(Montreal) The Alouettes had a close call, but the Montrealers ended up triumphing over the Calgary Stampeders 30-26, Saturday, at Percival-Molson Stadium.
It all came down to the Alouettes’ final possession (5-0). Trailing 26-24, Cody Fajardo (35 in 42, 374 yards, two touchdowns and as many interceptions) relied on his best players: Tyson Philpot, Cole Spieker and Walter Fletcher.
Deep in his territory, Fajardo first connected with Philpot on 39 yards then Spieker on 17.
“I double faked that one. Hats off to the coaches and Cody who found the right play for their defense on that sequence,” Philpot said after the game about the Alouettes’ rare long play in the game.
At the Stamps’ 31-yard line (2-2), Fletcher then broke through on the right to cover the entire distance and score the major.
“They played zone defense most of the game and then we caught them man-to-man with Tyson’s double fake,” Fajardo said. “We just had to get to field goal range, but Fletcher got us a touchdown, which is even better. With a four-point lead, they had to go for a touchdown too.”
“I think throughout the game, maybe not all of the plays we ran were designed to get us deep,” added head coach Jason Maas. “We felt like we had a few plays in our back pocket that we could see going in big. We just didn’t use them early on. Late in the game, we did and Cody found his targets.”
PHOTO CHRISTINNE MUSCHI, THE CANADIAN PRESS
It all came down to the final sequence of the match, with the Alouettes trailing 26-24.
The Alouettes missed the two-point conversion, but the defense, pugnacious in the second half, closed the door once again. Tyrice Beverette intercepted a pass from Jake Maier (18 of 28, 106 yards, one touchdown, one interception), which sealed the outcome of the game with 19.1 seconds left.
Kaion Julien-Grant and Spieker scored the other Alouettes touchdowns, supported by three field goals from Jose Maltos (12, 22 and 30 yards).
The Stamps’ response came from Tommy Stevens, twice, and Reggie Begelton. Rene Paredes added two field goals (22 and 31 yards)
This victory is the 10the consecutive season for the Alouettes, a 13the adding the team’s playoff run in 2023.
Two times
However, the first half had sown doubts among the Birds’ supporters, who returned to the locker room trailing for the first time this season.
Two costly turnovers in the second quarter led to nine points for the Stampeders, who built a 16-7 lead. A blocked conversion by Mustafa Johnson that was recovered by Kabion Ento and returned 77 yards allowed the Alouettes to extend that lead to two points.
Tyson Philpot first fumbled the ball when tackled by Julian Howsare. Tre Robertson recovered at the Alouettes’ 34-yard line. The defense limited the damage by forcing Paredes to kick a 22-yard field goal, making it 10-7 for the visitors.
PHOTO CHRISTINNE MUSCHI, THE CANADIAN PRESS
Peyton Logan is tackled by Marc-Antoine Dequoy
On the next drive, Bentlee Sanders intercepted Cody Fajardo’s pass and returned it 21 yards to the hometown 50. That was followed by a 10-play drive that led to Stevens’ second touchdown of the game, again on a one-yard run.
“We gave the ball away twice, which is unusual for us,” Fajardo admitted. “We had some good runs, but we were kicking field goals instead of scoring touchdowns. I thought we were giving up points on the field.”
More than the touchdown, the sequence was particularly costly, since safety Marc-Antoine Dequoy had to leave the game, hit in the upper body, possibly in the shoulder on a tackle against running back BJ Emmons. He left Percival-Molson Stadium to go to the hospital to undergo more in-depth tests.
The Alouettes’ special teams brilliance on the conversion attempt suggested a Birds comeback, but the next offensive drive was only two plays long. The Stampeders responded with a third touchdown. A 42-yard run by Peyton Logan set up a six-yard pass from Maier to Begelton to make it 23-9 after the conversion, this time successful.
The Stamps then scored 23 consecutive points after the Alouettes’ first touchdown, which brought the score back to 23-12 before halftime, on a 12-yard field goal by Maltos, who came in to replace David Côté, who was injured during the pre-game warm-up.
Linebacker Frederic Chagnon was also injured, as was long snapper Louis-Philippe Bourassa. Maas didn’t have any details on those injuries after the game, but Dequoy and Chagnon went to join their families on the field.
“It’s football, I’m going to be correct,” said the number 24 of the Alouettes, who will play their next game next Thursday, against the Toronto Argonauts (2-2).