The Montreal Alouettes secured their place in the Canadian Football League (CFL) playoffs on Friday in Ottawa by defeating the Rouge et Noir 34 to 30.
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Moreover, they are guaranteed to present a post-season game at Percival-Molson Stadium since they will finish second in the East Division in the worst case, they who, by virtue of an 8-8 record , can’t be joined by the third-placed Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
The Sparrows can even hope to conclude the 2022 campaign in first place in the East. However, they will have to defeat the Toronto Argonauts twice in a row, during the last two weeks of CFL activities.
To return to the match of the day, the visitors were well on their way to living the same nightmare as in the last duel. The defense got off to a disastrous start, allowing three touchdowns and a field goal to the crowd favorites before retreating to the locker room for the half. Defensive back Mike Jones, among others, was beaten twice rather than once by an opposing receiver on long plays leading to a major.
However, it was the defense that also scored the Alouettes’ first points. By hitting the opposing quarterback, Nick Arbuckle, Thomas Costigan made him lose the ball and it was Adarius Pickett who seized it, before returning it to the opposing end zone.
Trailing 24-17 after half the game, the defense took it up a notch, allowing only two field goals in the second half.
Offensively, Als center Trevor Harris completed 19 of 27 stints for 241 yards and a touchdown pass. On the opposing side, Arbuckle also shone, finding the hands of a receiver 28 times of 36 attempts, passing for 271 yards in addition to registering two majors.
The Alouettes will complete their season with a home-and-away series against the Argonauts on October 22 and 29.