REDBLACKS fall to Alouettes at home

The Montreal Alouettes shocked the Ottawa REDBLACKS to the tune of a 21-11 defeat Friday evening at TD Place Stadium. The eleven points was the fewest Ottawa has put up since week five against the Calgary Stampeders.

Trevor Harris threw for 270 yards, but the offence couldn’t find pay dirt. Greg Ellingson was Harris’s favourite target, catching seven passes for 92 yards.

Ottawa’s defence again held their opposition to less than 30 points – the ninth occasion they have done so this season. The REDBLACKS notched five sacks, two of which were courtesy of Danny Mason.

The first quarter of the game was quiet, as neither offence could get much traction. Montreal got on the board first with a short Boris Bede field goal, and the REDBLACKS responded with a single.

The REDBLACKS defence bent but refused to break in the second quarter. Montreal was having some success through the air, but the defence kept the Als out of the red zone, leading to two field goals from Bede.

Harris got the Ottawa offence chugging in the dying moments of the first half. The pivot completed six consecutive passes and Lewis Ward converted a 40-yard field goal to make the score 9-4 at halftime.

Ottawa brought the fans to their feet on Montreal’s first offensive play of the second half. Jonathan Rose intercepted an Antonio Pipkin pass and the REDBLACKS took over at the Als 20-yard line.

The REDBLACKS couldn’t find the end zone off the turnover and had to settle for a chip shot Lewis Ward field goal to make the score 10-7.

The Alouettes responded before the quarter was out. Pipkin led Montreal on a lengthy drive down the field. The rookie quarterback then snuck the ball in himself for his fourth rushing touchdown of the season, giving the Als a 18-7 advantage.

The Ottawa offence needed a response immediately, and they got just that. Harris hooked up with Sinopoli to get Ottawa on the brink of the end zone. However, they again couldn’t capitalize and had to settle for another Ward field goal.

From the onset, one could sense the game was going to come down to the wire. In the final two minutes, Ottawa benefitted from a trio of Montreal penalties to work their way down to the goal line. However, three straight passes fell incomplete and the Alouettes took over.

Montreal would hold on for their third win of the season, snapping a REDBLACKS two-game winning streak.

Ottawa will look to get back in the win column next week when they travel to face the B.C. Lions on Friday, September 7. The REDBLACKS beat the Lions in their first meeting of the season with a thrilling, last second touchdown. Montreal has a bye week coming up and then play the Lions on Friday, September 14.

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING

“We played [the Alouettes] three times this year and all of them were pretty close games. We didn’t get it done tonight. We had chances in the game to make plays – that’s what football comes down to, finding ways to make plays in key moments. We didn’t do that tonight, so I’ll give them credit.” – HC Rick Campbell

We just have to make the plays, I have to be better. But we have to be able to flush it and move on. We just didn’t finish drives, we didn’t bring that edge. It’s one of those things we’ll have to take a look at the film and see where it went bad. I missed some throws that I typically never miss. They’re a good defence, credit to them, but I have to be better.” – QB Trevor Harris

GAME NOTES

Lewis Ward completed all three of his field goal attempts, bringing his consecutive field goal streak to 27… Canadian running back Ryder Stone got his first CFL start for the Alouettes… Kyries Hebert made return to the lineup Friday, recording seven tackles and a sack. It was his first game action since July 28.

SCORING SUMMARY

First Quarter
MTL – FG Bede – 6:51
OTT – SI Leone – 4:23

Second Quarter
MTL – FG Bede – 11:59
MTL – FG Bede – 5:46
OTT – FG Ward – 0:33

Third Quarter
MTL – SI Bede – 15:00
OTT – FG Ward – 10:02
MTL – TD Pipkin (Bede conv.) – 1:49
MTL – SI Bede – 1:31

Fourth Quarter
OTT – FG Ward – 14:47
OTT – SI Leone – 9:41
MTL – FG Bede – 6:51

Attendance: 25,132