In an evening punctuated by a tribute to John Bowman, the clash between the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Alouettes was marked by defensive play on Saturday night. The Prairies won, 19-14, in front of a meager crowd of 11,817 spectators who braved the rain at Percival-Molson Stadium.
The highlight of the evening for the Alouettes? The entry on the scene of Trevor Harris, who took over from Matthew Shiltz at the end of the third quarter. Although he had only been training with his new team for a week, the quarterback led a fine streak of eight games for 93 yards that ended with a 4-yard touchdown from Eugene Lewis. This major rekindled all the hopes of Als when there was only 1 min 26 s to play. But it was too little too late.
That Khari Jones and the Alouettes made a change so quickly shows that Shiltz didn’t have much leeway… Even though he hadn’t played a great game until then, Shiltz had only committed one. major error, the telegraphed pass that Loucheiz Purifoy intercepted. You could even say it’s his only major mistake in three starts since replacing Vernon Adams Jr..
“It was the coach’s decision. I’m a competitor and wanted to play, but I respect Khari’s decision. Trevor gave us a chance to win late in the game, ”said Shiltz.
“Matt was playing in spite of the pain, even though he’s not the type to talk about it openly,” Harris noted. “It will be up to the coaches to decide who will play next week [à Winnipeg]. Matt has done very well since replacing Vernon and he plays with a lot of heart and confidence. ”
” [Shiltz] drags some injuries, but I wanted to make a change to change the pace of the game and because I felt our attack was not producing enough. If he had been perfectly healthy I might have let him play a little longer, ”Jones said.
The head coach also indicated that he already knew who would be his quarterback next Saturday against the powerful Blue Bombers, but did not want to announce it. Expect it to be Harris.
He completed 12 of his 15 passes for 123 yards and a touchdown and he’s surely done enough to convince the club’s decision-makers to give him the keys to the offense.
The battered offensive line
In most of its games, the Alouettes offensive line has done very well this season. However, that was not the case at all against the Roughriders, who had five sacks, in addition to limiting William Stanback to 80 yards in 19 carries.
Guard Philippe Gagnon was sidelined with a leg injury, rookie Patrick Davis was playing his first career center game and left tackle Tony Washington was playing despite a knee injury. The veteran struggled a lot on Saturday night. Under the circumstances, a poor performance was hardly surprising.
The Als’ top two receivers had a rather quiet evening. Lewis caught five passes for 54 yards and Jake Wieneke caught three for 34 yards. But the vast majority of their catches were successful when Harris replaced Shiltz, who had 7 of his 13 passes for 106 yards.
Questionable decision
Like his players, Khari Jones did not have his best night, either. He tried his luck on a third down with one yard to cross from his 29-line, a failed strategy. The Riders quickly scored a field goal, leading by only two points, 16-14, before the Alouettes attempted a short kick late in the game …
These three essentially free points therefore turned out to be very expensive.
The short kick in question was attempted with 1.26 minutes remaining on the clock, which is a lot of time in Canadian football since the dial stops after each play in the last three minutes of play. Jones moreover regretted his decision.
“If I could take it back, I wouldn’t do the same. I told our players it was a mistake on my part, ”admitted Jones.
Bowman: an “ordinary” ceremony
PHOTO ERIC BOLTE, USA TODAY SPORTS
John Bowman’s career with the Alouettes was highlighted after the first half at Percival-Molson Stadium.
After the first half, the Alouettes celebrated the great career of John Bowman, presenting a video montage of some of his best plays, then another of testimonies from former teammates of the defensive end. Curiously, only Étienne Boulay and Luc Brodeur-Jourdain gave testimonies… in French! Neither Anwar Stewart, nor Ben Cahoon, nor Marc Trestman, nor Anthony Calvillo did it… Strange.
Bowman took the time to thank the crowd and addressed them in French much to the fans’ delight. High class, this John. But he is certainly not comfortable enough in French to have understood what Boulay and Brodeur-Jourdain were saying to him.
The Alouettes need a heated speech from their current quarterback hunter. They had won their previous four games, of course, but Saturday’s loss hurt them badly in the standings. They have slipped from first to third in the Eastern Division and will now face the Blue Bombers in their next two games, a team that has won their last nine games.
The odds of the Als playing a home playoff game are significantly lower than they were before they met the Riders. And for the finances of the team, it is not nothing.