(Ottawa) Danny Maciocia looked like a man who had just run a marathon when he spoke to reporters on the field at TD Place about 20 minutes after his team’s victory over the Rouge and Ottawa Black, Thursday night. The thrilling match won 40-33 had just given him an evening rich in emotions and twists and turns, to say the least.
Updated yesterday at 11:45 p.m.
“It was the best way to win for us. Because we experienced a lot tonight,” commented the general manager and interim head coach. “It feels good to experience what we have just experienced. »
When the Alouettes scored their final touchdown to take a 14-point, 40-26 lead with about 5 minutes to go, victory seemed in the bag against a young quarterback like Caleb Evans. But after the Rouge et Noir had reduced that lead to 40-33, the bad memories of the previous week began to hover over the team… Recall that the Montrealers had squandered a 19-point lead in the fourth quarter in their loss against Edmonton.
The Rouge et Noir advanced deep into Als territory thanks in part to a dubious penalty imposed on linebacker Adarius Pickett. Officials then penalized Mike Moore twice for roughing – before the command center in Toronto overturned the decision both times.
“They ended up making the right decisions,” Moore said, smiling. The defensive lineman was much less after the initial calls when some of his teammates had to hold him off while he yelled at the referees. “It was a very, very weird game,” Moore said.
“We reacted well tonight, and that’s what we needed,” said Maciocia, who refrained from criticizing the refereeing even though you could read discontent in his eyes.
The Als attack played a very good match after a first quarter which however did not bode well. Trevor Harris distributed the ball with skill, completed several passes in opportune moments and avoided turnovers. He finished his night with 25 completions on 31 attempts for 341 yards, 2 touchdowns and no interceptions. Statistics worthy of the Calvillo of the Belle Epoque.
“We managed a few long passes from 2e quarter, which had the effect of opening up their zone defense a bit. Jack [Wieneke]Hergy [Mayala]Reggie [White fils] and Geno [Lewis] all played really well,” said Harris.
Mayala led the team with 102 yards on 5 catches. The Quebecer also scored one of his team’s five touchdowns. Lewis and backup quarterback Dominique Davis, with three short runs, scored the others.
Caleb Evans threw for 297 yards against the Alouettes defense, while receivers Darvin Adams and Jaelon Acklin hit the 100-yard mark. That said, Noel Thorpe’s defense held on in the closing seconds as we seemed to be heading for a similar conclusion to the previous game.
“It was like playing a video game late in the game,” said linebacker Micah Awe, whose 68-yard return on a fumble set the stage for his team’s final touchdown. “Every time we thought we had put an end to their hopes, the referees imposed a penalty on us. And when this is the case, we can sometimes play passively to avoid penalties, which we fortunately did not do. »
Dazzling since the start of the season, the “returner” Chandler Worthy had a disastrous evening, dropping the ball three times, notably on the very first play of the match. But Maciocia did not think of replacing him.
“We had a powerful meeting before the game. I told our players that I was behind them no matter if they made mistakes. So I repeated the same message to him,” Maciocia said.
Ditto in the case of Vernon Adams Jr., who lost the ball in his only game of the game in the fourth quarter, a run. “I told her that the defense was going to do the job, and that’s what she did. »
Huge victory than Thursday night for the two points in the standings, but even more for the good it will do to a team that is still looking for its identity. A club that has finally found a way to finish the job.