WINNIPEG -Duron Carter picked up exactly where he left off while Kevin Glenn couldn’t be stopped, as the Alouettes offence took flight in a 22-14 win over the Bombers on Friday night.
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Glenn threw for 332 yards and a touchdown on 30-of-42 passing in his first opening-day start as an Alouette, while Carter caught a game-high eight passes for 96 yards as the Als’ offence combined for over 400 yards in a winning effort.
Equally impressive was Montreal’s defence under Noel Thorpe, which stymied Drew Willy all night in holding him to 141 passing yards, recording five quarterback sacks and forcing one interception.
While the Bomber offence struggled to get in sync out of the gate, an hour-long delay due to lightning in the area put a damper on Investors Group Field early on. A 41-yard field goal by Boris Bede and a safety conceded by the Bombers gave the Als a 5-0 lead through 15 minutes, while the Als’ defence continued to set the pace by holding Willy at bay.
The Alouettes continued to carry the play as Glenn was comfortable and efficient against the Bombers’ Richie Hall defence.
Glenn completed six straight passes, including a highlight-reel tip-toe catch by Carter along the sideline, setting up a one-yard touchdown run by Brandon Bridge on second down to put the Als ahead 12-0.
Bad turned to worse for the Bombers when Chip Cox intercepted Willy’s pass on the very next offensive play, taking it deep into Winnipeg territory on the 30-yard return.
But any bit of momentum the Bombers mustered was quickly washed away, however. On the very next possession, Glenn and his hot hand, finding Carter over the top on the deep ball and giving the Alouettes the ball inside the five. Glenn went right to Green along the left sideline in the end zone, and the veteran duo connected for six to extend Montreal’s lead to 19-3.
The Alouettes added a field goal to extend the lead to 19, while the Bombers showed signs of life midway through the fourth when Willy moved them inside the red zone. But on a third-down gamble, Willy was stuffed on a great individual effort by Bear Woods, turning over the football and putting it back in Montreal’s hands.
The Als conceded a safety to make it a 16-point game, but the Bombers were again stuffed on third down on another sack by Montreal’s defensive front, this one from Jesse Joseph.
Last year’s sack-leader in Bowman got off to a strong start in his 2016 campaign adding a pair of sacks while adding a team-high six defensive tackles. But at the end of the day it was Anthony Calvillo and Jacques Chapdelaine’s offence that soared for the Alouettes as six different receivers caught three or more passes.
The next game will be at McGill’s Stadium where the Alouettes will face the Ottawa REDBLACKS on Thursday, June 30.
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