MONTREAL | For the first time in eight years, the Montreal Alouettes have won a game without a future.
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On Sunday, head coach Danny Maciocia’s squad put an end to a very long series of playoff failures by beating the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 28-17 in the Eastern semi-final.
The “Als” had not known this happiness since the 2014 campaign. It was also the first time that the Montreal club had overcome the “Cats” in the playoffs since 1996.
Moments after the victory obtained in front of more than 20,000 fans, Maciocia summed up what happened on the field of Percival-Molson Stadium.
“It’s a lot like a few games we’ve played this year: a half that’s going well, another that’s a little less well and at the end, we find a way to get a win,” he said. . It sums up the year we lived, but also how much these guys have character, dog. I’m so proud of them. It hasn’t been an easy year, on and off the pitch. However, they never doubted!”
Thierry Laforce / QMI Agency
A hot start, but…
The “Sparrows” started the meeting on the hats. After an excellent punt return from Chandler Worthy on the first play of the match, the offense crossed the rest of the field in five plays and concluded its first streak in the paying zone. Before returning to the locker room for the halftime break, they had scored two more touchdowns and allowed only two field goals to their rivals.
Quarterback Trevor Harris’ unit, however, was unable to continue its success with such regularity and never returned to the end zone upon returning from the locker room. Fortunately for the “Als”, the defensive was however there to watch the grain.
“We got off to a strong start. We gave ourselves a good chance of winning by scoring more than 20 points in the first half,” said wide receiver Eugene Lewis.
“In a match, we go through ups and downs. […] In the end, our defense made the plays we needed,” continued the star player before also praising several of his offensive teammates.
Thierry Laforce / QMI Agency
Key shifts
It was in the middle of the third quarter that the momentum seemed to leave the Alouettes’ camp. Looking for a spark, the Tiger-Cats decided to replace quarterback Dane Evans with Matthew Shiltz. The change had the desired effect, since the former pivot of the “Als” allowed his people to register a major from his first moments on the ground. At that point, the visitors were just one possession away from tying the score. The defense, however, closed the books with some very big plays in the last 15 minutes.
Cornerback Mike Jones had his second interception of the game and Tyrice Beverette knocked the ball off Shiltz deep in his crease. After the linebacker’s knockout, with just over two minutes left to go, the Alouettes running backs did the rest of the work to allow their team to earn a spot in the Eastern final. . This will be played next Sunday against the Argonauts in Toronto.
“We will continue to write new chapters in this famous book that everyone is writing together,” said Maciocia with emotion.