If the Tiger-Cats were to lose to the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Saturday afternoon in Hamilton, it is assumed that Alouettes owner Garry Stern and club officials will not be in a very good mood. By letting slip a victory that seemed in the pocket, Friday night at Percival-Molson stadium, the Alouettes have lost all hope of playing the semi-final in the East in front of their fans.
The Alouettes were leading 18-3 late in the second quarter when Khari Jones decided to remove William Stanback from the game. Canadian rookie Jeshrun Antwi took the place of who was named the team’s MVP in 2021.
Consult the summary of the meeting
Early in the third quarter, Antwi made his first fumble, and the Rouge et Noir reduced the Als lead to 18-11 shortly thereafter. Thanks to their defensive play, the Alouettes managed to keep that lead… until Antwi lost the ball for the second time, with 2:37 left to play in the fourth quarter.
PHOTO PASCAL RATTHÉ, SPECIAL COLLABORATION
Jeshrun Antwi (left)
Quarterback Caleb Evans led the Rouge et Noir to the Alouettes’ goal gate before registering his second touchdown of the game with a one-yard rush. Head coach Paul Lapolice opted for a two-point attempt to win the game from then on, and that’s what happened. Quickly like that, the Rouge et Noir had just won their third victory of the season, 19-18, to the amazement of the 11,297 spectators.
The Alouettes ended their season with a disappointing 7-7 record. They could easily have won two or three more games, but multiplied mistakes in bad times throughout the season, from interceptions of Vernon Adams Jr., to stupid and unnecessary penalties from the defense, to Questionable decisions from Khari Jones or escaped Jeshrun Antwi on Friday night.
Jones argued after the game that he chose to take Stanback out of the game because he hurt himself and the team wanted to make sure he didn’t make the injury worse. He didn’t regret his choice.
” Not at all. He hurt himself [knicked up], and we didn’t want to make the situation worse. Jeshrun has to protect the ball and he knows it, ”said Jones, who has never looked so downcast since taking charge of the Alouettes.
“It’s one of my toughest losses. I’m not happy with the way we reacted tonight. ”
Antwi answered journalists’ questions. The Calgary native wants to learn a lesson from his nightmarish game.
“It was a very difficult part for me. Even though I got yards on the ground and passing [99 verges d’attaque], my two fumbles sank the team, and the blame is on me. I will learn from this experience and will be better for it in the future. I will never make two fumbles again in the same game. ”
Good performance from Harris
If the young Antwi hadn’t lost the ball a second time, the history of the meeting would have been the game of Trevor Harris. For a second straight game, the Alouettes quarterback showed impressive passer-by skills, ending his night with 20 successful passes in 26 attempts for 259 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. Note that at first glance, Harris’ six incomplete passes all seemed precise.
Without Eugene Lewis, who had been given an evening off due to a minor injury, Harris distributed the ball well as Jake Wieneke, Quan Bray, Reggie White Jr. and Dante Absher totaled 16 catches and all made great plays. .
Wieneke scored both touchdowns and edged Eugene Lewis at the top of the CFL with a total of 11. Lewis sits second with nine.
“Trevor was very solid. He continues to familiarize himself with his receivers and he makes good decisions, ”said Jones.
PHOTO PASCAL RATTHÉ, SPECIAL COLLABORATION
Partly because of the turnovers, however, the Alouettes’ offense was blanked in the second half. Harris did not want to throw the stone at Antwi, however.
“We all made mistakes tonight. It’s a team sport, we win and we lose as a team. We did not lose because of a single game or a single player. We have been unable to take advantage of some of our chances, ”commented Harris.
Harris is not wrong. If David Côté hadn’t missed a post-touchdown transformation, the Alouettes would have had 19 points on the scoreboard rather than 18. If Patrick Levels and Greg Reid hadn’t collided, Levels would have probably ended the game. intercepting a pass from Evans in the fourth quarter. But as has been the case too often this season, the Alouettes have been unable to close the books.
In the end, it remains that it is very likely that Jones and his men would have won if Stanback had not left the game. Jones did not want to clarify the nature of the injury to his running back. However, if it was not serious, Stanback should have played, certainly after the first escape from Jeshrun. Especially since Jones had indicated that he would lead the match to win it and that he would use all the players at his disposal to do so.
Hamilton direction
It is an unexpected gift that the Tiger-Cats have just received. Since their Saturday game will no longer have any ranking impact, they will be able to rest some of their key players. The Alouettes will have to fly to Hamilton next Saturday in anticipation of their game the next day. If they win, they will then visit Toronto for the Eastern Finals on December 5.
“This is the road we took. To get where you want to go, you’ll have to take the hardest route, but I still think you have the team to win, ”said Jones.
And the pilot is right. The elements are in place for success with the Alouettes. So much so that they should have been assured of playing the Eastern Final in Montreal on December 5. Not playing a home playoff game is a big blow to the organization, especially financially.
This team has underperformed this season, and Jones knows that better than anyone. Fortunately, she will have the opportunity to be forgiven starting next Sunday at Tim Hortons Field. If she loses in Hamilton, the 2021 season can only be seen as a failure.