August 26, 2019

Gutsy plays lead to another thrilling win by our Alouettes

Our Alouettes have officially turned the ship around. The team has proved, over the past few weeks, that it truly has what it takes to bring back the winning tradition in Montreal. Sunday, by defeating the Argos 28 to 22 in Moncton, New Brunswick, our Als won more than just a game, they won the hearts of football fans across the Atlantic region.

For the first time since 2012, our team has a record superior to 0.500 halfway through the season. This year’s group is special, from the coaches to the players to the administrative staff, we all believe. And it shows.

The first half wasn’t the most glorious, particularly for the defensive unit who we’ve grown so used to seeing dominate. Defensive back Greg Reid was able to get his hands on Bethel-Thompson early to snag the first sack of the game, but Bob Slowik’s group appeared a little disoriented at times, allowing an unusual 16 points in 30 minutes.

Fortunately, it didn’t take much for our birds to spread their wings and fly. After DeVier Posey made a spectacular catch at the goal line, Vernon Adams managed to sneak his way into the end zone to score his 8th rushing touchdown of the season.

Sidenote: DeVier Posey became a father for the second time last weekend. Since he and his wife weren’t able to make it on time to the hospital, he had to play nurse. According to him, he made the best catch of his life that night. Since we don’t have that one on video, we’ll just leave you with this one that’s not too shabby either.

In the same drive, Vernon Adams Jr tied the record for most rushing touchdowns scored in a season by an Alouettes quarterback, with still nine games to play!

The offense’s first feat seemed to bring energy back across all three units. The first half was capped off with a fumble recovery by Chris Ackie and a wind of positivity blowing in our direction. The score at half-time was 16 to 6, but our boys know all about bouncing back.

Coach Khari Jones promises he didn’t say anything special at half-time. “I told them not to worry about anything and to keep having fun. We had been there before. I didn’t yell even though, truthfully, I wasn’t happy at all.”

It might not have been much, but it worked. Immediately after the break – immediately as in the first play from the line of scrimmage – Vernon Adams threw a gutsy pass to Geno Lewis, good for a 65-yard gain and a touchdown. The wide receiver, who scored his second major of the season, has clearly been on a mission lately. He finished the game with four receptions for 86 yards, maintaining an average of 28.7 yards per catch.

The deep play that was marvelously executed by Vernon and Geno is a great representation of the show our Alouettes put on Sunday. They didn’t win because they racked up more yards, nor because they managed to keep possession of the ball longer. No, this time, our Als have their poise and creativity to thank. Helmets off to Khari Jones and his coaching staff who, once again, made the necessary adjustments and trusted their guys out there.

If a team is taking away your run, taking away your short game, then it means the big plays are out there for the taking. You have to go and make those plays,” said the Head Coach in his post-game conference.

Our Alouettes made BIG plays on Sunday, big enough to get the Atlantic market excited about CFL football. The biggest one of all had to be the trick play that put us back ahead of our opponents. With a little more than three minutes to go in the third quarter, the offence shocked us all with a what-the-heck-did-we-just-witness play. The ball went from Vernon Adams to Jeremiah Johnson to DeVier Posey back to Vernon Adams and, finally, to Quan Bray who sealed the deal, 34 yards later, totally unbothered by the tight double coverage. Double reverse, flea flicker, dazzle dazzle… We’re just calling it the play of the year or the Moncton Special, as our Head Coach put it.

So, as our guys had just taken the lead (20 to 16), the Argos struck back. Receiver Derel Walker skillfully got rid of Tommie Campbell’s tight coverage to score Toronto’s second touchdown of the game. Now, these Argos certainly weren’t the typical 1-8 team. They put out a tremendous effort. Even veteran John Bowman tweeted about it! The Double Blue were leading after three, but our Als still had lots in store. So much that we’ll probably soon be labeled the 4th quarter team. Can’t stop ’til we get enough!

For the first time in his Montreal uniform, Jeremiah Johnson had the opportunity to have a proper celebration in the end zone. The RB made everybody smile (except Argos fans, of course) as he capped off his 25-yard run with a groovy latin dance. Geno Lewis then nailed the two-point convert and the score was 28-22 for the good guys.

But it wasn’t a wrap yet! With more than ten minutes to play, the Argos threatened our territory more than once. The defence’s work was colossal in those last moments. A knockdown by Ciante Evans, sacks by Fabion Foote and Ryan Brown, as well as a turnover on downs with 1:40 on the clock certainly played an important role in the outcome, but it was the final play that really tipped the scale. After receiving a 10-yard penalty for too many men of the field, the defence was in a difficult position with only 14 seconds left. Bethel-Thompson completed his first down with a 34-yard pass. You can count: the guys were at the three yard line with one second to play. And Greg Reid made the most out it! The defensive back executed perfect coverage to knockdown a dangerous pass to Armani Edwards in the end zone, allowing our Alouettes to win their third consecutive game on the road for the first time since 2014.

Next up after the bye-week: BC Lions at home on Friday, September 6. Don’t miss the best show in town!

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