The Alouettes’ defense gave the Calgary Stampeders a hard time and the Montrealers triumphed with a score of 28-11 on Saturday.
Having not had the upper hand in the battle of turnovers during their series of four losses, the Alouettes (7-7) managed four sacks, two interceptions and recovered a fumble in Calgary, signing an important gain in the race in the Eastern section series.
Jason Maas’s men regained the exclusivity of second place in the East and they hurt the Stampeders (4-10) in their crossing possibility.
Alouettes quarterback Cody Fajardo completed 22 of his 29 passes for aerial gains of 252 yards. He threw a touchdown pass and an interception. His substitute, Caleb Evans, scored two majors on the ground from short distance.
“For all the inefficiency we’ve had in the zone this season, it doesn’t matter who scores the touchdowns. As long as we manage to get some,” said Alouettes quarterback Cody Fajardo. The important thing in this match is that we were able to finish our streaks in a positive way. »
William Stanback caught Fajardo’s touchdown pass and rushed for 81 yards on 14 carries. Receivers Tyson Philpot and Tyler Snead had 87 yards and 83 yards through the air, respectively. Kicker David Côté succeeded in his two field goal attempts.
“To be able to find Stanback at the end. He worked the whole game and to connect with him for a touchdown, it was big,” Fajardo said.
Jake Maier saw 29 of his 37 passes caught for 271 yards, but he was the victim of two interceptions in the pay zone. He threw a touchdown pass to Reggie Begelton, who was used extensively with 13 receptions for 109 yards.
Ka’Deem Carey had 70 yards on 10 carries, but his team became more one-dimensional as it trailed. Rene Paredes made a field goal on two occasions.
“This win definitely got away from us,” said Stampeders head coach Dave Dickenson. Our guys fought, but it wasn’t enough. We didn’t make the plays. We got close to the end zone, but we couldn’t come out with any points. »
The Alouettes will return to action next Saturday when they visit the Rouge et Noir in Ottawa.
The defense stands up
The Stampeders had a good first offensive sequence, but it came to an abrupt end in the pay zone when Shawn Lemon intercepted a pass from Maier to end the threat.
The Alouettes’ attack didn’t really manage to get going until the final minutes of the first quarter. Fajardo joined Cole Spieker at center and the latter was hit helmet to helmet by Micah Awe, who received a 25-yard penalty on the sequence. The Montrealers continued to advance the ball and Evans managed a three-yard run to score the first major of the game.
The Alberta team responded methodically before the end of the first half. On the eighth play of the series, Maier connected with Begelton from four yards out to tie the game.
Following an exchange of singles, the Alouettes returned to the locker room with a three-point lead thanks to a 45-yard precision kick from Côté.
The Stampeders had to punt the ball to start the second half, but the defense did the job in the first few minutes. Nick Statz got between Fajardo and Snead to make his first interception of the season.
The problem for the local favorites is that they haven’t been able to take advantage. In the paying zone, Maier sent the ball directly into the hands of Quebecer Marc-Antoine Dequoy.
In return, the Birds were able to take advantage of their theft to give themselves an 18-8 lead. A long 51-yard pass from Fajardo to Philpot set up Evans’ second rushing touchdown of the game, a one-yard run.
The Stampeders stayed within reach of their opponents thanks in particular to three passes from Maier, including a 41-yarder to Tre Odoms-Dukes. Paredes completed the sequence with a 27-yard field goal.
After a 35-yard field goal from Côté, the Alouettes’ defense once again stood out to deal a hard blow to the Stampeders. Dequoy made Begelton lose the ball in the center of the field and Tyrice Beverette recovered the fumble to give possession back to his troop.
Fajardo and his teammates went to work orchestrating an offensive series that ended with a touchdown pass to Stanback.