Big Win In Calgary!
Maltos hits 58-yarder to give Als comeback win in Calgary
The Montreal Alouettes slowed down one of the hottest teams in the CFL on Thursday night, as they took down the Stampeders, 23-21, in Calgary. The Als managed to improve to 5-2-0 even though they were without starting quarterback Davis Alexander, star receiver Tyson Philpot, dynamic returner James Letcher Jr. and veteran defensive tackle Dylan Wynn.
Jason Maas’ team managed to take a late lead on a 58-yard field goal by Jose Maltos. This was the first made field goal of more than 54 yards in franchise history.
What else contributed to Montreal’s win? Let’s take a look.
Maltos silences home crowd
Before moving on to something else, let’s acknowledge that Maltos’ performance was brilliant. He went 5-for-5 on field goals, including that franchise record 58-yarder in the dying moments of the game.
“I was thinking that I just need to make (the kick),” Maltos said. “This is my job. That’s why I’m in professional football. I’m here to make kicks, not miss kicks. I’m happy that I could help the team and I’m thankful for this organization.”
Let’s not forget that Maltos scored the Alouettes’ 11th point of the game on a kickoff and Calgary kicker Rene Paredes missed an extra point on the Stampeders’ first major. In the end, the Alouettes won by two points, so in hindsight, the rouge and the missed extra point were key.
Tyler Snead’s clutch performance
Tyler Snead finished the game with 103 receiving yards. It was the second time this season that he surpassed the century mark. On Thursday night, a good chunk of those yards came in the fourth quarter when the Als needed them most.
In the late stages of the game, the Als also used his reliable hands to field punts. Snead was able to draw a 15-yard no-yards penalty on the first punt he returned, and he got good yardage up the field moments before Maltos hit the go-ahead field goal.
He showed an impressive connection with quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson throughout the night.
“He’s such a jittery and great route runner,” Bethel-Thompson said of Snead. “It’s a different kind of throw to him. We’re working at it, and he’s so dynamic. He runs great routes. I missed him on a comeback route, but I knew I was going to come right back to him. (Calgary) was giving him so much space and so much respect, so I knew I had to come right back to him.”
Big W for MBT
As for Bethel-Thompson, he clearly played his best game of the season on Thursday night. The 37-year-old orchestrated a couple of long drives that resulted in points for the Alouettes.
Bethel-Thompson looked comfortable navigating the pocket all night, and the offence was able to move the ball consistently.
“It was enough,” Bethel-Thompson said of the offensive performance. “That’s what I’m thankful for. I love what coach Maas has built here, and I love the culture here. I played my role. It wasn’t perfect, but it was enough to get a win.”
This was his first win as a Montreal Alouette, and it should give him more confidence heading into the next stretch of games. Bethel-Thompson is a veteran, but he’s still relatively new to Maas’ offensive system. The more reps he gets, the better off he’ll be, but this was a strong performance on the road from MBT.
He finished the night 30-for-40 with 282 yards. There were a couple of dropped balls would have easily put him over 300 for the night.
D closes out the game AGAIN
For the second week in a row, the opposing offence got the ball back late in the game with an opportunity to take the lead. And for the second week in a row, the Alouettes defence shut the game down.
Noel Thorpe’s unit made key adjustments all night. First, after allowing Dominique Rhymes to score a touchdown with 9:50 remaining in the second quarter, they allowed just six yards of offence the rest of the half. That allowed the Als to go into the break leading by one point.
They also did a great job of stopping the run in the second half. Diedrick Mills had a couple of nice runs in the opening half, but the Calgary running game wasn’t a factor over the final 30 minutes of the game.
Regis gets the ball
It was nice to see former Montreal Carabins receiver Regis Cibasu factor into the offensive game plan this week.
Cibasu is a key contributor on special teams, but he made two important catches in this game. The first one was a perfect play design, as he caught a back-side screen pass that he took up the field for a healthy gain.
“Honestly, it’s a great opportunity (for me),” Cibasu said after the game. “We practiced those plays all week, and it’s just about being ready. The offensive line blocked really well on the first catch. We just had to execute like we did during practice.”
TWO flea flickers
The Alouettes tried not one, but two flea flickers against the Stampeders in the opening half on Thursday night.
The first one was thrown to Snead for a short gain. It was clear that Bethel-Thompson looked to take a deep shot at first but saw that it was well-covered by Calgary.
On the second flea flicker, Caleb Evans hit Snead for a huge gain near the left sideline. Evans put great touch on the ball and Snead made an amazing diving catch. The Alouettes worked on that type of trick play throughout the week in practice, so it was nice to see them get rewarded with a big gain.
What’s next?
The Alouettes will now play back-to-back games at home against the Saskatchewan Roughriders on August 2nd and the Edmonton Elks on August 8th.
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