Greg Ellingson (82) and Brad Sinopoli (88) of the Ottawa RedBlacks during the game against the Montreal Alouettes at Stade Percival-Molson in Montreal, QC on Friday, July 6, 2018. (Photo: Johany Jutras)
The REDBLACKS got back in the win column with a 28-18 win over the Montreal Alouettes at Percival-Molson Stadium on Friday evening.
JC Beaulieu, Brad Sinopoli and Noel Thomas Jr. scored touchdowns for the REDBLACKS, who are now tied for first place in the East Division.
Trevor Harris went 28-for-42 for 342 yards and three touchdown passes. Eleven of those completions were to Brad Sinopoli who had 148 receiving yards and a touchdown on the evening.
Six different Ottawa defenders recorded three tackles, with Mike Wakefield notching two sacks for the first multi-sack game of his career.
The game started off perfectly for the REDBLACKS. Trevor Harris had back-to-back second-down conversions, before finding JC Beaulieu for a 47-yard catch-and-run. It was the fullback’s first touchdown as a REDBLACK and it came against his former team.
Trevor Harris connects with former Alouette @JC_Beaulieu, who takes it all the way to the house! #CFLWired pic.twitter.com/MW1SVjWv9u
— CFL on TSN (@CFLonTSN) July 6, 2018
The Alouettes responded immediately, as they took advantage of an Ottawa penalty and marched all the way down to the goal line. Tyrell Sutton punched it in, as the home side made it clear they were not to be pushed around.
With the first quarter winding down, Harris guided Ottawa into the red zone, completing four consecutive passes along the way. However, the REDBLACKS had to settle for a Lewis Ward field goal to take a 9-8 lead.
The teams traded unsuccessful drives to start the second quarter. Midway through, Brad Sinopoli was able to create separation from a defender and Harris found him in the end zone for a sprawling catch. Harris then hooked up with Beaulieu for the two-point convert to give Ottawa a 17-9 lead.
In the dying moments of the first-half, Harris was able to connect with Thomas in the end zone. Powell darted in for the two-point convert, allowing Ottawa to walk off the field with a 25-8 first half lead.
The REDBLACKS began the second-half with William Powell juking his way past a trio of defenders and setting up a Lewis Ward field goal. Ward converted from 31 yards, and finished the day two-for-two on field goal attempts. That would be the only scoring of the third, and the REDBLACKS lead 28-8.
The Alouettes got the first points of the fourth quarter following a big completion to Eugene Lewis. Jeff Mathews then found Chris Harper in the end zone. On their next position, Boris Bede kicked a 44-yard field goal to cut the lead to 28-18.
However, the REDBLACKS defence would hold firm for the rest of the game, stomping out any Montreal comeback attempts to preserve the victory.
The REDBLACKS (2-1) will try to continue their momentum next week against the CFL’s only undefeated team, the Calgary Stampeders (3-0). Ottawa lost to Calgary in week 3, so redemption will be on the docket. The Alouettes (1-3) have a bye in week five and will travel to face the ‘Stamps on Saturday July 21.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
“We were making plays. We started getting ahead of them in the time of possession. It was good to get the lead. When you can run the ball and do it consistently, it keeps the defence off balance. Good on our offensive line and good on [Powell] for chewing up yardage – that was a big part of the game.” – HC Rick Campbell
“We were able to move the ball and get points on the board early. We want to be able to drive the nail in the coffin as an offence, but we didn’t turn the ball over and had minimal two-and-outs. We have to focus on finishing drives with points. A lot of great things came out of this, especially just the fact that we got the win.” – QB Trevor Harris
GAME NOTES
The game was Alouettes head coach Mike Sherman’s 100th as a professional head coach…The opening touchdown as Beaulieu’s first receiving touchdown since June 25, 2015 (1,107 days). That touchdown from four years ago came against the REDBLACKS…Dominique Davis was 5-for-5 on short-yardage plunges…William Powell recorded his second-straight 100-yard rushing game…Ottawa dominated the time of possession 27:35 to 17:25.
SCORING SUMMARY
First Quarter
OTT – TD Harris to Beaulieu – 12:16
MTL – TD Sutton (Bede conv.) – 9:29
MTL – SI Bede – 6:51
OTT – FG Ward – 2:30
Second Quarter
OTT – TD Harris to Sinopoli (Harris to Beaulieu 2-pt. conv.) – 5:27
OTT – TD Harris to Thomas (Powell 2-pt. conv.) – 0:10
Third Quarter
OTT – FG Ward – 10:18
Fourth Quarter
MTL – Mathews to Harper (Bede conv.) – 13:22
MTL – FG Bede – 9:25
Attendance
16,718
