Sep
Montreal 42 Hamilton 8
Courtesy Montreal Gazette:
The Alouettes have finally found the elixir for success – play on a short week and practice only once.
Only five days after defeating Winnipeg, the Als rolled into Ivor Wynne Stadium and dismantled the Tiger-Cats, 42-8, before 22,083 dispirited fans. The locals were so despondent over their team, they cheered Nick Setta’s 59-yard single early in the third quarter – the home team’s first point.
The Ticats are the only serious threat to the Als finishing first in the East Division. Or, at least they were. A Hamilton victory would have pulled it to within two games of Montreal. Instead, the Als now can virtually begin concentrating on the division final.
With a 10-2 record, the Als are eight points ahead of the 6-6 Ticats with six games remaining. Montreal can probably put the juggernaut on cruise control for the remainder of the schedule; its only meaningful upcoming game is on Thanksgiving, at home, against the defending Grey Cup champion Calgary Stampeders.
Any thoughts of the Ticats giving the Als a game were quickly erased. Montreal led 15-0 at the end of the first quarter and 21-0 at halftime, at which point Hamilton starting quarterback Quinton Porter was replaced by veteran Kevin Glenn.
Through 30 minutes, the Als had an incredible 21-2 advantage in first downs and had controlled the ball for more than 22 minutes. In the second quarter, when the Als had to contend with a 22-kilometre-an-hour wind, they controlled the ball for 11:14.
Montreal’s offence, which arguably had been struggling, erupted for five touchdowns, beating the Ticats at every facet of the game. Whether it was through the air or along the ground, everything worked to perfection for the Als, who replaced starting quarterback Anthony Calvillo with Adrian McPherson with more than six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.
Following a Damon Duval single off a wide 32-yard field goal attempt, Calvillo passed 12 yards to Jamel Richardson at 12:40 of the first quarter. And then, after a Ramon Guzman interception, McPherson ran one yard for a score before the quarter ended.
A fumble recovery by Martin Bédard resulted in a five-yard touchdown pass from Calvillo to Kerry Watkins at 5:49 of the third quarter. Avon Cobourne scored twice in the fourth quarter, including a 42-yard run at 1:45. He added a three-yard scoring run at 6:32.
Duval connected on a pair of field goals, from 10 and 25 yards.
With a pair of catches just before halftime, veteran slotback Ben Cahoon passed Don Narcisse into third place in career receptions.
Defensively, the Als created four turnovers and sacked Hamilton quarterbacks five times in another thorough and dominating performance. The Ticats’ only touchdown came late in the third quarter, on a five-yard pass from Glenn to Marquay McDaniel.
Montreal has a full week to prepare for the Argonauts before venturing into Toronto for a game next Saturday afternoon. What the additional time will mean remains to be seen.
