(Montreal) The Montreal Alouettes don’t like simple things. They again complicated the task by escaping the important duel against the Ottawa Redblacks 24-18, to the chagrin of the 21,824 spectators, the biggest crowd of the season at Percival-Molson Stadium.
Posted at 4:07 p.m.
The Rouge et Noir (4-11) scored in their first three second-half attacking streaks to turn an eight-point halftime deficit into a win that mathematically keeps them in the playoff race in the Premier League. ‘East.
It was Caleb Evans’ second touchdown of the game that gave the visitors the lead. A controversial play, the ball not clearly crossing the goal line, but an official on the field allowed the touchdown and nothing allowed the command center to overturn that decision.
The Alouettes (7-8) tried hard to beat the Rouge et Noir on their last push, but it was stopped on an imprecise pass to Eugene Lewis at the visitors’ 19-line with four seconds to go.
Lewis Ward, with kicks of 28, 30 and 25 yards completed the scoring for the winners, who outscored 17-3 in the second half.
The reply came from Lewis, on a 15-yard pass from Harris, but the Alouettes missed the conversion by two points. David Côté had four field goals, the longest of 25 yards.
A victory for the Alouettes would have allowed them to do a double blow, to ensure their participation in the playoffs and to guarantee a home game, in addition to remaining within striking distance of the Toronto Argonauts, first in the East at 9-6 . The last two games of the schedule would then have been used to determine first place in the East. All of this has to be started over again.
In addition to the game, the Alouettes may have lost the services of center Sean Jamieson for a long period. Jamieson was hit in the left leg, which he couldn’t put weight on when he was helped off the field by two teammates.
As for running back William Stanback, who was making a comeback after a 13-game absence, his use was limited, as expected. He was handed the ball eight times and had 20 yards.