How Alouettes took down the Argos.
The Montreal Alouettes improved to 4-0 when they took down the Toronto Argonauts 30-20 on Friday night. The win allowed the Als to set the franchise record for most consecutive regular season wins, with nine (dating back to last season).
How did the Alouettes beat their division rivals on Friday night? Here’s what I noticed.
RED ZONE DEFENCE ON POINT :
The Argonauts offence got into the red zone twice in the first quarter and once more in the second half. The Als limited the Argos to just nine points on those three drives. It ended up making a huge difference because this was a one-score game for the entire first half and a good chunk of the third quarter.
“Being able to respond, that’s what we do,” defensive tackle Dylan Wynn said. “We bend and we don’t break. (Allowing a touchdown) At the end of the game, that’s not our standard. We can’t let these guys into the end zone late. We’ll see (the Argos) again in a couple of weeks. We’ll tighten things up and play better.”
Rookie linebacker Geoff Cantin-Arku came up with two sacks on Friday night. He’s now recorded three sacks in his last two games.
“It’s not complicated, I wanted to improve my pass rush moves,” Cantin-Arku said after the game. I trusted my technique and I came up with the sacks.
“I feel really good. I’m doing anything I can to help my team win. We knew we had a tough test tonight to stay on top of the division, and I’m happy with the result.”
COLE SPIEKER’S BREAKOUT PERFORMANCE:
Receiver Cole Spieker became a household name in last year’s Grey Cup, but he put together his best performance of 2024 on Friday night. He finished the game with eight receptions for 113 yards including a 44-yarder on a fake quarterback sneak on third-and-one.
“I was excited when (that play) was called,” the Als receiver said. “I knew I was going to have a chance to make a play on the ball. I saw them all on the line because they blitzed it. They didn’t expect it. Caleb threw a perfect pass. To go score, it was a great feeling.”
Spieker is already the third different Alouettes receiver to finish with over 100 yards this season.
“It feels great that my teammates trust me, my coaches trust me, and we know that on any night any one of our receivers can go off,” added Spieker.
THE DRIVE OF THE GAME:
There’s no doubt as to what the offensive drive of the game was on Friday night. It came in the third quarter when the Als had a 16-9 advantage. Montreal was starring a second-and-20 in the face, when head coach Jason Maas called for a short onside punt.
Running back Jeshrun Antwi, who was the first Alouette to execute this play to perfection last season, did it again. It worked! The Alouettes got a first down. Four plays later, Evans hit Spiker for the 44-yard touchdown. That gave the Als a two-score league, and they never looked.
‘We executed it at the right time,” Evans said. “On third-and-one, you have to have it. We executed; Cole did his thing. The offensive line protected it well.
“I slipped a bit, too…We practiced it about three or four times during the week. It’s mainly about execution and talking to Cole, talking to the offensive line and it’s just about executing when the opportunity arises. That’s what we did.”
WHAT’S NEXT?
After starting the season with three road victories in the first four weeks of the season, the Alouettes will enjoy an extended period at home. They’ll host the Calgary Stampeders on July 6th before taking on the Argonauts on July 11th. The team will not leave the province of Quebec next month.
