The Montreal Alouettes continued their momentum in the Eastern semi-final, scoring their sixth straight victory with a score of 27-12 at the expense of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
Jason Maas’ club thus obtained its ticket for the Eastern final, next Saturday, in Toronto, thanks to a fourth victory in as many duels against the Tiger-Cats this season.
“It’s very difficult to beat a team four times, it’s special and I’ll remember it for a long time,” said veteran guard Kristian Matte. I am extremely proud of the team. It was not easy. Defensively, we handcuffed Hamilton and were able to pick up points when we could. We haven’t played our best football yet, I can’t wait for us to improve further. »
It was a Jake Harty touchdown scored with just under seven minutes remaining in the game that put this game out of reach for the Tiger-Cats and stirred up the 20,127 spectators gathered at Percival-Molson Stadium.
Harty completed a 70-yard drive by the Alouettes by catching a short pass from Cody Fajardo (15 for 23, 212 yards, two touchdowns, one interception) before crossing the 14 yards separating him from the end zone. David Côté’s one-point conversion made it 24-12.
“I couldn’t be more proud for a guy like Jake, a guy who I have a lot of fun with in the locker room and who overcame so much to get his chance,” praised Fajardo. He’s a beast on special teams, but to get his chance at receiver, I was happy for him. »
“He’s one of our dark heroes,” added head coach Jason Maas. He overcame several injuries, but he always kept going. He hasn’t been perfect with us, but he gets so worked up. The guys love him and they were really happy for him. »
This touchdown came at the right time, because the pace of the match could have changed. The Tiger-Cats had just closed to within five points of the locals on a huge 104-yard drive in more than eight minutes. Once again it was the Alouettes’ defense that limited the damage. We will come back to this.
Austin Mack, on a 30-yard play, scored the other major for the winners, who took advantage of Côté’s four field goals, from 45, 15, 40 and 29 yards.
Marc Liegghio was the only one to score points for the Tiger-Cats, on four field goals of 23, 36, 39 and 47 yards.
Show by Lemon and Sankey
The addition of Sean Lemon and Darnell Sankey gave new life to an already formidable defense this season. The defensive end and linebacker showed what a threat they are in this game.
The two men each managed two sacks for heavy losses in this duel. Sankey also knocked down a pass, while Lwal Uguak knocked down two others.
“The most important thing is that we won,” Sankey said. That’s the most important thing. I could have the best match in the world, but if we lose, it doesn’t mean anything. […] If you aspire to win the Gray Cup, you have to make these kinds of plays. »
The entire Alouettes defense stood out in this duel. The Alouettes knocked down no less than eight passes in addition to intercepting two and causing a fumble, which they recovered.
“I feel like I play you the same tape every week!” They play every game at a very high level,” Maas said. Christmas [Thorpe, le coordonnateur] chooses aggressive games. No one is selfish in this unit and everyone has confidence and experience. It’s a dangerous combination. »
“These guys play with heart,” admitted Thorpe, who did not want to take credit. It’s a physical group that knows how to get to the opposing quarterback. We often talk about it: it’s all a question of attitude, but what’s more, they always want to get to the ball. »
From the first push of the Tiger-Cats it started. On a pass to Kondré Smith, Avery Williams intervened to make him lose the ball, which was recovered by Dionte Ruffin. Unfortunately, the visitors’ defense also stood out and the Alouettes were only able to score one point, on a 51-yard single from Joseph Zema.
At the end of the half, she delivered another big blow. While the Ti-Cats had just regained the ball in their zone, Mustafa Johnson deflected a pass from Shiltz intercepted by Sankey. On the next play, Fajardo joined Mack 30 yards for the first major of the game, allowing the Alouettes to return to the locker room with a 14-6 lead.
At the end of the third quarter, it was the turn of the Ti-Cats defense to make a good play. With the Alouettes stationed at their line of 16 and the score 17-9, Richard Leonard imposed himself between Fajardo and Mack to intercept the pass.
The Tiger-Cats then proceeded with a long, very long offensive drive of 76 yards on 13 plays for more than eight minutes. The only good news for the Alouettes on this push: Sankey managed his second sack of the day to push the visitors back 11 yards and the latter had to settle for Liegghio’s fourth field goal of the day to get closer to 17-12.
Harty and Fajardo settled the matter on the next possession.
The Alouettes finish 2023 with a 12-0 record against all CFL clubs other than the Lions, Blue Bombers and Argos. They will try to change this narrative next week.