of his two touchdowns of the night.

The Als’ added six more points in the half courtesy of Duval’s foot to make the score 16-0 before a late first-half field goal from Hamilton kicker Nick Setta made it 16-3 for Montreal at the break.

The second half was much like the first, as Calvillo found Watkins 32 yards downfield for his second score of the night.

On a night filled with surprises, it was only fitting that Avon Cobourne, the Als’ slated number three running back, added to the Tiger-Cats woes by compiling 162 total yards – 107 on the ground and 55 through the air. He also capped off an impressive offensive drive with a three-yard run into the end zone to make the score 30-3 for the Als’ in the fourth quarter.

Tre Smith scored Hamilton's TD on a 75-yard fourth-quarter run.

The Alouettes look for their second win of the season next week at home against the Winnipeg Bluebombers.

Notes: The win put the Als’ back on track in season opening games after losing last season’s debut to Saskatchewan. The Als’ were without veterans Reggie Hunt, Jarrett Payton, Marcus Brady, Ben Cahoon, Elijah Thurmon, Mathieu Proulx and Alain Kashama.