Another Big W
The Montreal Alouettes had quite the challenge Saturday evening at Percival-Molson Stadium: Defeating the same team – East Division rivals the Hamilton Tiger-Cats – twice in the same week. The challenge was met, and the 22,112 fans in attendance were treated once again to an Alouettes victory – this time by a score of 33-23 – from head coach Jason Maas’ squad in a game the team essentially controlled from start to finish.
Here’s how the Als notched their eighth win of the regular season.
A lopsided start to the game.
The downpour that players and fans endured before the opening kickoff could have discombobulated one and all, but it appeared as though it was only the Ticats who were rattled. The yellow-and-black’s first three offensive series were as follows: a fumble caused by Darnell Sankey and recovered by Avery Ellis; an interception by Sankey on a very poor decision by Hamilton quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell; and finally, a safety conceded by Hamilton following a botched snap.
Offensive lineman Pier-Olivier Lestage liked the Alouettes’ terrific start.
“We played them last week, so we knew what to expect,” he said. “Our defence played great right from the get-go. We’d have liked to put some more points on the scoreboard, but we took control of the game and never gave it up. It was a really good win.”
Similar to last week’s game in Hamilton, the Montreal offence and quarterback Davis Alexander needed a few series to – pardon the expression – get their feet wet, and wide receiver Tyson Philpot’s injury in the first quarter didn’t help matters. But just like every game since the start of the season, when one Alouette goes down, the next man up does a great job.
Alexander-to-Rambo: A two-man wrecking crew.
With starting quarterback Cody Fajardo still injured and unable to play, the Alouettes showed once again the strength, and depth, of their lineup: Quarterback Davis Alexander notched his third win of the season (we’re counting the one against Saskatchewan even though he only played the second half); and when Philpot went down, Alexander was able to continue the connection he established with wide receiver Charleston Rambo last week in the Steel City. Alexander found Rambo on a 51-yard bomb for a touchdown in the first quarter, and then followed that up with a 10-yard strike in the fourth quarter for the tandem’s second touchdown of the night to seal Montreal’s victory.
“We have great chemistry together,” Alexander said after the game. “We’ve worked a lot together since the start of training camp, and then also during practices between games. I know that if I throw him the ball, he’s going to catch it.”
Rambo finished the game with six receptions (on eight targets), 124 yards and two touchdowns. Alexander had a solid performance, amassing 247 passing yards, two touchdown passes, no interceptions and three carries for 47 yards.
Also noteworthy were receivers Nate Behar and Shedler Fervius: the Scarborough, Ontario native Fervius had an impressive 47 yards after the catch on his one reception (on one target).
The strength of the running game was a key reason for Montreal’s success Saturday night. The Als’ early lead meant the ground game could go to work: The offensive line was rock-solid and opened holes for Walter Fletcher (eight rushes for 53 yards, including one for 24 yards), as well as for Sean-Thomas Erlington – the former Ticat – who ran four times for 43 yards (an average of 10.5 yards per rush).
The defence continues to impress.
We know we’re repeating ourselves when we say this, but week-after-week the Alouettes defence continues to impress. It set the tone once again Saturday night from the opening whistle and thereby enabled Montreal’s offence to gradually gain momentum without having to put undue pressure on itself.
Just like in every game this season, the defence bent but it didn’t break. Although it relinquished more than 400 yards to Hamilton’s offence, the Ticats’ first touchdown was only scored in the 4th quarter, and the second came late in the game when the outcome was no longer in doubt.
“We approach each game with the same mentality,” said Sankey after the game. “We give everything we’ve got every game. We want to always prove that we are the best team in the league.”
Montreal’s special teams were up to the task as well, not giving Hamilton the opportunity for any quality returns, thanks in no small part to some sky-high punts from Joe Zema. Also of note: Former Université de Sherbrooke Vert et Or Alexandre Gagné registered his 100th career special teams tackle.
The crowd played their part as well.
The atmosphere at Percival-Molson Stadium since the start of the season has been electric and that was the case yet again on Saturday: More than 22,000 fans did their best to rattle the Tiger-Cats, with Hamilton taking two penalties for time count violations, as well as going offsides and fumbling snaps… Alouettes players were unanimous in expressing how impressed they were with how well the crowd played its part.
It’s what we call “home-field advantage.” Our fans show up – rain or shine – and make no mistake, the stadium gets very loud. The Alouettes enjoy a huge advantage over their opponents as the decibels get higher and higher.
What’s up next?
Fans will have another opportunity to prove themselves during the Alouettes’ next home game on Sunday, August 25 at 7:00 p.m. when the Edmonton Elks are the visitors. The team will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the 1974 Grey Cup victory and some of that squad’s legends will be back at the stadium. In the meantime, Montreal will be in Saskatchewan next Friday (August 16) to take on the Roughriders.
