Aug
Defence holds off Roughriders
Courtesy Montreal Gazette:
It was a night of firsts for the wily old Alouettes veteran and the rookie quarterback.
Slotback Ben Cahoon, the ageless 37-year-old, finally scored his first touchdown this season, while quarterback Chris Leak, in his second year with the Als but playing his first professional game, passed for a touchdown on his first play behind centre in a regular-season game.
Both contributed to Montreal’s 34-25 hard-fought victory against the Saskatchewan Roughriders last night before the usual 20,202 Molson Stadium spectators. The win improved the Als’ record to 7-1, while the Riders, who lost for the ninth time in 11 games at Montreal, dropped to 4-4.
Anthony Calvillo, playing his 200th regular-season game for the Als, passed nine yards to Cahoon for a touchdown just before halftime, giving the home team a 19-17 lead.
And then, slightly more than nine minutes into the third quarter, Leak finally made his pro debut. After an interception by Matthieu Proulx – his second of the game and one he returned 42 yards – Leak came on for a third-down gamble, passing one yard to Kerry Watkins for the score.
Leak, who won a national title with the Florida Gators, was backing up Calvillo because of a shoulder injury to Adrian McPherson.
But head coach Marc Trestman kept Leak on the bench during short-yardage situations until the crucial play.
The Riders have been outscored 78-7 in the third quarter this season.
The Als added an insurance touchdown at 8:37 of the fourth quarter, set up again by the defence. Following an interception by linebacker Chip Cox, Calvillo passed 10 yards to Avon Cobourne. Cobourne rushed for 101 yards.
Montreal’s other touchdown came at 5:20 of the first quarter on a 68- yard punt return by Larry Taylor. Taylor had been held in neutral the last two games and was overdue.
The Als played the majority of the game with a makeshift offensive line following an injury to left-tackle Josh Bourke 10 minutes into the second quarter. Bourke was replaced by Jeff Perrett, while rookie Luc Brodeur-Jourdain was inserted at guard.
Damon Duval kicked an
18-yard field goal for the Als, adding three singles on punts of 51, 55 and 61 yards.
It was another respectable effort for Montreal’s defence, which held the Riders scoreless in the first quarter
despite three plays from the one-yard line. Although the Als intercepted three passes, the Riders did expose some flaws and were able to score.
Darian Durant passed for two long touchdowns, to Rob Bagg and Gerran Walker, covering 26 and 43 yards, respectively. Hugh Charles also scored on a four-yard run, followed by a two-point convert. Jamie Boreham added a kickoff single, while Duval conceded a safety for the other points.
The Als have a bye in the schedule next week. Their next game is Sept. 4, at B.C.
