Nov
Als defense shredded by Eskimos
Courtesy Montreal Gazette:
Well, at least nobody appeared to get seriously injured.
The Alouettes, considering the circumstances, had virtually no chance of producing a masterpiece last night against the Edmonton Eskimos. Predictably, the result was a fairly lethargic 37-14 loss by Montreal before 29,911 Commonwealth Stadium spectators in the teams’ regular-season finale.
We don’t want to say the Als were playing their ‘B’ squad, but they were missing many regulars, starting with veteran quarterback Anthony Calvillo, replaced by Marcus Brady. Montreal also was without wide-receiver Kerry Watkins, nursing a concussion, along with tailback Avon Cobourne, still recovering from an ankle injury. And kicker Damon Duval, suffering from kidney stones, was replaced by D.J. Fitzpatrick, playing his first Canadian Football League game.
On defence, the Als were without middle-linebacker Reggie Hunt and cornerback Mark Estelle, both suffering from shoulder injuries. Also, safety Étienne Boulay played out of position at cornerback and was replaced by Matthieu Proulx.
The Als also substituted liberally. For example, Ben Cahoon played sporadically at slotback. Rookie Paul Woldu got time on both corners, and Chris Smith was inserted at safety.
Montreal completed the season with an 11-7 record and finished first in the East Division. That was an improvement of three victories over last season’s 8-10 squad that finished third and was eliminated in the opening round of the playoffs. The Als, who lost their last two games this year, advance to the division final, Nov. 15 at Olympic Stadium.
The Eskimos completed the season with a 10-8 record and will travel to Winnipeg one week from today in a crossover playoff game. The winner advances to meet the Als.
Edmonton scored on its first four possessions last night, not forced to punt until 12 seconds remained in the first half.
Derek Schiavone opened the scoring with a 21-yard field goal at 5:02. Schiavone was replacing Noel Prefontaine, out with a virus.
