The injury-plagued Ottawa REDBLACKS were handed their first home loss of the season on Saturday evening, falling 24-12 to the league-leading Montreal Alouettes.
Montreal got the scoring going after both teams shared short drives resulting in punts, capitalizing on an uncharacteristic miscue from the Ottawa offence. A receiver slipped, and with the ball already on the way, it was easy pickings for Dionté Ruffin, who ran it back for a major.
The REDBLACKS answered back with a field goal a handful of minutes later, but midway through the second quarter, Cody Fajardo took a keeper up the middle for a touchdown, pushing their lead to 11 points, before cashing in another field goal three minutes later.
Late in the second, both teams managed a field goal, sending them to the break with a 20-6 scoreline.
Defences reigned supreme in the second half of the game, as the REDBLACKS outscored their opposition 7-4 in the final two quarters, scoring a major with a Justin Hardy reception, his fourth on the campaign, setting a new career high.
The loss drops the REDBLAKCS to 8-5-1 on the season, now six points behind the Alouettes for first in the East with four games left to play, but thanks to a Hamilton Tiger-Cats win over the Toronto Argonauts earlier this week, they still hold a three-point advantage over third place.
Ottawa returns to the field next week, where they’ll meet a West Division opponent for the final time this regular season, when they tangle with the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Saturday afternoon.
