Montreal Alouettes vs Ottawa REDBLACKS May 31, 2018 PHOTO: Andre Ringuette/Freestyle Photography
The Ottawa REDBLACKS started their preseason on the right note, beating the Montreal Alouettes by a score of 27-7 on Thursday night in front of 20,539 fans at TD Place. Dominique Rhymes and Kieran Duncan found paydirt for the REDBLACKS, while rookie kicker Lewis Ward was 4-for-4 on field goals attempts, including two from over 40 yards out.
Head coach Rick Campbell said before the game that he hoped to get as many players as possible involved in the contest, as was evidenced with four Ottawa quarterbacks combining for 307 yards through the air.
The REDBLACKS relied on defence by committee on the evening. Brandon Stewart led the way with four tackles, while Dayon Pratt, Avery Ellis, Jonathan Newsome and Michael Klassen had sacks. Anthony Cioffi picked off Matt Shiltz with the Alouettes pressuring late in the first-half.
The visitors started the game by taking advantage of good field position and giving Boris Bede two short field goal attempts from under 30 yards. Bede was perfect and gave his team a 6-0 lead.
REDBLACKS fans held were left holding their breath when quarterback Trevor Harris was helped off the field with an injury, though he was soon back on the sideline providing encouragement to club’s other pivots.
Dominique Davis came in to the game after Harris and promptly picked the Montreal defense apart. The 75-yard drive was capped off by one Dominique finding another in the end zone, as Davis found Rhymes for the touchdown. Davis stayed on the field to hit Julian Feoli-Gudino for the two-point convert.
Rookie R.J. Shelton also impressed on the night. The receiver was able to electrify the crowd with his punt returns, taking advantage of some solid blocking down field to the tune of 47 return yards on two returns. A long Shelton return set up a Lewis Ward field goal from 43 yards to give the REDBLACKS an 11-6 lead.
REDBLACKS punter Ritchie Leone made an incredible individual play in the second quarter. Leone made a last-ditch tackle to save a touchdown and forced a fumble in the process, which Ottawa recovered.
Ward, a former uOttawa Gee-Gees star, converted another field goal before the half-time to give the REDBLACKS a 14-6 lead at the break.
Neither team was able to get much going in terms of offence in the third quarter. A Ward field goal was the only scoring, as both Montreal’s Antonio Pipkin and Ottawa’s Danny Collins struggled to move the ball under centre.
The REDBLACKS added to their lead in the fourth quarter. Collins spotted a wide-open Kieran Duncan, who strolled into the end zone to extend the Ottawa lead to 20 points and all but end any hopes of a Montreal comeback.
The REDBLACKS will continue their preseason by travelling to the University of Guelph to take on the Toronto Argonauts on Thursday, June 7 and open their regular season at home on June 21 against the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Meanwhile, the Alouettes will wrap up their preseason on June 9 against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
“[The quarterbacks] impressed me with how they ran the offence. I know they would all say they wish they could have some throws back, but that’s part of growing. It’s good they all got some very meaningful reps. I’m looking forward to seeing them keep growing.” – HC Rick Campbell
“It felt good. I’m just having fun and helping this team get to where it wants to be. You want to be clicking when you get into the real games. We had a lot of guys that did a lot of good things today.” – WR/PR R.J. Shelton
GAME NOTES
The two teams should be familiar with one another, as four former REDBLACKS are now members of the Alouettes. Five former Als are now in Ottawa, as well as defensive coordinator Noel Thorpe… Montreal was hampered by penalties on the day. They committed 13 infractions for 134 penalty yards, 66 of which were on offense…The teams are now an even 2-2 in head-to-head matchups in the preseason…Lewis Ward is the first Canadian kicker to convert a field goal for the REDBLACKS since Montreal, Que. native Chris Milo in 2016.
SCORING SUMMARY
First Quarter
MTL – FG Bede – 8:40
MTL – FG Bede – 6:36
OTT – TD Davis to Rhymes (Davis to Feoli-Gudino 2-pt. conv.) – 2:44
Second Quarter
OTT – FG Ward – 11:26
OTT – FG Ward – 4:11
Third Quarter
OTT – FG Ward – 2:17
Fourth Quarter
OTT – FG Ward – 10:51
OTT – TD Collins to Duncan (Ward conv.) – 8:53
Attendance: 20,539
