Alouettes grind out home win over Ticats
The identity of the Montreal Alouettes’ offence in 2026 has been clear. They’re explosive. They want to stretch the field, and they want to rip off big chunks of yardage thanks to Davis Alexander’s elite arm. But on Sunday night, they had to grind out a 31-18 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats by changing the script.
Credit the Ticats defence. They did a good job of not allowing the Alouettes to take deep shots down the field. Instead, the Als relied on quick wide receiver screens and a solid run game.
Give the coaching staff credit, offensive coordinator and play-caller Anthony Calvillo in particular, as he took a patient approach with the offence.
Calvillo, who is the greatest passer in CFL history, could’ve decided to call plays that would force the issue down the field, but he stuck to what was working. When you have Alexander as a quarterback, it’s tempting to throw 40 times per game. That’s not what the game plan called for at Molson Stadium on Sunday night though.
“The coaches do such a good job of making sure this isn’t just an air-raid,” Alexander explained after the game. “Our whole team knows that. Maybe from the outside it doesn’t look like that, but my job is to make sure that we’re making the right play 100 percent of the time.”
The right play on Sunday night was giving the ball to running back Travis Theis, who rushed 19 times for 156 yards and a touchdown. Theis posted his first 100-yard rushing game last week in Calgary (123 yards) and he followed that up with another great outing against Hamilton.
The 25-year-old has scored a rushing touchdown in five consecutive games, and he’s accumulated at least 91 rushing yards in four of his last five contests.
“I take pride in running my feet,” Theis said after his career-best performance. “I like to get the tough yards. But seriously, the running lanes are night-and-day. The offensive line just keeps getting better every week. I have a lot of fun with it.
“I knew when I came back (this year) that I’m always better the second time I do something. I’m just going to keep getting better with more reps. It’ll be fun to see where it goes.”
Travis Theis – CFL.ca
The Alouettes passed for 187 yards against the Ticats and rushed for 167. That’s as balanced an attack as you’re going to see all year.
A strong defensive showing
The defence had their most complete performance of the season, as they held the Ticats offence to just 11 points (seven of the 18 points were scored on special teams).
What was most impressive was the way they were able to keep quarterback Tre Ford in the pocket for most of the night.
Ford ran for 109 yards in a win over the Toronto Argonauts last Saturday night, but the Alouettes were able to hold him to just 24 rushing yards on three attempts.
“Tre Ford is going to make plays,” defensive end Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund said after the game. “If you rush three, he’s going to run up the B gap (the space between the guard and tackle). He’s going to do that sometimes. You have to be able to make the plays that come your way. He can’t run for three or four hundred yards. He has to get his teammates involved. When he does that, you have to be able to make the plays…I hate playing against this guy, respectfully.”
The new Guy
Newcomer TJ Guy had a solid CFL debut, as the rookie defensive end finished the night with three tackles, a forced fumble and a tipped ball. Guy punched the ball out of Ford’s hands in the second half to give the Alouettes back possession momentarily.
The 23-year-old is active and athletic on the defensive line and he showed that he will find ways to be around the ball often enough.
The special teams bounce back
Obviously, nobody on special teams will be happy about giving up a punt return touchdown early in the game, but the unit found a way to battle back. They were a big reason why the Als came out on top on Sunday night.
With the Als trailing by one point late in the game, rookie defensive end Kylan Guidry partially blocked a punt. The Alouettes recovered the ball and were able to draw a no yards penalty which gave them the ball in Ticats territory. A few plays later, Jose Maltos-Diaz gave the Alouettes the lead with a field goal and they never relinquished the advantage.
Maltos-Diaz’s two late field goal were also huge.
“Anytime you allow a touchdown on a return, you can’t say you had a good game on special teams,” fullback Marco Dubois said. “You can say that there were positives though.”
One of the positives was the play of returner DeVonte Dedmon who made his Alouettes debut after missing the first six games of the season due to injury.
Dedmon showed off speed, vision and power in the return game.
“It felt great, man,” Dedmon said of his return. “The guys have had faith in me since day one. We had a mishap in camp, but I pushed through. (The organization) helped me get through this process, and it felt good beating (Ticats special teams coordinator Bob Dyce), as well (laughs).”
Of course, Dedmon and Dyce were together in Ottawa for many years, and the two men have a great relationship.
What’s next?
Speaking of Ottawa, the Alouettes will head to the Nation’s Capital next Friday night for a game against the Redblacks. This one will be tricky for the Als, as they’ll be playing on a very short week while Ottawa was on a bye this week.
Head coach Jason Maas will have his players practice just once before this East Division clash.
The Als will come back home the following Saturday to host the Edmonton Elks at 3 p.m. on Saturday, August 8th. You can purchase your tickets by clicking right here.
