By Richard Obrand,
MontrealAlouettes.com

Montreal – If last night’s pre-season game in Montreal is to serve as a preview for the games that actually count, then the Alouettes and their fans are in for a rollercoaster of a season.

Thursday night, the Als got their first taste of the 2008 CFL season at home against the Toronto Argonauts.

In a game which saw more twists and turns than a 50s dance party, it was only fitting that the outcome was a 34-34 tie on a beautiful night for football at Percival Molson Stadium.

The Argonauts made an early statement scoring on the first play of the game on a 77-yard Michael Bishop pass to Bethel Johnson just 23 seconds into the first quarter.

One possession later Bishop was at it again, this time on a one-yard quarterback draw which silenced the large crowd in Montreal.

Just five minutes later, however, the slumbering Alouettes offence woke up.

Quarterback Brad Banks connected with Brian Bratton 28 yards downfield to cut the score in half at 14-7 heading into the second quarter.

Quarterbacks aplenty
On a team as crowded at the quarterback position as the Alouettes, Banks may have punched his ticket to Hamilton for the team’s season opener June 26.

“I felt really good out there, it was exciting to play and thankfully a lot of good things happened,” said Banks.

“I made the best out of my time,” he added.

The second quarter was much like the first, only this time it was the Als’ getting on the board early, and thanks to a Banks quarterback sneak, the game was tied at 14 apiece.

The Alouettes then took the lead on a 39-yard Damon Duval field goal, and extended that lead to 10 after agile quarterback Adrian McPherson tossed a 39-yard pass to receiver Éric Deslauriers.

Newly acquired kicker Mike Vanderjagt showed why he was one of the most accurate kickers in the NFL prior to joining his teammates in Toronto, as he chipped a 14 yarder through the posts to cut the lead to seven.

Robert Eeuwes then replaced Vanderjagt and connected on a 44-yard kick to bring the Boatmen to within four.

The Argonauts regained the lead after receiver Arland Bruce and running back Andre Durie both found themselves in the end zone, giving Toronto a  34-24 lead.

A fourth quarter comeback
The fourth quarter was a different story however, as the Alouettes scored 10 unanswered points on a touchdown by Larry Taylor and a 40-yard Duval field goal with just 56 seconds remaining to even out the score once again.

New Alouettes coach Marc Trestman was extremely pleased with his team’s performance.

“Banks and the rest of the guys did a heck of a job, I’m real proud of the coaches as well,” he said.

When asked about his performance as a rookie coach, Trestman was quick to deflect his success to his team.

“I’ve still got a lot to learn, but as a team I’m very pleased with the effort.”